The General Dental Council (GDC) has published the findings from its Stakeholder Survey 2023. It has shown the progress made in recent years, as well as areas where further improvements are needed to improve people’s views and experience of the GDC.

The independent study conducted by YouGov explored perceptions of the dental regulator, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to gather responses from more than 3200 registrants, as well as 106 students, and 68 stakeholders.

A shift in perspective

The survey has revealed modest improvements in how dental professionals view the regulator since 2020. Positive perceptions increased from 16 per cent to 20 per cent, and negative views dropped from 65 per cent to 56 per cent. Dental students generally held more favourable opinions than other groups, with 26 per cent expressing a positive view of the GDC.

Registrants associated the GDC with many of the terms linked to its corporate strategy, such as ‘professional’ and ‘relevant’ (50 per cent and 44 per cent respectively). However, other common associations included ‘fear’ and ‘unrepresentative’ (both 46 per cent).

Among students, fear was the most associated word at just over half (53 per cent), closely followed by knowledgeable (41 per cent). Other stakeholders most associated the GDC with being unrepresentative (40 per cent), followed by aggressive and defensive (both 34 per cent).

There was a positive shift, with registrants less likely (46 per cent) to see the GDC as unrepresentative than in 2020 (54 per cent).

Stefan Czerniawski, executive director of strategy at the GDC, said, "It matters that the GDC is trusted by those we regulate, and it will not be trusted if perceptions are dominated by fear. We know there is more we need to do to reduce the stress FtP cases. We also want to work with others to counter negative perceptions and help dental professionals to understand what we do and how we do it – and demonstrate that we are more interested in supporting high professional standards than in catching people out.”

Core functions

The survey found strong awareness of the GDC's core functions, with 87 per cent of respondents recognising its role in maintaining the dental register, and 78 per cent aware of its fitness to practise (FtP) responsibilities.

According to the GDC, the FtP process is a key factor influencing perceptions of the regulator and driving registrants’ fear. This fear often stems from hearing about others’ experiences, fostering anxiety about regulatory intervention which affects how care is delivered.

The GDC has said it recognises that dental professionals who fear arbitrary or disproportionate actions may practise defensively, prioritise excessive record-keeping, or limit their scope of practice — behaviours that do not serve patients' interests and can ultimately reduce both the quality and quantity of care.

Improvements to the FtP process include:

  • Enhanced communication with updated standard FtP correspondence adopting a more empathetic tone and simplified language, including information on accessing health and wellbeing support for those subject to an investigation.
  • Streamlined case assessments through a new initial inquiries process for single clinical practice concerns, significantly reducing assessment stage completion times.

The GDC has said it will use the findings to continue making meaningful improvements to its processes and communications, strengthening relationships and working with key stakeholders to counter negative perceptions and ensure regulatory processes are better understood and trusted.

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