The General Dental Council (GDC) has made it easier for dental professionals to restore their name to the registers so that they can practise in the UK.

The General Dental Council (GDC) has made it easier for dental professionals to restore their name to the registers so that they can practise in the UK.

The small but important change means that dental professionals who have been off the register for less than 12 months and have always complied with CPD, will be able to sign a declaration that it is up to date, rather than send the GDC a copy of their full CPD record.

Every year, a number of dental professionals are removed from the register if they are no longer practising in the UK, or if they have not completed their annual renewal.

This improvement should make it quicker and easier for dental professionals to restore, providing that they have always complied with the CPD requirements. The new process is already in place, in time for annual renewal for dental care professionals.

In the meantime, the GDC is urging all dental care professionals to log onto eGDC to check how much CPD they need to complete before they renew their registration. This can be done at any time to make sure that the minimum hours of CPD have been met. Dental professionals should get in touch with the GDC if they do not understand what they need to do.

The GDC’s primary purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of the public and maintain public confidence in dental services. To achieve this, it registers qualified dental professionals, sets standards for the dental team, investigates complaints about dental professionals' fitness to practise and works to ensure the quality of dental education.

CPD is about keeping professional skills and knowledge up to date and is a vital part of being a member of the dental team. It ensures that dental professionals instil public confidence and have the tools needed to meet and maintain high professional standards.

Jon Harris, GDC associate director of registration, said, “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to make this small but important change to our process. We hope it will make a real difference for dental professionals who have always complied with and kept their CPD up-to-date, and result in a more straightforward experience to be restored to the register.”

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