eGDCBecoming a member of the dental team
Dentistry is a rewarding and interesting profession. As a member of the dental team, you will make a real difference to the lives of your patients.
As dentistry continues to evolve and innovate during your career, you will become the next generation of dental professionals who are responsible for the developments that will continue to drive dentistry forward.
The Dental Schools Council (DSC), which represents dental schools across the UK and Ireland, has produced a useful guide on the core values and attributes needed to study dentistry.
Patient trust in you
The work that the dental team do can have a profound effect on someone’s wellbeing. Patients understandably place a high level of trust in the dental team.
Patients will expect you to be well trained and have high professional standards. Being a member of a profession with such high standards and trust is something that you should have pride in.
Professional regulation protects patients, builds public confidence and underpins the reputation of the profession and everyone in it. Patients expect healthcare professions to be regulated and to have somewhere to raise concerns if things go wrong. This builds respect in the professions and gives the dental team confidence that the things that can bring a profession into disrepute are dealt with.
Student professionalism
Your professionalism and the way you meet the standards expected of you is a central part of providing excellent patient care and effective team working.
In this section you can find information about: