A view from the Chair: provide feedback on standards for education; prepare for new guidance on reporting matters to the GDC; why perceptions of the GDC matter for patient care

Provide your feedback on the standards for education

Maintaining the register of dental professionals who can practice in the UK is arguably the GDC’s most important role. It ensures that patients can be confident that the dental treatment they receive is provided by a dental professional who is properly trained and qualified and who meets our standards.

The Standards for Education set out the requirements expected of all pre-registration programmes that lead to registration with the GDC, and we are consulting on revised standards that aim to be clearer and introduce new areas relevant to today’s dental education landscape.

Providers are expected to meet the Standards, so they are very important for them and the future generations of dental professionals who want to join the registers. The consultation is open until 6 February 2025 and I would urge anyone with an interest in dental education to provide feedback.

Prepare for new Guidance on Reporting Matters to the GDC, from 1 February 2025

Last year we consulted on proposals to consolidate reporting requirements for dental professionals into a single, comprehensive document that brings together all reporting obligations, such as health, criminal, and regulatory matters, into one place.

Stakeholders provided very useful feedback and were positive that the guidance helps dental professionals to understand what they need to report to the GDC, to protect patient safety and public confidence in the professions.

By clarifying their reporting obligations, we aim to support dental professionals in maintaining the highest standards of patient safety and public confidence. The new guidance will take effect from 1 February 2025 and it is worth reviewing so that you can be prepared in good time.

Why perceptions of the GDC matter to the quality and quantity of patient care

I have always maintained that meeting and listening to stakeholders must be a priority for any organisation. We do this through meetings, events, workshops and by regularly surveying stakeholders, dental professionals and students for their perceptions. The latest findings were published this week, and they show 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.

However, being interested in stakeholders’ perceptions is not for the purpose of reputation management. The findings show that the fitness to practise (FtP) process is a key factor influencing perceptions of the GDC and driving registrants’ fear, which often stems from hearing about others’ experiences.

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

We have been and will continue to improve the FtP process with the aim of reducing the stress of FtP cases. We recently made a permanent change to improve timeliness when investigating clinical practice concerns, by limiting the information requested at the initial stages of investigations involving single patient clinical concerns to relevant clinical records only.

Being able to pilot this approach depended on the cooperation of dental professionals and their representatives in promptly providing their relevant records, and it is a good example of working together to deliver positive outcomes.

We want to continue to work with others to counter negative perceptions and help dental professionals to understand what we do and how we do it, because it matters that the GDC is trusted by those we regulate, and it will not be trusted if perceptions are dominated by fear.