GDC launches major guidance review

04 November 2010

THE GDC is reviewing its core guidance for dental professionals.

The council has said it intends to “go back to square one” in its review of Standards for dental professionals. The document was last updated in 2005. The council also plans to review its guidance Scope of Practice – who can do what in the dental team.

Both reviews will take place throughout 2011 and the GDC is inviting comments and suggestions on how the original guidance can be improved. Consultations, focus groups and a working group are all planned for next year and GDC staff will be attending events across the UK to hear directly from interested groups.

Dental technician David Smith, chair of the Standards Committee, said: “The reviews of both of these documents could result in a radical redesign of the GDC’s guidance for registrants and it’s therefore extremely important that we hear from everyone who’ll be affected and make the right changes.

“The standards are the main ethical guide that we expect dental professionals to apply to their everyday work. This is a significant piece of work for the GDC and one that we anticipate will have a positive impact on dental professionals and therefore on patients.”

The GDC said it intends to speak to registrants, patients and other stakeholders and ask them “what level of detail they would find helpful, what they think of the current standards, what works, what doesn’t and what’s missing.”

Comments on Standards for dental professionals can be submitted to the GDC now at standards@gdc-uk.org . The GDC hopes to produce the new guidance in early 2012.

Feedback on the Scope of Practice document can be submitted from the end of January via the GDC website www.gdc-uk.org . It will ask registrants to give their views on whether the document is useful in helping the dental team work more effectively together and what skills may need to be added or amended for each of the seven registrant groups.