The General Dental Council describes its function as protecting patients and regulating the dental team. In order to achieve this objective, they set standards for education, ensure continuing professional development and maintain the dental register.
The GDC regulates all dental professionals in the United Kingdom, including dentists, dental nurses, dental technicians, dental hygienists, dental therapists, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists, all of whom must be registered with the GDC in order to work in the UK.
All practising dental surgeons are expected to meet the standards set by the General Dental Council in its document Standards for Dental Professionals. This is updated regularly and provided to every new dental surgeon registered by the GDC. The GDC has the duty and power to remove from the Dentists’ Register any member who is shown to have behaved in a manner unsuitable for continued registration. The action it takes is limited by the provisions of the Dentists Act 1984.
The GDC will act on complaints that it receives from patients, members of the public or other dentists and information from organisations such as the police or NHS which suggest that the dentist’s fitness to practise is impaired due to health, conduct, convictions/cautions and/or performance.
