Dental staff

Dental professionals have a duty to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.
A primary qualification is only the first step in their education and development which should last throughout their professional life.
CPD for dental professionals, General Dental Council

Enhanced Continuing Professional Development

From January 2018 the General Dental Council has developed a new style Enhanced CPD scheme which is designed to be flexible, so you can plan activity to suit your professional needs, and adapt your activity as required across your CPD cycle.

Depending on your registrant title, you must do a certain minimum number of hours of verifiable CPD for each five-year cycle. You may continue to do non-verifiable CPD, however all hours submitted to the GDC must be verifiable.

A complete CPD record includes your log of activity with development outcomes linked to each activity, your personal development plan, and the evidence you have collected from each activity. You must submit your annual statement each year to the GDC and you will be notified to make your CPD statement when you get your annual renewal notice.

For further information about the Enhanced CPD scheme visit: https://www.gdc-uk.org/professionals/cpd/enhanced-cpd

PHE have published a Safeguarding toolkit for dental practice teams.

Learning opportunities across Thames Valley and Wessex

HEE Thames Valley and Wessex Dental School works across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and offers a comprehensive programme of dental workforce transformation courses that meet the General Dental Council requirements for the new style Enhanced CPD. The School also provides refresher courses; courses to enable dentists and Dental Care Professionals to keep up to date, maintain and learn new clinical skills and to contribute to the well-being of the practice team as a whole.

The list of forthcoming courses is available here, To book one of these Dental Courses visit the course booking centre: https://www.maxcourse.co.uk/heetvw/

The TV-W-Dental Twitter feed provides updates of courses within Thames Valley and Wessex.

To suggest  a course that is not currently  offered at the School, please contact Katy Kerr at katy.kerr@hee.nhs.uk.

Working towards Dementia Friendly Dentistry

“each and every member of the dental team plays an important role in the patient journey through their dental visit and helps address the barriers they face. The significance of promoting dementia friendly environments cannot be undervalued and the GDP has a key role in maintaining their patients’ quality of life.”
Forget me not – the role of the general dental practitioner in dementia awareness
G. McNamara et al, British Dental Journal 217, 245 – 248 (2014).

The number of older people is growing, with many retaining their own teeth into old age. This brings new issues in terms of providing care for these individuals, especially if they have dementia. Access to dental services for people with dementia can significantly improve their quality of life and prevent further problems associated with poor oral health.

Dementia training is important and is relevant for all members of the dental team. “The Appointment” is a short film (15 mins) intended to give an insight into just how confusing attending a dental appointment can be for someone with dementia when attending a dental appointment. The film aims to raise awareness regarding the issues that affect access to dental services for an individual with dementia and highlights the crucial role played by the whole dental team, including receptionists and dental nurses, in supporting patients with short term memory problems and undiagnosed dementia.

Watch the film on YouTube or it can be downloaded in MP4 format here.

Other elearning resources

Providers offering elearning for dental professionals include:

e-Den is the dentistry programme from e-Learning for Healthcare.

Modules are available from indemnity providers (e.g. Dental Protection and the Dental Defence Union) to their members.


The CPD Zone is brought to you by the GP schools of Health Education England working across Thames Valley and Wessex, in association with Oxford Health FT Library.​

Page last reviewed: 27 November, 2020