Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

In the UK, after graduation, all dentists have the responsibility for continuing their professional education. It is the dentist’s responsibility to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date. This is a mandatory requirement for all dentists on the GDC register. The GDC requires each registrant to make an annual declaration of their CPD. Failure to record your CPD may result in your name being removed from the dentists register. In addition to CPD every dentist is required to have a Personal Development Plan or PDP.

It is also important to remember to continue your CPD if you have a career break. Even if you take your name off the register, you will need to show evidence of compliance with CPD if you apply to have your name restored to the register. The General Dental Council (GDC) has recently (1st January 2018) made changes to the amount of CPD required and how it is recorded.

CPD is measured over a five-year period. Dentists must complete a minimum of 100 hours of CPD over a five year cycle. A new requirement is that registrants cannot make a declaration of zero hours of CPD in two consecutive years.

Recording your CPD

You can download a copy of a form from the GDC on which you can record your CPD.

Remember it is important to keep all certificates safely with your CPD record. The log of your CPD must be recoded in terms of one of four outcomes. These outcomes are as follows

A-Communication

B- Management

C- Knowledge

D- Skills

Your CPD should be relevant to your clinical practice and guided by your PDP.

Temporary registration

The requirement of CPD applies to all dentists who wish to stay in the register - even if you hold temporary registration.