We are the organisation which regulates dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom.

We regulate:

• dentists

and the following dental care professionals:

• clinical dental technicians,
• dental hygienists,
• dental nurses,
• dental technicians,
• dental therapists, and
• orthodontic therapists.

We keep up-to-date registers of these dentists and dental care professionals. To join our registers, they need to meet the professional standards we set. You can search our registers on this site.

Anybody who wants to work in the UK as a dentist, dental hygienist, dental therapist, clinical dental technician or orthodontic therapist must be registered with us. Registration will be compulsory for dental nurses and dental technicians from 31 July 2008.

We also hold 12 Specialist Lists. Dentists can work in a particular branch of dentistry - such as oral surgery or orthodontics - but only those on our Specialist Lists can call themselves a ‘specialist’ in a particular area.  

For information on how to register, please click here.