Guidance on involvement with a Dental Body Corporate

The GDC has released new guidance for all GDC registrants about Dental Bodies Corporate (DBCs).

This is the guidance in full:

Issued by the General Dental Council under Sections 26B and 36M of the Dentists Act 1984.

All GDC registrants involved in the treatment of patients have a role to play in protecting patients from harm and in providing a safe and effective standard of care.

Our ethical standards guidance, ‘Standards for dental professionals’ sets out the six main principles you should apply in your work as a dental professional.  It is your responsibility to apply these principles to your daily work, using your judgement to consider the principles. 

• Put patients’ interests before your own or those of any colleague, organisation or business.

These standards complement the overriding principles set out in the ‘Standards for dental professionals’ series and should be read with this and the other guidance documents.
We expect you to follow this guidance, whether or not you are responsible for justifying your actions in your role to someone who is registered with us.  If you cannot justify your behaviour or practice in line with the principles explained in the ‘Standards for dental professionals’ guidance, you may risk losing your registration with us.

Registrants who are members of/employed by a Dental Body Corporate (DBC)

Patients should be made aware of relevant facts that may have an effect on their treatment and the management of any complaint.

If you are associated with or employed by a DBC that information should be made clear to patients in practice literature, including treatment planning forms and documents explaining the surgery’s/DBC’s complaints process.

This is an important part of the process of ensuring the patient has the information they need to make an informed choice and to be able to pursue a complaint fully and appropriately.