From today (Friday 10 November 2006) dental care professionals (DCPs) registering with the General Dental Council (GDC) will be able to ask either their employing or supervising dentist or a doctor to sign their health certificate.  Dental technicians and dental nurses who do not work in a clinical environment will need to make a self-declaration about their health and confirm they do not have any clinical contact with patients.

The registration application process enables the GDC to assess an applicant’s fitness to carry out their professional duties - DCPs applying for registration need to provide certain information about their professional training, character and health. These checks are an essential part of the Council’s work to protect the public.

The changes made to the application process for DCPs are in recognition of the fact that some roles are more exposure-prone than others and therefore carry different degrees of risk for patients. Whilst patient safety is, and will always be, the priority for the Council, it must continuously ensure it considers feedback it receives and that its requirements are not unnecessarily bureaucratic and are proportionate.

Revised guidance on the process, including the requirement for applicants to provide information about their health, is being introduced. The changes that come into effect from today are:

• Dental technicians and dental nurses who do not work in a clinical environment will not need to provide a health certificate signed by their doctor but will need to make a self-declaration about their health and confirm that they do not have any clinical contact with patients;
• dental nurses who work in a clinical environment (i.e. the majority of dental nurses) and dental hygienists, dental therapists, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists can now have their health certificate completed by either an employing or supervising dentist or a doctor.  The DCP will need to have worked in the practice for at least 12 months and provide evidence of their original immunisation certificates for a dentist to sign their health certificate; and
• more comprehensive guidance for applicants, dentists and doctors has been produced and is available on the GDC website and in the registration application pack.

Applicants who may have already paid for medical examinations as part of the application process, who would not require them under the new guidance, will be eligible to apply to the GDC for a refund.  The GDC will be contacting those who have already submitted their application.  Any other applicants who believe they may be entitled to a refund should visit the GDC website (www.gdc-uk.org) or contact the GDC on 020 7887 3800.
 
GDC Chief Executive & Registrar, Duncan Rudkin said:

“The General Dental Council’s top priority is public protection. We keep our processes and procedures under constant review, taking into consideration feedback on all areas of our work.  The changes we have introduced to the registration application process for dental care professionals take into account the different degree of risks involved for patients, as a result of the wide range of tasks carried out by these groups.  As part of this review, which follows the opening of the new Register on 31 July 2006, we have listened to feedback received from applicants and from doctors asked to sign health certificates.  We will continue to seek and listen to the views of applicants and others on how the DCP registration process is working.”

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For media enquiries, please contact Rachel Lea on 020 7009 2782.

Notes to Editors

1. Further information about the changes the GDC has introduced, copies of the additional health certificate guidance for applicants, dentists and doctors, and information about refunds for applicants who have paid for unnecessary medical examinations, tests or immunisations is available on the GDC website at http://www.gdc-uk.org/Potential+registrant/ or by calling the GDC on 020 7887 3800.

2. Who can sign off an applicant’s health certificate?

Health certificates can be completed by a doctor or in certain circumstances by the employing or supervising dentist.  Dental nurses who are not working in a clinical environment and dental technicians can complete a self-declaration, of health and character, and undertaking (to confirm that they do not work in a clinical environment).

*Only a doctor may sign if there is no dentist who meets the criteria for signing and is willing to do so, e.g. where a dental nurse has not been employed for 12 months.

If a dental professional who has previously confirmed that they do not work in a clinical environment takes on a clinical role in the future, they will have a responsibility to ensure they have had the appropriate immunisations.

The position for dentists remains unchanged – they will need to have their health check completed by a medical practitioner.

3. Registration for dental nurses and technicians will become compulsory on 31 July 2008.  However, the GDC is encouraging dental nurses and technicians to join the register during the two-year transition period, which will enable dental nurses and technicians who have been working in their role for a number of years to join the register on the basis of validated experience.  Dental nurses and technicians joining the register after 30 July 2008 will need to have a GDC-recognised qualification. 

4. Registration for two additional groups - clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists – is now compulsory.  This is because these professions are being recognised for the first time in the UK.  Professionals wishing to register within these groups will need to have undertaken a GDC-recognised training course.