New Edinburgh clinical dental technician course a UK first

The first stand-alone course for clinical dental technicians in the UK is set to launch in Edinburgh later this year after getting the go-ahead from UK dental regulator, the General Dental Council.

Clinical dental technicians are one of the groups of dental care professionals newly registered with the General Dental Council. They are dental technicians with additional training and are sometimes called ‘denturists’. They offer a valuable service to the public, working directly with patients taking impressions and fitting dentures. They also work on prescription from a dentist.

The new course, which is run by the Edinburgh Dental Institute, is for people who are already registered with the GDC and working as dental technicians.

General Dental Council Chief Executive and Registrar Duncan Rudkin said:

“I congratulate Edinburgh Dental Institute on starting the first stand-alone clinical dental technician course in the UK.”

Edinburgh Dental Institute Director, Professor Richard Ibbetson said:

“The Edinburgh Dental Institute is pleased to be able to offer the first stand-alone clinical dental technician course in the UK. The course will contain a mixture of lectures and practical demonstrations and exercises in our excellent facilities at the Department of Restorative Dentistry.”

The General Dental Council started registering clinical dental technicians in 2006. Before that clinical dental technicians were not able to work legally in the UK.

The Edinburgh Dental Institute’s course will be inspected by the General Dental Council before the first intake has graduated. Full approval can only be given after that inspection.

Ends

For media enquiries, please contact Sharon Williams on 020 7009 2782.   For more information from EDI please contact Morag McDiarmid on 0131 5364976

Notes to editors:

1. The General Dental Council regulates dental professionals in the UK. All dentists, dental hygienists, dental nurses, dental technicians, dental therapists, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists must now be registered with us to work in the UK.

2. Our job is to make sure that dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) meet the standards we set when they join our registers and carry on meeting those standards once they are registered.  One of the ways we do this is to quality assure UK dentist and DCP education and training courses.  All programmes and courses for undergraduate dental degree and DCP training must meet the standards we set and be approved by us.