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CPD for dental professionals

CPD is about keeping your knowledge and skills as a dental professional up to date. CPD contributes to improved patient care and ensures we have the tools we need to meet and maintain high professional standards.

Lifelong learning, through CPD, is at the heart of what it means to be a dental professional.

Shaping the direction of lifelong learning for dental professionals Reflective practice
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About CPD:

You can find answers to some of the frequently asked questions about CPD in this section. 

If you need more information, or if your question is personal to your circumstances, please get in touch.

CPD is a compulsory part of registration with the GDC.  If you are unable to comply you may be removed from the Register. If you have been removed from the Register, you will not be able to practise dentistry legally in the UK. However, if you are removed from the Register, you can apply for restoration once you are compliant with CPD requirements. 
If you are on maternity leave and wish to remain registered, you will need to continue to meet your CPD requirements during your leave period. 
If you are registered with the GDC, you must continue to do CPD even if you are not currently working for any reason. This is because CPD is a legal requirement of registration.  The requirement to do CPD is not based on your employment status. If you leave the Register, for any reason but intend to restore in the future, you must continue to undertake CPD and keep a personal development plan (PDP). You will be required to show evidence of this when applying for restoration.
Yes, for example, if you have attended CPD activities that took place abroad. However, you must make sure the CPD activities you complete meet the requirements of the Enhanced CPD Scheme 2018, including the requirements for evidence of verifiable CPD. 
 
If the CPD you complete abroad is recorded as points or credits you will need to get extra evidence from the provider to confirm the equivalent number of hours. If your CPD provider is unable to provide certificated evidence, in line with the requirements for verifiable CPD, you might be able use the Verifiable CPD Mapping Document
If you are a temporary registrant, you must undertake at least 20 hours of CPD during each CPD year. You will be asked to declare your CPD statement upon completion of a years' worth of direction. This will be required before the next direction is granted. Please note that temporary registrants are not able to apply for a grace period (please see below question on periods of grace). 
 
If you are a temporary registrant and have further questions, please get in touch.  

Yes, but only once your five-year CPD cycle has started. The start of your CPD cycle depends on the date you first registered with the GDC. If you are a recent graduate, your first CPD cycle will start 1 January in the year after you first registered. Please be mindful to check youreGDC account for when your CPD cycle officially starts. For CPD to count as verifiable, it must comply with our verifiable CPD requirements. If your foundation or vocational provider is unable to provide certified evidence of activities that would meet the CPD requirements , you may be able to use the verifiable CPD mapping document, but this will need to be kept alongside a clear, detailed account of the CPD activities you are claiming from your foundation year.

At the end of your five-year cycle you should have completed the minimum CPD requirement. If you are coming to the end of your CPD cycle and discover that you will not be able to meet the minimum CPD requirement, you can request a period of grace. We will only grant a request for a grace period when you satisfy us there is an exceptional circumstance, or good reason to do so.
 
You can submit a request in writing no earlier than six months before the end of your CPD cycle. The Enhanced CPD Scheme grace rules also apply to you if your current CPD cycle is spanning both schemes i.e. you are in transition.
 
If your grace request is granted, you will have an additional 56 days after the end of the CPD cycle to comply with your CPD requirement.
 
Please note that temporary registrants are not able to apply for a grace period.
 
For any further queries regarding a period of grace, please email us.
No, we are not a CPD provider.
No. Routinely delivering CPD is conveying or demonstrating knowledge and skills you already possess and is not CPD. Similarly, any task undertaken as part of your normal role(s) would not be considered CPD.
No. We do not have the power to quality assure CPD. Please see the CPD Provider Guidance, for further information on quality assurance.