News feed - Practice Plan

All the latest dentistry news, all in one place.

Our dental news feed will be regularly updated to help you stay informed and keep up-to-date with everything that's happening in the industry.

GDC fails to meet standards for fitness to practise and equality

The General Dental Council (GDC) met 16 out of 18 Standards of Good Regulation in 2024/25, falling short on equality, diversity and inclusion and fitness to practise (FtP) timeliness.

The Guardian view on dentists: contractual tweaks won’t stop the rot

New appointments for urgent and complex care should be welcomed. But NHS dentistry requires more radical surgery

Latest NHS dental contract changes released

The government has revealed the latest overhaul of the NHS dental contract, with prioritisation given to patients with the most urgent dental needs. Dubbed ‘the most significant modernisation of the NHS dental contract in years’ by…

Abolish tax on oral hygiene products, new campaign demands

Four in five UK parents believe oral hygiene products should be exempt from value added tax (VAT), according to a new campaign.

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Most GDC registrants are dissatisfied with fitness to practise process

Most dental professionals are dissatisfied with the fitness to practise process and the outcome of their case, according to the General Dental Council (GDC). Released by the regulator today (20 November), a new survey found that both informants making fitness to practise complaints and registrants facing proceedings were unhappy with… Read more

GDC ‘must modernise’ to secure future of dentistry, dental leaders tell health secretary

A dental association this week told health secretary Wes Streeting that reform of the General Dental Council (GDC) is a crucial part of the NHS 10-Year Workforce Plan. Read more

New overseas registration exam provider confirmed by GDC

The General Dental Council (GDC) has confirmed its preferred bidder for the overseas registration exam (ORE) contract, a change it says could ‘more than double’ exam capacity. Read more

Annual Retention Fee increase confirmed for 2026 by GDC

The General Dental Council (GDC) has confirmed that the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) will be increased for both dentists and dental care professionals for 2026. The ARF will now stand at £698 for dentists and £108 for dental care professionals (DCPs). This is roughly a 12.5% increase for all dental… Read more

Illegal teeth-whitening industry exposed by BBC

Illegal teeth-whitening treatments that can burn gums and destroy teeth are being handed over in car parks and on doorsteps, a BBC investigation has found. Some gels, containing more than 500 times the legal limit of bleaching agent for over-the-counter products, are sold blatantly on social media. Read more

Bidding process for new ORE contract in final stages

The bidding process for the new overseas registration exam (ORE) has reached its final stage, according to the General Dental Council (GDC). Read more

Dentist erased after admitting to ‘racially-motivated’ emails to colleagues

A dentist who admitted to writing ‘inappropriate and racially-motivated’ comments about Indian dentistry has been erased from the register. The clinician made the comments in emails to colleagues and former colleagues, writing ‘I don’t want to be connected to Indian dentistry’. Read more

GDC publishes revised scope of practice guidance

Updated guidance on the scope of practice for clinical roles has been released by the General Dental Council (GDC). Published today (16 September), the new guidance will come into effect on 1 November. It has been developed following what the GDC describes as a ‘comprehensive review’ and consultation with dental… Read more

CDS pay recommendation accepted by UK governments

Alongside a 4% uplift, DDRB calls for a wider review of pay and progression to address recruitment and retention challenges. In its annual report for 2025, the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) recommended a 4% uplift for Community Dental Service (CDS) and Public Dental Service (PDS) dentists across… Read more

GDC strategy to focus on ‘reducing fear of regulation’

The General Dental Council has today launched a consultation on its new regulation strategy, with a focus on international registration and reducing fear among registrants. Read more

Calls for next GDC chair to be a registrant

Representatives across the dental profession are calling for a registrant to be appointed as the next General Dental Council (GDC) chair. In an open letter to the regulator, associations and specialist societies urge that the next council chair ‘must be a registrant’. Read more

High Court provides update on GDC suspension orders

The Court of Appeal has provided clarity on the interpretation of how immediate orders and substantive sanctions interact under the Dentists Act 1984. Read more

GDC fails to reach all standards of ‘good regulation’ in 2023/24

The General Dental Council (GDC) has met 16 out of 18 Standards of Good Regulation for 2023/24. This marks the same number that were met in the 2022/23 review period. Read more

HTM 07-01: the key changes

Pat Langley navigates the updated Health Technical Memorandum 07-01: A Guide for Dental Practices. Few would disagree that the practice of dentistry produces huge amounts of waste in the form of single-use items. This needs to change where possible and as a profession, we need guidance on how best to… Read more

GDC showed ‘woeful ignorance’ in handling confidential papers, says High Court

The General Dental Council (GDC) has acknowledged ‘significant deficiencies’ in the way it acted following a High Court judgement over its application for disclosure of family court documents. Read more

GDC revises fitness to practise processes to ‘improve timeliness’

The General Dental Council (GDC) has adopted an initial enquiries process to speed up fitness to practise (FtP) investigations. Read more

GDC discloses number of suicides among dental professionals with fitness to practise concerns

The cause of death for dental professionals who have died while fitness to practise (FtP) concerns were investigated or remediated have been released by the General Dental Council. Read more

Overseas registration exam in dentistry – all you need to know

The overseas registration exam (ORE) is sat by dentists whose qualifications are not recognised for the purposes of UK dental registration. We take a look into how it works, the profession’s experience of it and how it can be improved. Read more

Four in five whistleblowing reports led to regulatory action, GDC reveals

The General Dental Council (GDC) has published its 2024 annual report on whistleblowing disclosures in dentistry. From 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 the GDC received 79 disclosures of information. This compares to 82 in the previous year. Regulatory action was taken in 64 of the incidences (81%), namely… Read more

GDC announces more dates for overseas registration exam

Key dates for upcoming overseas registration exam (ORE) sittings have been released, the General Dental Council (GDC) announced today. The GDC said it is working with the current providers to increase the capacity of ORE exams in the UK – with plans to further increase capacity in 2025. Read more

New path for overseas dentists approved by GDC

The General Dental Council (GDC) has approved a new dentistry degree that provides practical training for overseas students within primary care practice. Read more

Covert surveillance will be used ‘sparingly’ in investigations, says GDC

The GDC has released new legal and ethical framework on the use of covert surveillance during fitness to practise investigations. Read more

Health regulator not fit for purpose – Streeting

The body responsible for regulating NHS and care services in England is not fit for purpose, the health secretary has said. Wes Streeting's intervention comes after an independent review found significant failings at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), according to headline findings released by the government. Read more

Health watchdog calls for ‘fundamental’ dental reforms

Funding protection, publicity campaigns and regular national updates are just some of the dental reform recommendations made by a health watchdog. Read more

Work underway to report cause of death during active FtP cases, says GDC

The GDC has provided an update to address recent concerns about the level of detail that is put into the public domain when the Interim Orders Committee (IOC) considers serious concerns. Read more

GDC ‘wrong and unjust’ in approach to suspension orders, court rules

The General Dental Council (GDC) has said it will appeal a recent High Court decision that ruled the GDC had acted ‘wrong and unjust’. Read more

GDC’s failure to meet all standards of good regulation ‘not good enough’

Calls have been made for the General Dental Council (GDC) to take action to reduce the amount of time taken to process fitness to practise decisions. This comes as a report shows the regulator failed to meet standards for timeliness in both fitness to practise cases and registration processing. Read more