Time to start thinking about CPD

CPD is a vital part of demonstrating your commitment to professionalism. It ensures confidence in your practice, knowing that you are providing the highest quality care for your patients, and it allows you to stay up-to-date with the latest developments, technologies and treatments.

We also know that good employers are increasingly looking for dental professionals who are committed to their professional development and who have a wide range of skills and knowledge that will benefit their practice or laboratory. And undertaking the right CPD can help you progress your career and take on more senior roles.

That's why the GDC places such importance on the completion of your CPD.

As you know, CPD is a compulsory part of being a registered dental professional and not meeting your minimum CPD requirements can put your ability to practise at risk.

We understand that finding the time for CPD is hard. You may have demanding work schedules or not have the help or support from your employer to develop a meaningful personal development plan or complete your CPD. You may also have family commitments or other obligations to attend to that mean completing your required CPD is a real challenge.

That said, most dental technicians are meeting their professional responsibilities when it comes to CPD. However, the number of those not meeting the minimum requirements has increased in recent years, and the GDC is concerned that if this continues there will be an increase in the numbers of dental technicians who fail to meet their CPD requirement.

What do dental technicians need to do each year?

As a registered dental technician there are several things you need to do each year to maintain your registration:

• Make your annual CPD declaration: You need to complete at least 10 hours of CPD in each two-year period. And as a dental technician you need to complete at least 50 hours of verifiable CPD during each five year CPD cycle.
• Keep a personal development plan: As well as completing any required CPD, you will also need to maintain a personal development plan, which you can use to inform your CPD priorities
• Pay your annual retention fee of £114: You need to do this before the deadline of 31 July.
• Make your indemnity declaration: You must have appropriate indemnity arrangements in place so that if things do go wrong, patients are protected and can claim any compensation to which they may be entitled.

There may be some years when you are unable to complete any CPD. That's fine, but you need to remember to complete a zero-hours CPD statement when you are doing your annual renewal.Don't forget, you must make an annual CPD statement every year, and complete at least 10 hours CPD during any two-year period of your cycle. This is really important as failure to do this will mean that you are removed from the register, and you will have to make an application to restore to the register to be able to continue to work as a dental technician.

But remember, you can make your CPD declaration at any time throughout the year. You can check how much CPD you need to complete this year by accessing your online account on eGDC.

In your final year and need a bit more time?

The number of dental technicians who are in the final year of their five-year CPD cycle in the 2023 ARF period is significantly higher than other years and includes everyone who came on to the GDC register when they first started registering DCPs.

So please check now if you are in the final year of your cycle. And if you are in the final year of cycle and need a little more time to complete your required CPD hours, you can apply for a grace period. This will give you an additional 8 weeks (56 days) to complete any outstanding CPD. You can apply for this in the CPD section of your eGDc account.

However, you need to apply for this grace period by 31 July.

Don't get left behind

Remember, if you don't complete your required CPD, including at least 10 hours during any two-year period, you could lose your registration and your ability to practise in the UK.

This is something nobody wants, and it can have serious consequences for the individuals and their teams, as even if removal from the register is avoided, there could be associated stress, administration and potential costs to become compliant in a short period of time. This can all be avoided by keeping on top of that CPD planning.

So don't let yourself, or your dental team, down - get your CPD done and submitted on time.

If you need additional support or have any questions, please get in touch with the GDC now, rather than waiting until renewal.

What to do next...

Don't get caught out, as failure to comply with the GDC's CPD requirements can have serious consequences!

• Make sure you know what CPD you need to complete this year before your renewal in July, by checking on eGDC.
• If you are unsure of your CPD requirements you can check these on the GDC website: www.gdc-uk.org/education-cpd/cpd