GDC WARNS GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS ON IMPLANTOLOGY (BDJ Vol.204 No.8 April 26-2008)
General dental practitioners should not practice implantology without further training, the General Dental Council has warned. In the light of concerns with the GDC about the practice of implant dentistry by general dental practitioners, the Council warns that dentists who carry out work for which they are not trained put their registration at risk. A UK-qualified general dental practitioner will not be competent to carry OUT implant dentistry without further training, the statement says.
The GDC’s guidance on the required learning outcomes of undergraduate education for dentists’ states that dental students should ‘be familiar with dental implants as an option in replacing missing teeth’. A UK-qualified dentist would not be expected to be competent to practise implant dentistry without undertaking structured postgraduate training and assessment of competence. It supports the requirements set out in Training standardsimplant in dentistry for general practitioners, produced by a GDC working group in 2005. This document says GDPs should complete a course in implant dentistry and undergo mentoring until the experienced implant clinician considers the practitioner to be competent. It also recommends that all GDPs should keep a detailed portfolio of their training, their mentoring and an audited record of the implants they have placed. Such portfolios of activity could he used in any dispute to whether they were competent in implant dentistry, including complaints to the GDC the document concludes.
The GDC is considering whether further measures are required to regulate dentists practice in skills significantly beyond those acquired in their primary qualification for registration. This month’s guidance is an interim statement. CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Click here to see the General Dental Council report on visit to GIFT centres.