College of General Dentistry News

Trustees sought

Help us create a new Royal College for dentistry

Closing date 30 June 2019

Trustees are being sought for the new College of General Dentistry, which is currently being established with a vision to cultivate excellence in oral healthcare.

We will achieve this by fostering a strong and trusted professional community of practice, serving patients and public.  We will establish evidence-based guidance and standards for dentistry, and foster higher quality practice through education and training, career development and lifelong learning for dental professionals. Our work will build on the achievements of FGDP(UK), which is planned to transfer to the new College.

We aim to pursue a Royal Charter, elevating the standing of general dentistry alongside its medical professional peers.

This is consequently an exciting time for talented dentists to join us. You will help us to establish and shape the development of the new College – reflecting the interests of a diverse and dynamic profession. These are significant roles at a critical moment in developing the new College, and a momentous time for the Faculty and the wider profession.

We need dentist trustees to contribute to the development of the values of the organisation, demonstrating high standards of behaviour and attitude, reflecting the inclusive professionalism that we seek to embody. You will also be expected to contribute to effective custodianship of the organisation and have the ability to contribute effectively to the delivery of our ambitions, both as critical friend and, in the early stages of development, and as an active contributor to the task ahead. That might involve being an advocate for the new College in a variety of dental fora, advising on the development of the clinical quality to which we aspire, and shaping our thinking on the opportunities ahead.

We also need people who are commercially-minded, recognising the business imperatives that stand behind the delivery of our overall mission in the patient and public interest. We seek effective influencers, people able to coach, guide and support; people who will enable the College to build a strong position in an established professional and political environment.

We are particularly interested in attracting people who can help us to engage widely within the profession, amongst dentists at all stages of their career, and with a wide range of backgrounds and aspirations. The proportion of women and BAME dentists on the Register is growing and we want our trustee body to be truly inclusive and reflective of our community. We therefore welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and a wide range of perspectives.

A profile for the role of Dental Trustee is available here.

Applications (by CV and covering letter, which should address the requirements described in the role profile, citing two references) must be received by 30 June 2019, addressed to [email protected]. Prospective candidates are advised that interviews are planned to be held in early July in London. To be eligible, you must be a Full Member or Fellow of FGDP(UK) at the time of appointment. If you would like to know more, please contact Simon Thornton-Wood, Director of FGDP via [email protected] for a confidential discussion and guidance on the application process. Please note that this is a re-advertisement and earlier applicants need not reapply.

College of General Dentistry News

FGDP(UK) publishes revised Standards in Dentistry

The Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP(UK)) has published the second edition of Standards in Dentistry, its flagship publication for general dental practitioners and their teams which acts as a guide to personal or practice-based quality assessment.

A comprehensive compendium of guidance and standards relevant to primary dental care, it sets out specific standards covering consultation and diagnosis, paediatric dentistry, orthodontics, management of acute pain, periodontics, endodontics, removable partial dentures, complete dentures, minor oral surgery, implant dentistry, management of dental trauma, direct, coronal and root surface restorations and indirect coronal restorations.

It also summarises almost 70 standards and guidelines publications by the Faculty and 30 other organisations, encompassing emergency dental care, examination and record-keeping, infection prevention and control, medical emergencies, medications management, oral health, pathology, patient information, practice management, prevention, radiography, restorative dentistry, risk management and communication, sedation, special care dentistry and staff training.

The development of the second edition was carried out by Professor David Moles and his colleagues at Peninsula Dental School, Ewen McColl, Christopher Tredwin, Robert Witton and Lorna Burns, and its publication follows consultation with a wide range of national dental bodies. Professor Moles and his team have fully revised and updated Standards in Dentistry to reflect the contemporary clinical, organisational and dento-legal contexts in which dentistry is practised, as well as changes in the evidence base since the first edition was published in 2006.

The standards in the new edition are focussed on practitioner processes rather than treatment outcomes, descriptions of the ‘unacceptable’ have been dispensed with, and the book adopts the Faculty’s ‘ABC’ (Aspirational, Basic, Conditional) notation for the grading of recommendations. Standards for making and receiving referrals, and for oral medicine, are also included for the first time, and the book includes a section on keeping up-to-date with changing guidelines and standards over time.

Celebrating the publication of the new edition, Ian Mills, Dean of FGDP(UK), said:

“The Faculty’s core function is to raise the standards of care delivered to patients, and the provision of guidance and standards by dentists, for dentists, is central to this. On behalf of the FGDP(UK), I would like to thank David Moles and his colleagues for their tireless dedication in compiling the second edition of Standards in Dentistry. It is an indispensable reference guide which will assist the whole dental team in identifying appropriate standards for the delivery of high quality care.”

Professor David Moles FFGDP(UK), Editor of Standards in Dentistry, added:

“The team at Peninsula Dental School are honoured to have been offered the opportunity by the FGDP to undertake a comprehensive update of the standards. We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations that have generously given their time and expertise to comment on the drafts of the second edition. In some cases we have had to resolve strongly-held but contradictory views held by peer-reviewers. This is an indication of the extent to which members of our profession care passionately about the standards of care we all endeavour to provide, and it also illustrates the subjective nature of clinical practice. Whilst the evidence base for primary care dentistry is constantly improving, it is clear that much remains almost as much an art as a science.”

To mark the publication of Standards in Dentistry, the Faculty is distributing copies to all its members, and new members who join this year will be sent a copy with their welcome pack. Non-members can buy it for £44.99 from the FGDP website, and until the end of 2018 FGDP is also offering a 25% discount on its complete set of five guidance publications, which also includes Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography, Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping, Antimicrobial Prescribing for General Dental Practitioners and Dementia-Friendly Dentistry.