Information for holders of Indian dental qualifications

Why join the College?

Membership of the College of General Dentistry marks you out from your peers and indicates your commitment to be the best you can be, to both patients and colleagues.

Our range of memberships recognise your experience, knowledge and skills as you develop through your career. You can join us at any point in your professional development (it’s never too early or too late) and your current academic and professional achievement indicates which membership is right for you. Once you’ve joined, you can upgrade your membership whenever your career progression makes you eligible.

We welcome members from around the world, and all members receive quarterly copies of the Primary Dental Journal by post, have free access to online learning and receive discounts on our study days and events.

In addition, Full Members (MCGDent), Associate Fellows (AssocFCGDent) and Fellows (FCGDent) may use College post-nominals and can benefit from discounted professional indemnity.

As members of our Fellowship Community, Associate Fellows and Fellows can also attend our biannual Fellows’ Receptions in London, where they may have their College status formally presented.

All members are allocated to a Faculty based on their team role, and can stand and vote in elections for their Role Representative on the College Council (there is no additional fee for Faculty membership).

Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows outside the UK can also stand and vote in elections for the Overseas Representative on the Council.

All members practising wholly outside the UK and not registered with the UK General Dental Council receive a discount of up to two-thirds on their annual membership fee.

Eligibility

If you are a dental professional regulated by the Dental Council of India (and/or a State Dental Council), or if you are registered with any other national dental regulator based on a BDS or any other licentiate dental qualification awarded in India, you are eligible to join the College as an Associate Member. Non-practising non-registrants or former registrants (e.g. academics and retired practitioners) may also join the College but will need to provide evidence of the relevant practice qualification for their role.

If you have previously been awarded the Membership of the Joint Dental Faculties (MJDF), Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS), Membership of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (MFGDP) or Diploma in General Dental Practice (DGDP) by any of the UK’s surgical Royal Colleges or their faculties of dental surgery, or a relevant Postgraduate Certificate which meets our eligibility criteria, you may join the College as a Full Member. We also accept India-awarded qualifications which are deemed to be equivalent to a UK-regulated 60-credit Level 7 Postgraduate Certificate. This is determined on a case-by-case basis, and applicants must provide a Statement of Comparability from the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills (UK ENIC). We may also require your award transcript.

Those who have been awarded the Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) by a higher education institution recognised by the Dental Council of India (DCI) fulfil the requirements of the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship, making them eligible to join our Fellowship Community as an Associate Fellow and to take a step towards full Fellowship.

A searchable register of recognised institutions in India is available on the homepage of the DCI website. Applicants are advised to search the full list for their institution rather than filtering for MDS courses; if the institution’s name cannot be found, they should provide a letter from the DCI stating its recognition of their institution and MDS speciality branch.

Those who have been awarded a relevant PhD in India meet the requirements of the Publications & Research domain, and are also able to join our Fellowship Community as an Associate Fellow and take a step towards full Fellowship.

Even if you do not hold an MDS or PhD, you will be eligible to join our Fellowship Community as an Associate Fellow if you meet the requirements of any ONE of our five Fellowship domains:

• Clinical & Technical
• Teaching & Assessment
• Leadership, Management & Clinical Governance
• Research & Publications
• Law & Ethics

You can apply for full Fellowship if you meet the requirements of any THREE domains.

You can explore the domains, and find out how to apply to join our Fellowship Community, by clicking the button below:

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