Standards in dentistry

Standards in Dentistry is a comprehensive manual bringing together standards and guidelines for primary care dentistry.

Acting as a guide to personal or practice-based quality assessment, it is an indispensable compendium for the conscientious oral health professional, and sets out specific basic and aspirational standards covering:

  • consultation and diagnosis
  • making and receiving referrals
  • paediatric dentistry
  • orthodontics
  • management of acute pain
  • periodontics
  • direct (plastic), coronal and root surface restorations
  • indirect coronal restorations (crowns, bridges, onlays, veneers)
  • endodontics
  • removable partial dentures
  • complete dentures
  • oral medicine
  • minor oral surgery
  • implant dentistry
  • management of dental trauma

It also summarises almost 70 standards and guidelines publications by the FGDP(UK) and 30 other organisations relating to the above areas and to:

  • 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
  • staff training

Standards in Dentistry combines the functions of two previous FGDP(UK) publications, Self-Assessment Manual and Standards (SAMS) and Guidelines for Structure and Process in Dental Practice, and the first edition was edited by Kenneth Eaton and published in 2006.

The second edition, published in 2018, is the result of a complete revision to reflect the contemporary clinical, organisational and dento-legal contexts in which dentistry is now practised, as well as changes in the evidence base over the intervening years.

Standards in Dentistry is available in the following formats:

Further CGDent resources

PDJ Archive

  • When Less is More: Minimally invasive, Evidence-Based Treatments for Dentine Caries in Primary Teeth – The Hall Technique and Silver Diamine Fluoride by Waraf Al-Yaseen, Nassar Seifo, Shannu Bhatia, Nicola Innes (January 2022)
  • Orthodontics in Primary Care by Nairn Wilson (December 2016)
  • Complications in Endodontics by Bhavin Bhuva, Omar Ikram (November 2020)
  • An Evaluation of A Practice-Based Minor Oral Surgery Service by Thomas Anthony Dyer, Jessica Ga Lai Lau (October 2020)
  • Periodontal Disease: Its Impact on Restorative Dentistry by Shauna Culshaw (March 2017)

CGDent members can unlock these articles by using the ‘search’ function in the PDJ Archive – you will need to be logged in to the CGDent website.

CPD webinars, news & blogs

NHS Infection prevention and control conference 2022

Infection Prevention and Control – Learning from Covid-19 & AMR 26 & 27 April 2022, National Conference Centre, Birmingham This year, the NHS Infection Prevention and Control Conference takes place over two days and explored the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and the important issues of antimicrobial resistance and Gram-Negative bloodstream infections. Topics examined during the conference included outbreak management, improving hand hygiene (and auditing procedures), and decontamination/cleaning protocols.…

Managing traumatic dental injuries

Recorded webinar. Thursday 24 March 2022 This webinar is part of our ‘PDJ Live’ series, which examines topics covered in contemporary issues of the Primary Dental…

New PDJ online: Paediatric dentistry

The new edition of the Primary Dental Journal, Paediatric Dentistry, is now online. Guest edited by Dr Sanjeev Sood of King’s College London, this issue…

Face-to-face study days with colleagues again!

After the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, the College was delighted to be able to connect with dental colleagues…

Remember, remember, the aims of November

Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry, says action by dental teams to promote understanding of oral cancer, antimicrobial resistance and the perils…

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