Elections are held each year for several seats on the college’s council. In 2024, four role-based seats will be elected for the first time, one each representing dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental nurses, orthodontic therapists, dental technicians, and clinical dental technicians.
Those elected will serve three-year terms starting in June 2024, during which they will help to shape the college’s development, have the opportunity to be involved in areas such as careers, policy and standards, and be eligible to vote and stand in the annual election of two vice presidents of the college.
The elections, which are the latest step in a journey to build a Royal College for the general dental team, are taking place twenty years after the college’s predecessor organisation, the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP), began admitting dental care professionals (DCPs) into affiliate membership.
However, affiliate members—a category distinct from the associate membership and higher grades of membership then available only to dentists—could not progress in membership, stand for elected office, or vote in elections, and their board representative did not carry a vote.
When the FGDP transferred into the College, CGDent became the first organisation of its type to allow all qualifying dental professionals to become substantive members. In 2021, full membership and associate fellowship were opened to all team roles, followed by fellowship in 2022.
For those without postgraduate qualifications, associate membership of the college is also now available equally to all registered dental professionals, with affiliate membership open to non-clinical team members such as practice managers.
At the same time as these changes were made, three additional seats were created on the College Council, all with voting rights, to ensure fuller representation of all registrant roles. These seats have been appointed during the early years of the college's existence, but in becoming elected will further improve the standing of DCPs.
The franchise for the role-based seats has also been expanded to include associate members, enabling a greater number of DCPs and younger dentists to participate in council elections, many for the first time.
In addition to the role-based seats, dental professionals from across the clinical team who are Full Members may stand in any of the eight regional seats for which elections are also being held this year: Central London, Mersey and the North West, North East and North West Thames, the South West, Trent and East Anglia, Wales, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Northern.
Nominations open on March 15 and April 15, 2024. Dental professionals wishing to stand for election must be members of the college.
Those who are not already members are advised to apply for membership by the end of March 2024 so that the process can be completed in time.
For more information visit https://cgdent.uk/2024/02/15/notice-of-elections/