CPD and ARF cycles

10 February 2014
Volume 29 · Issue 10

More than six-and-a-half thousand dentists have now come to the end of their 2009-2013 continuing professional development (CPD) cycle. 

6,286 had made compliant declarations by midnight on January 28, 2014. The General Dental Council (GDC) will now be writing to the remaining 344 registrants requesting that they submit their CPD portfolios for assessment and to verify their compliance.

CPD is a legal requirement and registrants had until midnight on January 28, 2014 to declare the hours that they had completed or they risk losing their GDC registration.

In addition, more than 39,105 dentists have successfully completed their annual registration renewals process with the GDC.

The deadline for paying their annual retention fee (ARF) was December 31, 2013 and almost 61 per cent of Dentists chose to pay by Direct Debit and 20 per cent paid using our online registrant portal eGDC.

Anyone who failed to pay on time, but still wants to work as a dentist in the UK will now have to apply to restore to the register. Being registered with the GDC is a legal requirement for dentists working in the UK.

Dentists who didn’t pay on time and want to return to the register must:

Complete a form to apply for restoration;
Have a medical examination and provide a character reference;
Pay a fee of £696 plus an additional £84 per specialty title held;
Give evidence that they have completed the required amount of continuing professional development (CPD).

If they were practising overseas while off the Register, they must provide a certificate of good standing from the relevant authority of the country/state in which they last worked;
If they were working in the UK while their name was erased from the Register, they and their employer will need to explain the circumstances in a letter.  If this has occurred they are advised to contact their solicitor or defence organisation before submitting their application.

Patients, members of the public and employers can check whether someone is registered by using GDCs online register.