New implant training standards published

The document aims to provide a summary of the training that a reasonable dental practitioner carrying out safe implant dentistry in the United Kingdom should undertake, before embarking upon patient care in this discipline. 

The standards feature a number of changes from the last edition including: 
• The need to have awareness of the current GDC Standards for the Dental Team 2013. 
• The need to have adequate knowledge in the use of CBCT and compliance with IRMER.

• The need to ensure that training courses which are attended to acquire skills in implant dentistry are appropriately quality assured, and that there is adequate documentation available about the course, its contents and attendance. 
• A reminder of the need for all members of the team involved in implant dentistry to update their skills and knowledge in this field. 

Abhi Pal, vice dean at FGDP(UK), who led the working group that updated the standards, said: “This is an important document, both for dentists as consumers of implant training courses, and also for dentists who are providers of such training. Raising the standard of implant training courses will ensure that practitioners are skilled, knowledgeable and confident in their work, and patients are provided with safe and reliable treatments in this high profile and high cost dental discipline.” 

The standards are available to download at www.fgdp.org.uk as a part of the Open Standards Initiative.