Provisional registration for overseas-qualified dentists

The deadline for this consultation has been extended to 11:59pm on Sunday 19 May 2024 owing to the online survey being closed in error for a short period.

This consultation seeks views on The Dentists Act 1984 (Provisional Registration of Dentists) (Amendment) Order 2024 (‘the draft order’) that aims to give the General Dental Council (GDC) the necessary powers and duties to provisionally register dentists who have qualified overseas and have not yet satisfied the GDC’s requirements for full registration.

Provisional registration would allow an overseas-qualified dentist to practise in any dental setting, including high street dental practices, under the supervision of a dentist who has full registration on GDC’s dentists register.

In line with wider reform of the regulation of health and care professionals in the UK, the draft order has been prepared to outline a high-level framework for the introduction of a system of provisional registration for overseas-qualified dentists.

GDC will be given the powers and autonomy to use their expertise and judgement to set out in rules the specific details of how this new register will operate. GDC will have a duty to carry out a consultation on all rules it wishes to make and has an existing overarching objective to protect the public.