Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

In the UK, after graduation, all dentists have the responsibility for continuing their professional education. It is the dentist’s responsibility to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date. This is a mandatory requirement for all dentists on the GDC register. The GDC requires each registrant to make an annual declaration of their CPD. Failure to record your CPD may result in your name being removed from the dental register. In addition to CPD every dentist is required to have a Personal Development Plan or PDP. You can maintain your CPD record via the GDC's eGDC facility.

CPD is measured over a five-year period. Dentists must complete a minimum of 100 hours of CPD over a five year cycle. A new requirement is that registrants cannot make a declaration of zero hours of CPD in two consecutive years.

Temporary registration

The requirement of CPD applies to all dentists who wish to stay in the register - even if you hold temporary registration.