On 26 January the General Dental Council announced plans for how its approach to regulating dental professionals will be reformed to put public safety firmly at its heart.

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In a document entitled Shifting the balance: a better, fairer system of dental regulation the GDC said that it will:

  • Support and empower the profession through a range of education, learning and development activities

  • Support patients to feel confident their concerns are appropriately raised and resolved by the right body at the right time

  • Continue its commitment to work better with partners to improve the regulation of dentistry in the UK

  • Make it clear how and when it will use its formal Fitness to Practise enforcement powers to manage serious risk to patients.

Ian Brack, Chief Executive of the GDC, said: 'This is our most significant proposal in a generation and I encourage anyone involved with dental services to engage with our plans.

'We have made it clear from the outset that we cannot do this alone – the proposals require fundamentally better collaboration with others than we have achieved in the past.

'I am confident that our proposals can make the system better for patients and fairer for dental professionals and strengthen public confidence in dental services.'

To read the full document and to comment on the GDC's proposals, visit http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/consultations/Pages/Reforming-dental-professional-regulation.aspx. The discussion document closes on 26 April 2017.