The General Dental Council (GDC) has agreed changes to continuing professional development (CPD) which will come into force in 2018.

The changes include the requirement for each member of the dental team to have a personal development plan (PDP); changes to the number of hours of verifiable CPD dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) have to complete; and the end of the requirement to keep records of general (non-verifiable) CPD.

In the current CPD scheme, dentists are required to complete 250 hours of CPD over five years, of which 75 are verifiable. In the new scheme, known as Enhanced CPD or ECPD, they will be required to complete 100 hours of verifiable CPD in the five-year period.

In the current CPD scheme, DCPs are required to complete 150 hours of CPD over five years, of which 50 are verifiable. In the new scheme, dental hygienists, dental therapists, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists will be required to complete 75 hours of verifiable CPD over the five-year period, and dental nurses and dental technicians are required to complete 50 hours.

Dental professionals will also have to make an annual declaration of the amount of CPD activity they have completed.

The changes will happen in January 2018 for dentists and in August 2018 for DCPs.

The BDJ will continue to offer BDA members 48 hours of verifiable CPD a year. DCPs can complete ten free hours of verifiable CPD a year through reading BDJ Team.