News

The General Dental Council (GDC) is seeking dental professionals to join its independent Fitness to Practise Panel. Members of the panel are responsible for hearing cases where a dental professional's fitness for registration has been called into question by their conduct, health or professional performance. Membership of the Fitness to Practise Panel is drawn from an independent pool of dental professionals, as well as lay people. The panel is undertaking a broader range of hearings, and needs more dental professional members to meet this increasing demand. Applications are invited from all GDC-registrant groups (dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental nurses, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists). Applicants do not need to be registered with the GDC when they apply, however they must be registered by 1 June 2007 to proceed with their application. New members will be selected through an interview process. Successful candidates will receive training to enable them to work on the panel. Application packs will be available on the GDC website at www.gdc-uk.org and from the Hearings Department on 020 7887 3821, or by email at hearings@gdc-uk.org Forms will be available from 8 January 2007. All completed application forms must be received by Monday 26 March 2007.

The AGM of the Society on 22nd September 2006 confirmed proposals previously approved by Council to modify some of the existing society awards. These changes have been made and are available to see on the website Awards pages.

We are currently requesting cases for the Case Studies page. We are particularly interested in gaining the following kind of cases: 1. GTR cases 2. Surgical crown lengthening cases 3. Management of Aggressive Periodontology cases. For more information please see the Case Studies page. There is a £100 honorarium for every case placed on the website.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England are running an introductory course on Implant treatment on Friday the 15th June 2007 entitled "Dental Implants for All: How, When and Where?" This study day will attract 5 CPD points. Details are available here

The General Dental Council (GDC) is calling for views on its compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) scheme for dental care professionals (DCPs), which it proposes to introduce in July 2008.

In the case studies section of the website you will find the latest case study entitled "Periodontal Regeneration with Emdogain" by Dr Luigi Nibali.

If you fancy combining a bit of Perio and the sunshine why not consider attending the Turkish Society of Periodontology meeting in May of next year. Details are available here.

The Society will only be willing to accept ACCEA self nominations for Society support up to and including 3rd January 2007.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is calling for views on the shape of its Council following the introduction of statutory registration for dental nurses, technicians and other dental care professionals (DCPs). The constitution of the Council was last reformed in 2001 to make the Council more strategic, open, accountable and responsive. The Council currently has 29 members. 15 are dentists, four are dental hygienists and/or therapists and 10 are members of the public. Members hold office for five years and can apply for election (dental professional members) or appointment (lay members) as many times as they wish. In March 2006 the GDC set up a review group to consider how the constitution of the Council should change. This would take account of significant changes, including the fact that dentists would no longer be the largest group of registrants. The group has proposed an amended constitution for the Council and is now asking for the views of the public, dental professionals, Government, healthcare providers and others on three key areas. Should all Council members be appointed? The dental professional members of the Council are currently elected by other registered dental professionals. The review group recommends that all members of Council should be appointed by the Appointments Commission. An appointments system for all categories of member will help ensure the Council has the best possible range of skills to carry out its business and will also help to clarify that the role of dental professional members in the Council is not to represent those who voted for them. Does the President of the GDC need to be a dentist? Under the current constitution the President is elected by the Council but must be one of the dentist members. The review group recommends that in the future the Council can elect any of its members to be President. How should the composition of Council be made up in the future? The Dentists Act requires the dentist members of Council to have a majority of one over the other members. Currently there are 15 dentist members, 10 lay members, and four DCPs. By 2008, when registration for all DCP groups will be compulsory, it is unlikely that dentists will still be the largest group of registrants. Therefore the group has asked several questions to try to ensure a fair way forward. The review group recommends that as the GDC is a professionally-led organisation, the registrant members on Council should be in the majority. GDC President Hew Mathewson said: "The GDC is keen to ensure that the views of all dental professionals are taken into consideration when setting the strategic direction of the GDC and overseeing the planned work programme. "I encourage all interested parties to visit our website for details of the consultation and to share their views, and any concerns, with us." The consultation document is available on this website: http://www.gdc-uk.org/News+publications+and+events/Consultations/Current+consultations/A+consultation+paper+with+proposals+for+a+new+constitution.htm The closing date for responses is 18 January 2007.