GDC (General Dental Council)

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The General Dental Council, or GDC, is the British organisation that aims to regulate all dental professionals within the UK.  All dental professionals are registered through the GDC and have to be affiliated with them in order to practice within the UK.  It was first set up in 1959 as a means to promote high standards of care to the dental industry and has worked to ensure trust within the dental professions.  The main purposes or the GDC are:

• To ensure dental professionals are listed and registered to then promote high standards of dental care
• Promote a high standard of education to trainee dental professionals
• To continuously educate qualified professionals through regular news reporting
• To aid and guide patients who might need to make a complaint against a registered dental professional

The GDC is made of 24 members, supported by a collection of other employees, and these people are at the heart of ensuring that the GDC fulfills its roles. 

Reasons for using the GDC

You might want to check to make sure that your dentist is fully qualified within the UK.  The GDC supplies lists of their registered dental professionals, which you have direct access to over the Internet. 

It can also help if you are having difficulties finding a dentist or a dental professional for a specific reason or who perform specific treatments.

The efficiency of the GDC has been questioned over the years, but after its reorganisation in 2009 more information is available to you and more work is being done to regulate dental professionals.

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