8 May 2013

Three month countdown to end of CPD cycle deadline

On 31 July this year around 40,000 dental care professionals will reach the end of their first five year cycle of continuing professional development (CPD).

Bythat date they must have completed 150 hours of CPD. This is a legal requirement and registrants will have until 28 August 2013 to declare the hours that they have completed or risk losing their GDC registration.

Why is CPD so important?

The purpose of CPD is to provide high-quality care. It’s very important that the CPD registrants do takes into account the needs of their patients and is relevant to their practice.

CPD is study, training, courses, seminars, reading and other activities which advance the professional development of dental professionals.

Recording and submitting CPD

It is important that registrants keep their CPD records up-to-date and safe, as theymay be asked to submit proof and to send in copies oftheir verifiable CPD certificates. Similarly, CPD records must be kept for a minimum of five years after the end of the cycle in which they were completed, as registrants may be selected for audit.

Anyone can download a recording form from the GDC website

Update your CPD online

Registrants can keep track of and submittheir CPD hours at any time using an eGDC account, but they should also keep a written record of all the CPD that they do.

What is eGDC?

eGDC is a self-service registrant website which allows dental professionals to manage their registration online. With an eGDC account they can pay their annual retention fee, change their contact details and submit their CPD. Registrants can set up or access their eGDC account by going to our website at

Setting up an eGDC account is simple and fast. To create an accountregistrants will need their ID verification code and registration number. They will find their ID verification code on recent letters the GDC has sent them, or they can request one when they sign up.

Ends

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Notes to editors:

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General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ

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