Faculty of General Dental Practice
The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) (FGDP(UK)) is an independent UK professional body for general dental practitioners. It was established in 1992 as a faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is located in the College’s headquarters in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.
Membership of the FGDP(UK) is open to all dentists, dental surgeons and dental care professionals registered with the General Dental Council. It opened its membership to dental care professionals (DCPs) in 2005 and to students in years 4 or 5 of their Bachelor of Dental Surgery undergraduate degree in 2011.
Aims
The Faculty has stated aims of improving standards of patient care and to promote excellence in dentistry. The Faculty does this by developing and publishing standards and guidance for primary care dentistry.
The FGDP(UK) also provides the continuing professional development (CPD) and training needs of both dentists and dental care professionals working in primary care.
Education
The Faculty is involved in many educational aspects of dental care in general practice and primary dental care. It runs a programme of training courses and continuous professional development for the whole dental team.
The Faculty awards a number of post graduate qualifications:
- MJDF
- Postgraduate Diploma in Restorative Dentistry
- Postgraduate Diploma in Implant Dentistry
- Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Care Oral Surgery
- The Faculty offers a Fellowship programme which is recognised by the National Qualifications Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a 'level 7' higher education award (equivalent to a Master's Degree)
Books and publications
The Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) is the journal of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK). The Journal was launched on 4 October 2012, and replaced the previous publications 'Primary Dental Care', 'Team in Practice' and 'First-Hand'[1] Each quarterly issue focuses on a key topic in primary care dentistry combining research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles. Many standards in dentistry are set by the Faculty. Based on these standards, the FGDP(UK) publishes a range of standards books and guidance for UK dentistry. These publications are:
- ‘Standards in Dentistry’ (2018) is a collection of standards and guidelines for primary dental care.
- ‘Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography’ (2018) is the guideline publication on indications for radiographic investigation, covering treatment planning and monitoring, ionising radiation regulations and best practice.
- ‘Dementia-Friendly Dentistry’ (2017) enables dental professionals to understand dementia and its implications for dental practice, and adapt their patient management and clinical decisions accordingly.
- ‘Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping’ (2016) is a reference guide to record-keeping and examination, including history-taking, consent, confidentiality, data protection and more.
- ‘Antimicrobial Prescribing for General Dental Practitioners’ (2016) provides practical guidance on when to prescribe antimicrobials, what to prescribe, for how long and at what dosage.
- ‘Training Standards in Implant Dentistry’ (2016) summarises the training that should be undertaken to carry out implant dentistry safely, and the standards which should be met by training courses.
- ‘Key Skills in Primary Dental Care’ (2014) is an e-learning package providing guidance to the whole dental team, with a certificate of 7 hours of verifiable CPD upon completion.
- ‘An introduction to Research for Primary Dental Care’ (2011) This publication introduces the principles of research methodology, discusses the relevance of research to primary dental care, and provides an overview of the different stages in a research project.
- ‘Pathways in Practice’ (2003) is FGDP(UK)'s guide to being a General Dental Practitioner.
Awards and honours
The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) confers a range of awards and honours. These are conferred to individuals and in some instances organisations, that have made an impact on general dental practice and the dental profession.
- Honorary Fellowship
- Fellowship by Election
- Honorary Membership
- Dean’s Award
- Foundation Dentist Award
- Community Contribution Award
See also
- Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Faculty of Dental Surgery
- Primary Dental Journal
- Selection Criteria in Dental Radiography
References
- Farrell, Shelagh (2011). "The history of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)". Faculty Dental Journal. 2 (2): 91–93. doi:10.1308/204268511X12988968522317. ISSN 2042-6852.