Chair of BDA Principal Executive Committee Mick Armstrong has asked GDC Chair Bill Moyes to justify why a cash-strapped GDC paid for an irresponsible, inflammatory advert that appeared in the Daily Telegraph. Commenting, Dr Armstrong described the provocative advert was ‘yet another slap in the face for UK dentists’.  He said: ‘It demonstrates a lack of intention to properly engage with the profession and signals distrust and hostility.’

 

 

 

 

The BDA comments: ‘Instead of advising Telegraph readers to seek redress from the dental practice where they had been treated as a first port of call, the regulator’s advert encourages patients to complain directly to the GDC’s Dental Complaints Service (DCS) if they are not “completely satisfied” with their private dental care.’

 

The BDA believes the dental regulator has a duty to promote its services in a responsible manner, rather than adopting an advert that resembles those favoured by ambulance-chasing lawyers touting for business. In the BDA’s view, the ad also falls foul of the GDC’s own advertising guidance and risks misleading patients into believing that any complaint will be handled directly by the DCS.

 

Specifically, Dr Armstrong asked Mr Moyes what the GDC chair would describe as a successful outcome from taking out such an advert, whether similar ads are in the pipeline and how much has been set aside for this campaign.

 

Commenting on the advert, Dr Armstrong said: “The provocative advert that appeared in the Telegraph is yet another slap in the face for UK dentists.  It demonstrates a lack of intention to properly engage with the profession and signals distrust and hostility. Having saddled the profession with potentially a huge financial burden – by asking dentists to pay up to 64 per cent in the annual retention fee from January – to fund the GDC’s operations, it is once again showing its lack of judgement in how it spends our money. The GDC can’t properly deal with the workload it has.  To expend resources on costly self-justifying publicity stunts is an absolute disgrace. How can the GDC chair possibly believe that this antagonistic approach is in the best interest of the profession, patients and the GDC?”

 

Denplan has also complained to the Chair of the GDC following the publication of the advertisement in the Daily Telegraph inviting private dental patients to report to the profession’s regulator if they are “not completely happy” with their care.