The titles ‘dental nurse’, ‘dental surgery assistant’, ‘dental technician’ and ‘dental technologist’ are protected by law. So if you’re not registered with the GDC and you use one of these titles, or any other title which misleadingly implies that you are, you risk prosecution in a criminal court. But that doesn’t mean that an unregistered person can just use a different job title and continue to do the work of a dental nurse or dental technician – at least, not without risking the registration of whoever is employing them. Unregistered dental nurses and dental technicians are effectively outlawed by GDC standards which make it clear that registrants – professionals who are literally signed up to the high standards set in the UK for their profession – must employ and work with appropriately registered people.

If a registered dentist or dental technician employs someone to work as a dental nurse or dental technician they have a duty to ensure that that person is registered or in training. If they don’t, they risk losing their own registration. An unregistered dental nurse or dental technician is therefore a contradiction in terms. If they do find someone who is prepared to employ them as a dental nurse or dental technician, that person could in turn find their own livelihood at risk as a result of GDC fitness to practise proceedings. The bottom line is, dental nurses and dental technicians need to be registered or in training.

Transitional arrangements that were in place for two years – allowing existing dental nurses and dental technicians to register on the basis of experience – are now closed, so that persons working as dental nurses and dental technicians can no longer apply for registration on that basis.

The GDC has also clarified the position over what is meant by ‘in training’; to visit its website click here.