CPD comes up every year at renewal time and yet it still causes confusion for a lot of dental nurses. How many hours do you need? What counts as verifiable? What topics do you have to cover? And what actually happens if you do not keep up?
This post covers everything you need to know, taken directly from GDC guidance.
The GDC defines CPD in law as “learning, training or other developmental activities which can reasonably be expected to maintain and develop a person’s practice as a dentist or dental care professional, and is relevant to the person’s field of practice.”
In plain terms it is any activity that keeps your knowledge and skills up to date and is relevant to the work you actually do. The GDC requires it as a condition of registration because keeping up to date is how you continue to provide safe, appropriate care to your patients.
Dental nurses must complete a minimum of 50 hours of verifiable CPD in each five year cycle.
This is lower than some other registrant groups. For comparison, dentists need 100 hours and dental hygienists, therapists and orthodontic therapists need 75 hours each.
The GDC is clear that the minimum is not designed to drive your planning. You should plan activity around your actual learning and maintenance needs, and for many dental nurses this will go beyond the minimum.
All hours you submit to the GDC must be verifiable. The GDC stopped accepting non-verifiable CPD declarations, so everything you declare needs to meet the verifiable criteria.
To count as verifiable, CPD must:
The evidence you collect must match the hours you declare in your annual statement. If the GDC selects you for random sampling, you will need to produce this evidence, so keeping records carefully throughout the cycle matters.
CPD is more beneficial when spread throughout the cycle rather than completed in a rush at the end. The GDC requires you to do at least 10 hours of CPD for every two consecutive CPD years. You must not declare two consecutive years of zero CPD.
You can have more than one zero hours year in a five year cycle as long as you meet the 10 hours every two years requirement.
The CPD year for dental care professionals runs from 1 August to 31 July each year.
The GDC recommends certain CPD topics that it considers relevant to most dental professionals. These are recommendations, not mandatory requirements, but regularly refreshing knowledge in these areas contributes to patient safety and professional performance.
The recommended topics and suggested hours are:
These are not mandatory minimums. They are the GDC’s way of flagging topics it considers especially important for patient safety across the dental team.
A complete CPD record for the GDC must include:
A personal development plan (PDP) – created at the start of your cycle, identifying your learning needs, the CPD you plan to undertake, the development outcomes it links to, and the timeframes you expect to complete it in. You should review this annually.
A log of completed activity – recording the title and description of each activity, the date it was undertaken, and the number of hours as shown on your evidence.
Documentary evidence – a certificate or mapping document from the CPD provider for every activity you declare.
You must keep these records for five years after your CPD cycle ends. The GDC may ask to see them as part of random sampling or during a fitness to practise investigation.
Every CPD activity you record must link to at least one of the GDC’s development outcomes. These outcomes are:
When you choose a CPD activity, think about which of these outcomes it maps to. This is also what CPD providers should be showing on their certificates.
Each year you must make an annual CPD statement through your eGDC account. You are declaring:
You can update your statement at any point in the year. At the end of your five year cycle you must also submit an end of cycle statement confirming you have met the requirements.
If you do not make your annual statement or meet the requirements, you may be putting your registration at risk.
If you are in the final year of your cycle and have exceptional circumstances that have prevented you from completing your hours, you can apply to the GDC for a grace period. This can only be requested in the last six months of your cycle and gives you an additional 56 days to complete your CPD. It is not automatic and requires an application with an explanation.
Yes. Completing a structured fluoride varnish course counts as verifiable CPD, provided the provider meets the GDC’s verifiable criteria and issues a certificate confirming the development outcomes covered.
Our Fluoride Varnish Application Course records 10 hours of verifiable CPD against GDC development outcomes C and D. That is 10 hours of your 50 hour requirement covered in one structured qualification, while also demonstrating the competence you need to take on fluoride varnish as an extended duty. For more on what that means in practice, read our post on GDC scope of practice for dental nurses.
Fluoride varnish is just one of many post-registration qualifications that count towards your CPD. Explore the full range of courses at Dental Nurse Training.
Everything in this post comes directly from GDC guidance. You can read the full CPD guidance for dental professionals at:
GDC CPD guidance for professionals
Dental Nurse Training offers a full range of GDC-recognised courses and qualifications, from the Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing through to post-registration qualifications in fluoride varnish application, radiography, oral health education and beyond.
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