Dental Protection opposes Government proposal that could deprive dentists of the NHS Pension Scheme prior to a criminal conviction.

A Dental Protection survey of over 1,100 dentist members reveals that nearly eight out of ten (77%) of respondents admit that the fear of being sued has caused them stress or anxiety.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking views about indemnity cover for dentists and other healthcare professionals who are not covered by any existing or proposed state-backed scheme, via an open consultation which closes on 28 February.

Dental Protection urges dentists to pay their Annual Retention Fee (ARF) by 31 December to the General Dental Council (GDC) to avoid significant disruption to their practice and potential sanctions.

Dental Protection has successfully challenged the General Dental Council (GDC)’s decision in which the regulator tried to re-impose a warning on a dentist for a minor road traffic conviction.

New evidence shows that having an effective, in-house complaints process in place and displayed in the practice can help to avoid complaints from escalating into claims and prevent a complaint being made directly to the General Dental Council (GDC), say Dental Protection.

43% of the public believe there are now more marketing campaigns by ‘No Win No Fee’ firms compared to five years ago, according to a YouGov survey of 2000 people conducted on behalf of Dental Protection.

Dental Protection has successfully challenged the actions of Practitioner Services of NHS National Services Scotland in a Judicial Review over the recovery of alleged overpayments.

In its response to the Department of Health (DH) consultation on the future of professional regulation in healthcare, Dental Protection said change is long overdue - but warned against reform that would see the creation of a ‘super regulator’ or a similar large scale amalgamation which could result in a lack expertise and understanding of the distinct professions.

MPS welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s Oral Health Plan for Scotland. The consultation is wide ranging, and MPS confines its comments to a small number of questions pertinent to our role as a protection organisation serving dentists and other members of the dental team. Read the full response below.

Dental Protection welcomes this opportunity to respond and give its support to the General Dental Councils (GDC) proposals to remove registrants' addresses from the online register.

In November 2015, the GDC changed the rules on registration to ensure that all Dentists and Dental Care Professionals (DCPs) have a statutory requirement to maintain adequate and them appropriate indemnity when practising dentistry in the UK.