Faculty of General Dental Practice
The Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP(UK)) was formed in 1992 as the academic home for general dental practitioners in the United Kingdom. It opened its membership up to Dental Care Professionals (DCPs) in 2005, and now supports the whole dental team. As of December 2015 there are approximately 5000 members of the FGDP(UK). It is based at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Around 95% of the dental care in the UK is provided in the primary dental care setting. The FGDP(UK) looks after the continuing professional development (CPD) and training needs of both dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) working in this field. Membership of the FGDP(UK) is open to all dentists, dental surgeons and dental care professionals registered with the General Dental Council.
Aims
The Faculty has stated aims around improving standards of patient care and promote excellence in dentistry. It attempts to achieve this by leading, supporting and providing standards for all members of the primary care dental team throughout their careers in all matters relating to their clinical practice.
Education
The Faculty is involved in aspects of dental care in general practice and primary dental care centres in general, it runs courses for training and continuous development of dentist and dental professionals.
The Faculty awards post graduate qualifications in dentistry including MJDF. A two-year postgraduate diploma program in restorative dentistry, and a two-year postgraduate program in implant dentistry.
Books and Publications
The Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) is the journal of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK). Launched on 4 October 2012, the quarterly, themed professional development journal replaces previous publications Primary Dental Care, Team in Practice and First-Hand.[1] Each issue focuses on a key topic in primary care dentistry and offers a combination of research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles which allow the whole dental team to work together to improve standards of patient care. Many standards in dentistry are set by Faculty. Based on these standards, the FGDP(UK) publishes a range of Standards books for UK dentistry.
Professional Development for Dental Care Professionals (DCPs)
Professional Development for Dental Care Professionals (DCPs) was formerly known as Key Skills in Primary Care Assessment for DCPs, until it was relaunched in 2014 as a distance learning CPD programme in the skills identified as vital to the provision of a high level of patient care. DCPs present a portfolio of evidence reflecting on their own activities and working practices relating to each Key Skill. This programme carries up to 80 hours of CPD and subject areas covered include medical emergencies, infection control, radiography and dental materials.
Research
It is one of the aims of FGDP(UK) to improve the standard of patient care through research. To date, very little research has been performed in primary dental centres. To improve this situation FGDP(UK) has developed an infrastructure throughout the country to provide primary care dentists and their dental teams with local sources of advice on oral healthcare research. A network of Divisional Research Facilitators (DRFs) has been established throughout the UK.
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.
External links
Coordinates: 51°30′55″N 0°6′57″W / 51.51528°N 0.11583°W