Latest updates from the General Dental Council
News and Updates
View from the Chair
Dr Helen Phillips talks about Council’s decisions in October, including being acutely aware of the impact on the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) on dental professionals. The Chair explains the need to bring income and costs back into balance and changes that Council agreed to the reserves target.
You can read about the Reserves Policy on the website, which includes an example of the relationship between reserves and the ARF GDC reserves policy.
Read the Chair’s reflections on Council’s decisions and her first month as Chair.
GDC announces Annual Retention Fee for 2026
The Council has agreed the GDC’s strategy for the next three years, the strategic priorities and the funding required to deliver these. In turn, this decision has set the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for 2026 at £698 for dentists and £108 for dental care professionals (DCPs).
The strategy is due to be published by the end of the year.
Following the announcement Tom Whiting, Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC, said:
“Our vision is to be a trusted and effective regulator, supporting dental professionals to provide safe and effective care for their patients. We have a clear delivery plan to achieve our strategic ambitions and remain committed to protecting the public and maintaining public confidence in the dental professions.
We will provide transparency about the work we do to deliver our strategic ambitions and will measure and report on our progress. Council has approved the investment needed to achieve this transformation whilst considering affordability for dental professionals."
The GDC will adjust the ARF as needed from 2027 onwards. Other than in exceptional circumstances, any increase will not exceed the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)”.
Find out more about the ARF decision and plans for 2026.
Scope of Practice guidance comes into effect
The revised Scope of Practice guidance came into effect on 1 November. The revised guidance has not changed the scope of practice for any of the seven dental professional titles. Rather, it provides greater clarity on existing title boundaries. The guidance will better support dental professionals to use their professional judgement within these boundaries for the benefit of patients.
We remind dental professionals that you must be trained, competent and covered by indemnity or insurance before carrying out any task that falls within your professional title’s scope.
You can find the revised guidance on our website.
Preferred bidder for ORE confirmed
We have reached the final stages of procuring a new contract to deliver the Overseas Registration Exams (ORE). After a competitive exercise, the preferred bidder to provide both Part 1 and Part 2 of the exams is UCL Consultants Ltd (UCLC).
Once the contract is finalised, the new arrangements will ensure the continued delivery of the ORE and we expect that the contract could more than double the number of dentists joining the register via the ORE route.
For more information: Preferred bidder for Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) confirmed
New working patterns data published for dental care professionals (DCPs)
We have published our latest working patterns data for DCPs, providing valuable insights into how over 56,000 of these valuable members of the dental team work across the UK. The responses we’ve collected represent 63,968 professional titles (70% of all registered titles), and the insight will help to improve the sector's understanding of how dental professionals work and inform discussions about future workforce resource planning.
Find out more on our website and in the summary document we published alongside the data.
Information and guidance
Revised Scope of Practice guidance
Supporting the dental team - a guide for managers and employers
Useful links