In May, the General Dental Council (GDC) committed itself to developing a system of revalidation (www.gdc-uk.org/news). The system will require all GDC registrants to regularly demonstrate that they remain fit for continuing registration, and worthy of their patients' trust. This development will require careful debate, consultation, changes to existing legislation and effective communication in implementation but we can be confident that, within a few years, a system will be in place to 'quality assure' all registered dental professionals.
In the past, registers of professionals have been based upon an outdated assumption that, once qualified, a professional can be assumed to be fit for registration indefinitely, unless adverse evidence is received. A whole series of cultural and scientific changes has made this model unsuited to 21st century regulation: the continuing growth in scientific knowledge, dental technology and treatment options, the democratisation of the clinician/patient relationship, developments in human rights, and a series of high-profile cases demonstrating both the fallibility of professionals and the inadequacies of current systems to identify and rectify problems at an early stage. In the face of such changes, the reform of registration is inevitable. Revalidation may be considered, therefore, to be a much-needed, somewhat overdue, step-up from the traditional approach to registration, and a logical continuation of the GDC's reform programme. For all but a tiny minority of the dental team, it will be a demonstration of sustained fitness for registration and a justification of the relationship of trust and respect between patients and members of their dental team.
