21.1 INTRODUCTION

The General Dental Council (GDC) has stated that ‘A UK‐qualified dentist would not be expected to be competent to practice implant dentistry without undertaking structured postgraduate training and assessment of competence’ [1].

The Council supports the Training Standards in Implant Dentistry [2], published by the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK,) and expects the education providers and dentists who wish to practice implant dentistry to refer to these standards as the authoritative source of training standards for implant dentistry for dentists in the UK. The GDC also refers to the standards when assessing patient complaints against dentists who, allegedly, practice implant dentistry beyond the limits of their competence.

Before providing implant treatment a General dental practitioner (GDP) needs to:

• complete an academic course to attain the required core knowledge in implant dentistry as outlined in Training Standards in Implant Dentistry (2016) (B)
• develop clinical skills and competencies by treating patients under supervision (B)
• develop a learning portfolio (personal development plan [PDP]) and audit their results (B).

Training Standards in Implant Dentistry also states:

• ‘Treatment offered and undertaken must be evidence‐informed and patient‐centred. The dentist must use a contemporary decision‐making process to critically appraise new products and techniques before using them, and must ensure they follow current clinical consensus.’ (B)
• ‘Dentists should become competent in provision of straightforward implant treatment (SAC Classification) before progressing to more advanced/complex implant treatments.’

21.2 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The PDP is a tool to identify the development needs of the learner, to recognise methods to achieve these needs and goals, and finally to ensure that these requirements are achieved. It is a unique personal plan that forms the structure of continuing professional development. It should be broken into the following sections [3] (A):

• identifying both strengths and weaknesses
• analysis of existing practice
• supporting educational needs
• what learners need to do to achieve their goals
• PDP
• record of educational and clinical activity.