Find out more about our new secure, online, interactive CPD management system - eWisdom - which will replace the current course booking system soon.

The Dental Department works in the following key areas:

Primary Care Dentistry
Secondary Care Dentistry

• Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
• Vocational Training (VT)
• Dental Care Professionals (DCP)

For information on posts currently recruiting please see the dental recruitment pages.

For information on DF1 (VT) Trainer posts, please click here.

Continuing Professional Development

The Continuing Professional Development team is responsible for the development and monitoring of continued professional development (CPD) for general dental practitioners (Dentists).

Over 400 courses are available across London at our 15 dedicated postgraduate centres. Each postgraduate centre runs an extensive programme of half-day, full-day and evening courses of which all are fully verified; please take a look at our new eWisdom website for your CPD needs.

Vocational Training (VT)

VT is carried out in specially appointed Training Practices. Experienced general dental practitioners who have an ability to teach and help new dentists are appointed as Trainers.  To apply to become a DF1 (VT) Trainer, please click here.  Once approved the VT trainees will become the Dental Practitioners you and your family visit.

Most dentists, after graduating, choose to work as general dental practitioners (GDPs). Dental practices can range in size from the one practitioner practice, with, perhaps, only one or two staff members to the multi-practitioner, sometimes multi-site practice, employing dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental technicians, receptionists and practice managers.

Secondary Care Dental Training

Opportunities exist in London for further postgraduate training as a Senior House Officer (SHO), Specialist Registrar (SpR) or as a Specialist Trainee in one of the Dental Mono-specialities.

Dental SHOs posts are available in the three dental teaching institutions (QMUL, KCLDI and Eastman) and many of London’s Oral and Maxillofacial Units. Recruitment is organised by the London Deanery and takes place twice a year, in the early Spring and Autumn. It commences with an advertisement in the British Dental Journal.

Opportunities exist in London for training in all of the Dental Specialities and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS). Recruitment takes place when vacancies arise. As with SHO posts; an advertisement is placed in the BDJ. Whilst the OMFS training programme continues to be organised by the Dental Deanery, it has now been designated a surgical speciality and recruitment to this speciality takes place through an online recruitment system.

Training posts in the Dental Mono-specialities (Endodontics, Periodontics and Prosthodontics) are not salaried. Recruitment is currently undertaken by the three dental institutions, usually at the beginning of the year for entry in the following September or October.

Dental Care Professionals

We are delighted to welcome the recent Deanery appointments of seven additional DCP Tutors who will each be based in a region of London.

Between us, we have a varied skill mix across each of the DCP groups and our main remit is to evaluate and develop local CPD courses which meet the training needs of the team. We will work with the established Dental Tutors, and local dental groups and organisations, as well as the dental team itself, to identify local training requirements and raise DCP awareness of how to access education opportunities. We will be available to all of the dental team for advice and guidance on training in general.

DCPs now have the opportunity to develop their practical skills at LonDEC (the London Dental Education Centre), a new state of the art hands-on training facility at Waterloo. Planned courses for this year include updates in periodontal skills for Therapists and Hygienists and training in extended duties such as fluoride application for Dental Nurses.

Our plans for the future include developing a Clinical Dental Technicians training programme and hands-on courses for Technicians. Our National Certificate in Dental Nursing courses provide training for unqualified staff and has expanded to eight centres across London this year. Feedback has shown us that this pre-qualification training serves to enhance the in-house training an unqualified Nurse receives in the development of safe working practices and therefore patient safety. We held a well-attended first DCP Conference in October 2009 and planning is underway for our second one in November 2010. Further information will be available on our website later this year.