Dental Technicians - FAQ

Following General Dental Council statutory registration on 30th July 2008, there are two reasons why you might require professional protection:

1. Professional indemnity cover, which would provide you with a mechanism for patient protection
2. Cover for legal expenses, in case you are called to a GDC disciplinary hearing, which can include a Fitness to Practise hearing

The purpose of registration is to protect patients – both by improving standards and by providing legal recourse for patients in the event of injury, damages or wrongful acts by professionals. Such problems might occur because of:

• You having direct patient contact (e.g. shade-taking or similar intra-oral processes)
• You giving advice ( e.g. involvement in treatment planning)
• Libel/slander
• Loss of personal data

Each registrant has a professional responsibility to evaluate and understand the risks of litigation they may face, and then ensure that they have put appropriate arrangements in place. So you would need to be 100% sure that there will never be any prospect of a patient pursuing you personally for a claim. This is a risk assessment that only you as the dental technician can make (See note 1).

The GDC’s priority is that if a patient suffers damage, they should be able to recover any money due to them. This would take the form of compensation if their claim is successful. Many registered dental technicians value the reassurance of knowing that assistance is likely to be available if they need support during GDC proceedings, but that is their choice.

Even if you do not take out professional indemnity cover, it may be advisable for you to arrange cover for legal expenses, in case you need to attend a GDC disciplinary hearing, including a Fitness to Practise hearing.

This could occur due to an allegation of a contravention of the Standards for Dental Professionals or due to an allegation of the reasons for impairment as cited in section 36N of the Dentists Act 1984 (misconduct, deficient professional performance, adverse physical or mental health, etc).

Yes -  here are some of the GDC’s other recommendations:

• Indemnity cover is required unless you can guarantee that there is no prospect of a patient pursuing you for a claim
• It is the professional responsibility of the individual to evaluate and understand the litigation risks they face (see note 2)
• 'Insurance only' indemnity cover is an acceptable alternative to provision available through the Defence Unions, so long as the cover is equivalent (currently £0.5m)
• If you are employed, the GDC advises you to ensure your employer’s policy is in operation and has sufficient limits of cover