Will the sky fall in?

The OFT must be like the elephant, in that they clearly never forget. It first raised the issue of patients having direct access to dental therapists and hygienists back in 2003, and in its 2012 report made plain its displeasure that the General Dental Council had failed to implement reform and had provided no compelling explanation for not doing so. The British Dental Association response to the 2012 OFT report was that it (the OFT) did not understand that dentistry is a healthcare service rather than a simple commodity. So it’s interesting to consider why the GDC seemed so suddenly to have realised that direct access was actually a good thing, and so good, that it should become acceptable from May this year.

The prime function of the GDC is to protect public safety via the registration of those working in dentistry. In terms of direct access, there are clear divisions of opinion not just within the UK, but in other countries across the world. Some allow it and others do not. The British Association of Dental Therapists have been campaigning for many years for this change, and are clearly delighted and feel the GDC did a good job in scrutinising the evidence that the public will not be at risk.