GDC publishes new strategy aimed at building trust
Regulator undertakes to support professionalism, enable learning and resolve issues quickly and proportionately.
The General Dental Council (GDC) today published its new strategy 2026-2028, committing to significant change and improvement over the next three years.
The GDC’s vision is to be a trusted and effective regulator, supporting dental professionals to provide safe and effective care for their patients. To do this, the regulator said it will champion a model of regulation that supports professionalism, enables learning and resolves issues quickly and proportionately.
Central to the new approach is a commitment to tackling the climate of fear in dentistry. The GDC recognises that fear of fitness to practise proceedings can impact dental professionals’ mental health and wellbeing; ultimately impacting patient access and care.
Tom Whiting, Chief Executive and Registrar at the GDC, said: “We want to regulate in a way that promotes learning over fear – supporting the dental team to demonstrate professionalism. We want to provide regulation that fits the times we’re in, anticipates future changes, and tackles shared challenges.
“We want people to feel that we are easy to deal with, approachable and ready to listen and support. We will be transparent about our progress and performance, reporting regularly and keeping an open dialogue about what we are doing to build trust and effectiveness.”
A key aspect of the new strategy is to build an organisation that acts in line with the GDC’s values – respectful, transparent, inclusive and purposeful. The strategy responds to real challenges facing dentistry including the strain on dental services, growing demand for international registration routes and outdated legislation.
The GDC consulted on its strategy from 29 May to 21 August this year and received 452 responses; significantly higher than the 291 received when it last updated its strategy three years ago.
Dr Helen Phillips, Chair of the GDC, said: “Our strategy is very consciously titled ‘trusted and effective’ – this is what we aim to be and how we want your experience of us to feel. It is different and ambitious.
“The Council is determined to be recognised as a regulator that operates with greater effectiveness and works collaboratively as a valued partner. I am committed to nurturing relationships built on trust, using these to listen and learn so we support dental professionals to provide safe and effective care to patients.”
Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the strategy, which has five strategic objectives:
- Support dental professionals to provide safe and effective care for their patients
- Maintain high standards for registration, and register those who meet them in a timely and effective way
- Improve fitness to practise, maximising patient safety and reducing unintended impacts
- Work collaboratively to speak up on, influence and address issues that affect patients and the public
- Maximise the effectiveness of the GDC’s people, culture and systems
Key initiatives include:
- Doubling the number of dentists joining the register each year via the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) and developing new frameworks for international registration, including exploring mutual recognition of qualifications.
- Closing FtP cases earlier through less adversarial methods, such as remediation, to reduce the punitive effect and stress on all parties involved.
- Launching a digital-first registration service in early 2026 to simplify applications and tracking progress.
Read the GDC’s Strategy 2026-2028 here.
Read the consultation outcome report here.