Review of education 2024-2025 published
It reveals that there has been a significant growth in new programme approvals.
The General Dental Council (GDC) has published its Review of Education for the academic year 2024-2025.
The report sets out the quality assurance and education policy activity carried out by its Education Quality Assurance (EQA) team between September 2024 and August 2025.
One of the standout figures from this year’s review is the significant growth in new programme approvals. The GDC granted provisional approval to 15 new programmes during the year, compared to just one in 2023-2024.
Every year, around 8500 students take up places in the UK to train to become dental professionals. The GDC sets the standards for undergraduate and specialty training and quality assures education providers against these standards, helping to ensure that students are well prepared for their careers in dentistry and that patients can be confident they will receive the highest standard of care.
During the academic year, the EQA team monitored 34 programmes in total: 11 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), 10 Dental Hygiene and Therapy (DHT), one Orthodontic Therapy, one Clinical Dental Technology (CDT), seven Dental Technology (DT) and four Dental Nursing programmes.
The team inspected 18 programmes across 12 providers, comprising 10 risk-based inspections, two new programme inspections and six re-inspections.
The review identified 11 programmes requiring risk-based inspections in the 2025-2026 academic year. Seven of these are the result of time elapsed since previous inspections, a factor the GDC has responded to by developing a new pilot for time-elapsed inspections next academic year.
Manjula Das, Head of Education and Quality Assurance at the GDC, said: “Our quality assurance work has never been more important. The increase in new programme approvals is important; it speaks to a sector that is actively trying to meet the demands on the dental workforce.
“Everything we do in this space comes back to ensuring that those who graduate are genuinely ready to practise, and that patients are in safe hands.”
The review covered a busy period of policy and standards development. Following a 12-week public consultation, the GDC published revised Standards for Education in September 2025, drawing on feedback from the public, Education Associates and providers.
The GDC continued its work with education providers to finalise the transition to the Safe Practitioner Framework and published the new Guidance for Providers wishing to set up a Dental School in the UK.
The GDC also conducted a Dental Nurse Thematic Review and worked closely with the University of Manchester to support improvements to its BDS and Hygiene Therapy programmes.
Read the Review of Education 2024-2025 here.