The Faculty of General Dental Practice has announced that it is extending membership to all BDS students.
Since 2011, the Faculty has offered free membership to undergraduate dental students in years four and five in UK dental schools.
In response to demand from students in all year groups, however, membership will now be open from year one onwards.
The announcement was made today at the British Dental Students’ Association’s Annual Conference in Birmingham.
Range of benefits
FGDP Student Members are eligible for a range of benefits relevant to general dental practice to support their studies.
These include free online access to the Faculty’s Primary Dental Journal, termly Student Bites newsletters, and the opportunity to access support and connect with peers and dental professionals through the Faculty’s network of local divisions around the UK.
Student members also receive discounts on FGDP conferences and events, and a 50% discount on its print edition standards publications.
A number of dental schools also have an FGDP(UK) Ambassador to help connect students with the Faculty.
Dean, Ian Mills FFGDP(UK), commented: ‘The FGDP(UK) is well placed to offer relevant networking and mentoring to today’s dental students both now and through their future careers.
“Over 90% of today’s dental students will go on to work in primary care, so I have been greatly encouraged to meet students across the UK who are keen to access the kind of professional support and development we can offer to complement their undergraduate studies.
‘Their ambition and desire to align to our standards and values bodes well for dentistry’s future, and we look forward to supporting their career journeys by welcoming them into membership.’
Students interested in finding out more should visit https://www.fgdp.org.uk/membership/student-membership.