Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for dental professionals, but it should be about much more than simply accumulating hours to meet regulatory requirements.
Regular CPD helps dentists and DCPs keep their knowledge and skills up to date, understand changes in guidance and legislation, and refresh important practical knowledge to support safe, high-quality patient care.
With busy practices and demanding schedules, CPD can easily become something to fit in when time allows. Taking a more structured approach, particularly to the GDC’s recommended CPD topics, can make a real difference.
Why are the GDC’s recommended CPD topics important?
The General Dental Council (GDC) identifies recommended CPD topics because of their relevance to dental professionals and patient safety. These include:
- Medical emergencies
- Disinfection and decontamination
- Radiography and radiation protection
- Legal and ethical issues and complaints handling
- Oral cancer
- Safeguarding.
These topics should not simply be viewed as boxes to tick. Keeping knowledge and skills current in these areas can directly affect patient care and how dental professionals respond to challenging situations.
Why regular refresher training matters
Some areas of dentistry are constantly developing, while others require regular refresher training.
Medical emergencies are a good example. Although a dental professional may not encounter a serious emergency every day, having current knowledge and confidence when one occurs is critical. The GDC recommends at least two hours of medical-emergency CPD every year.
The benefits of attending a full-day CPD course
Online courses and webinars offer convenience, but attending a face-to-face course provides additional benefits.
Dedicated time to learn
Stepping away from the practice for a day allows you to concentrate on professional development without trying to fit learning between patients or into an already busy working day.
Learn directly from experienced speakers
Specialist speakers can share practical knowledge and insights that go beyond reading guidance or completing an online module.
Ask questions and discuss real-life situations
Face-to-face learning provides opportunities to explore issues relevant to your own practice, discuss practical examples and hear how colleagues approach common challenges.
Complete seven hours of verifiable CPD
Professional Conferences’ Core Recommended CPD Update provides seven hours of verifiable CPD in one comprehensive course, helping busy dental professionals make valuable progress with their annual learning.
For busy dental professionals, completing seven hours of relevant CPD in a single dedicated day can be a particularly efficient way to make progress with professional development.
What delegates say from our most recent London conference
Professional Conferences’ Core Recommended CPD Update 2026
Professional Conferences offers its Core Recommended CPD Update for dental professionals, with both face-to-face and online options. The course brings together experienced dental, medical and healthcare professionals to cover important topics relevant to dental practice.
FMC readers can receive an additional 10% off any Professional Conferences Core 2026 conference, IRMER or Level 1 CBCT course using discount code FMC at checkout.
London, Kensington – 20 November 2026
A full day of face-to-face learning with top speakers.
- Seven hours of verifiable CPD
- £119 + VAT for the full day
- £139 + VAT including lunch
- Additional 10% discount with code FMC.
Book the London Core Recommended CPD Update
Online – 7 December 2026
For those who prefer to study remotely, the course is also available online. Attend on 7 December or watch the recording for 120 days afterwards, allowing you to fit learning around your practice and other commitments.
- Seven hours of verifiable CPD
- £109 + VAT
- Additional 10% discount with code FMC
- Recording available for 120 days after the course.
Book the Online Core Recommended CPD Update
Plan ahead: Spring 2027 dates
The following dates are planned for Spring 2027:
- London – 7 May 2027
- Southampton – 18 June 2027
- Watford – 21 June 2027
- Online – 28 June 2027.
London and online dates will also be available for Autumn 2027.
Book the 2027 dates – more information to follow on the website
Meet the speakers for 2026
The Core Recommended CPD Update brings together experienced leading specialists from dentistry, medicine and healthcare:
- Professor Michael A O Lewis, PhD, FDSRCPS, FDSRCS(Eng), FRCPath, FFGDP(UK), FHEA – specialist in oral medicine with extensive clinical, academic and professional experience
- Lee Feinberg – consultant in dental and maxillofacial radiology at King’s College Hospital, London, and Eastman Dental Hospital, UCLH, London
- Stephen Henderson, BDS LLM FFGDP(UK)(hon) FCGDent FFFLM – independent dental adviser
- Pat Langley – clinical director
- Jon Wheater, RGN, RSCN, BSc (Hons) Child Health, MA (Education) – NMC nurse teacher, RQF/QCF assessor, mental health first aider and director of education
- Alice Gribble, Dani Tirel and Rebecca Peckham – resuscitation officers at University Hospital Southampton, with experience as advanced life support (ALS) and European paediatric advanced life support (EPALS) instructors. Rebecca is also an emergency department sister, ALS and EPALS course director and GIC instructor.
Don’t stop at your core CPD
While the GDC’s recommended topics should form an important part of professional development, CPD should also reflect your individual role, responsibilities and learning needs.
Depending on your practice, additional training in dental radiography, radiation protection and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) may be valuable. Professional Conferences offers specialist online courses to support further learning in these areas.
IR(ME)R and dental radiography
The online IR(ME)R Course in Dental Radiography and Radiation Protection helps dental professionals refresh their understanding of the regulations and responsibilities surrounding dental radiography and radiation protection. This training needs to be undertaken on a five-year cycle.
- £109 + VAT
- Additional 10% discount for FMC readers using code FMC.
Find out more about the online IR(ME)R course
A face-to-face London course is also planned for 24 September 2027, at £119 + VAT.
Find out more about the London IR(ME)R course
CBCT training: Level 1 and Level 2
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is increasingly important in modern dental imaging. Appropriate training is valuable for professionals involved in using, interpreting or reporting three-dimensional dental images.
Level 1 CBCT training
This seven-hour course includes four hours of online lectures followed by three hours of interactive learning. The speakers are Simon Harvey and Shanon Patel. Please note that the interactive learning requires a Windows PC, rather than a Mac; a link to the software will be provided.
- £149 + VAT
- Additional 10% discount for FMC readers using code FMC.
Find out more about online Level 1 CBCT training
We do currently have a bundle including Level 1 CBCT, IR(ME)R and our recorded Core conference for £299 + VAT (a significant saving on the full price of £367). Click here to book the bundle.
Level 2 CBCT training
For those wishing to develop their knowledge further, Simon Harvey also runs Level 2 CBCT courses in London. Booking through Professional Conferences provides a £50 discount, reducing the course price to £599.
The next course date is Saturday 27 February 2027 in London.
Find out more about Level 2 CBCT training in London
Explore all dental CPD courses
CPD should be an ongoing part of professional life, helping dental professionals maintain their knowledge, develop new skills and continue delivering safe, effective patient care.
Alongside its Core Recommended CPD Update, Professional Conferences offers courses covering:
- Learning disability and autism
- Periodontics
- Mental resilience
- Level 1 Safeguarding – this course is online but does have to be attended on the day – next course 8 October 2027.
And other areas of clinical and professional development. Whether you prefer face-to-face conferences or specialist online training, there are options to help you plan your CPD around your responsibilities and individual learning needs.
View all Professional Conferences dental CPD courses
This article is sponsored by Professional Conferences.
