The words to use
- General Dental Council (GDC)
- The UK regulator of dental professionals. It registers seven titles, sets standards, approves dental courses and investigates fitness-to-practise concerns.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- England's regulator of health and care services. It registers and inspects dental services but does not give them ratings.
- Fitness to practise
- Whether a dental professional is safe and suitable to keep practising. The GDC investigates concerns about it to protect patients and the public.
- Standards for the Dental Team
- The GDC's 2013 "silver book" of nine principles that every registrant must follow. A four-Principle replacement was consulted on in 2026, with no outcome yet.
- Illegal practice
- Practising dentistry, or using a title such as "dentist", without GDC registration. It is a crime under the Dentists Act 1984, and tooth whitening counts as dentistry.
