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Probity & Ethics

GDC Remediation · Fitness to Practice · CPD UK Accredited & Certified

General Dental Council

GDC remediation courses for Dentists and Dental Professionals facing fitness to practice concerns

CPD-Accredited, self-paced online courses for UK Dental Professionals responding to GDC complaints, fitness to practice proceedings and regulatory investigations. Every course is certified by The CPD Certification Service and issues a CPD certificate on completion.

CPD-Accredited Certified by
The CPD Certification Service, UK

At a glance

Who it is for
Dentists and dental care professionals facing a GDC complaint, investigation or hearing
Stages covered
Registrar assessment, case examiners, interim orders and the practice committees
Accreditation
Certified by The CPD Certification Service, Provider No. 13197
Access
Immediate, online, at your own pace
On completion
CPD certificate for your response or portfolio
Price
From £49 per course
6 yearsof providing ethics, probity and professionalism courses
1,000+healthcare professionals trained by us
28 courseseach certified by The CPD Certification Service

GDC Investigation Guidance

Which GDC remediation courses should you take?

The Core GDC Remediation Set applies to every case, whatever the allegation. Select the type of concern the GDC has raised and you will see those eight courses again alongside the ones that address your concern directly.

Core GDC Remediation Set

Recommended for every GDC case, whatever the allegation. These cover insight, remediation and risk of repetition — the three things the GDC assesses at case examiner and panel stage.

Recommended for every case · 8 courses CPD-Accredited
Module on Insight 1.5 CPD hours/points Add Module on Insight to basket
Module on Reflection 1.5 CPD hours/points Add Module on Reflection to basket
Module on Remediation 1.5 CPD hours/points Add Module on Remediation to basket
How to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future 2.0 CPD hours/points Add How to Ensure a similar Mistake or Misconduct will not be repeated in Future to basket
Fitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals 2.0 CPD hours/points Add Fitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals to basket
Rebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator 2.0 CPD hours/points Add Rebuilding Trust of Patients, Public, and Healthcare Regulator to basket
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals 2.0 CPD hours/points Add Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals to basket
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals 2.0 CPD hours/points Add Professionalism and Professional Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals to basket

Select a course name to read more, or the + to add it to your basket.

Select the concern the GDC has raised

Choose the heading that best matches the wording in your letter. The courses below change to match it.

Ethics & Ethical Conduct Professionalism, Conduct & Attitude Probity, Honesty & Financial Integrity Professional Boundaries & Relationships Clinical Practice, Competence & Patient Safety Fitness to Practice

GDC Ethics & Ethical Conduct Investigation

If the GDC has raised concerns about your ethical decision-making, consent, dignity, candour or moral conduct, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.

Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern

GDC Professionalism, Conduct & Attitude Investigation

If the GDC has raised concerns about your attitude towards patients or colleagues, behaviour, incivility, teamwork or communication, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.

Primary recommended courses 19 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 9related areas that often arise alongside this concern

GDC Probity, Honesty & Financial Integrity Investigation

If the GDC has raised concerns about dishonesty, falsified records or timesheets, qualifications, expenses, theft or misleading an employer or the regulator, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.

Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern

GDC Professional Boundaries & Relationships Investigation

If the GDC has raised concerns about inappropriate relationships, dual roles, gifts, online contact or chaperoning, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.

Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern

GDC Clinical Practice, Competence & Patient Safety Investigation

If the GDC has raised concerns about clinical errors, medication or prescribing incidents, failure to escalate, record-keeping or patient safety, these CPD-Accredited courses could address the specific standards in question.

Primary recommended courses 19 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 9related areas that often arise alongside this concern

GDC Fitness to Practice Investigation — General

If you do not yet know how the GDC has categorised the allegation, or you face concerns spanning several areas, start here. This is the broadest cross-section of our CPD-Accredited catalogue.

Primary recommended courses 18 the 8 Core Set courses apply to every case — the rest address this concern directly

Further relevant courses 10related areas that often arise alongside this concern

All 28 CPD-Accredited GDC courses

Every course is certified by The CPD Certification Service, awards CPD hours/points, and issues a CPD certificate on completion. Each one appears as a core or primary recommendation under at least one concern type.

Bulk buy offer Any 10 courses for £500 Courses on this page are £49 to £79 each. If you are building a remediation portfolio, any ten of them are £500. See the offer

£491.5 CPD hours/points

Module on Insight

Insight is assessed in every GDC case, whatever the allegation. Helps you understand what a case examiner or practice committee actually means by it, shows you how to demonstrate insight rather than assert it, and supports you in putting it in writing before a hearing.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£491.5 CPD hours/points

Module on Reflection

Helps you write reflection that holds up to scrutiny from a case examiner or practice committee, analysing what happened rather than simply describing it. Supports you through the difficult feelings that get in the way, which is why most people find this harder than they expect.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£491.5 CPD hours/points

Module on Remediation

Supports you in building a remediation plan around the concerns actually raised, rather than assembling a stack of certificates. Shows you how to record what you have changed and present that evidence to the GDC.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Fitness To Practice For Healthcare Professionals

Walks you through the process you are in: what fitness to practice means, why cases are opened, what happens at each stage, and what to expect if it reaches a practice committee. A sensible first course if the letter you received is the first you have heard of any of this.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Ethics for Healthcare Professionals

Helps you look honestly at a decision you made and why you made it, where that is what the concern turns on. Takes you through the situations that most often lead to referrals and supports you in showing what has since changed.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£992.5 CPD hours/points

Medical Ethics Course

A longer course for cases where several concerns have been raised at once, or where the allegations are serious. Helps you work through difficult decisions in clinical practice and supports you in rebuilding trust with your regulator.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£992.5 CPD hours/points

Professional Ethics Course

For cases where your honesty, integrity, or accountability in day-to-day practice has been questioned. Helps you see how these lapses usually happen and what they mean for patients and colleagues, and supports you in responding credibly during an investigation.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals

Some concerns do not fall neatly into one category. Reminds you what professional behaviour requires under real pressure, including fatigue and burnout, and helps you reflect on a lapse in a way a practice committee will find credible.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Probity for Healthcare Professionals

If your letter uses the word probity, start here. Helps you understand what honesty and integrity mean in records, declarations, and money, and supports you in rebuilding trust through a documented remediation plan.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Financial Integrity For Healthcare Professionals

For cases involving money — claims, declarations, undisclosed interests, or financial conduct that has been questioned. Helps you understand how these cases arise and what they mean for your registration, and supports you in responding.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Professional Boundaries For Clinicians

Boundary cases are among the most serious the GDC investigates. Helps you see where the lines sit and how they are crossed gradually, often without intent, and supports you in putting credible remediation together.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Ethical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues

For a relationship that became too close, contact outside work, or gifts. Reminds you of the warning signs and why these cases are treated so seriously, and helps you show insight and accountability afterwards.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Professionalism & Boundaries in Use of Social Media

Something posted, shared, or messaged online can lead to a referral as readily as anything in the surgery. Helps you understand where the line falls on patient contact, confidentiality, and public comment, and supports you in showing your conduct has changed.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Privacy, Consent, And Chaperone In Healthcare Practice

Consent is among the most common causes of referral. Reminds you what valid consent requires, how it should be recorded, and when a chaperone should be offered, and helps you reflect on a case where any of it was questioned.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Ensuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice

A conversation overheard, records accessed, or something shared that should not have been. Helps you understand when disclosure is lawful and how breaches usually happen, and supports you in remediating one.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

Duty of Candour in Healthcare Practice

Being open after something goes wrong is a duty, not a courtesy. Reminds you what you must tell a patient and when, helps you apologise properly without admitting liability, and explains why the GDC treats failures of candour so seriously.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation

Takes you through being investigated: what happens, in what order, and what is expected of you at each stage through to a hearing. Helps you respond well, build your evidence, and manage the strain of it.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

£792.0 CPD hours/points

How to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation

Helps you recognise the situations that most often lead to complaints, and head them off — communication, boundaries, records, and honesty. Useful to you as remediation evidence, and as ordinary CPD if you have had a near miss.

CPD-Accredited Add to basket

In short

What are GDC remediation courses?

GDC remediation courses are CPD-accredited courses taken by a dentist or a dental care professional to evidence insight, reflection and remediation in response to a concern raised with the General Dental Council. They are not a GDC product and no regulator approves them: what they provide is independent certification and a dated record that you acted, and when.

This page carries 28 such courses, £49 to £99 each, every one certified by The CPD Certification Service under Provider No. 13197 and aligned to Standards for the Dental Team, which apply across all seven registered titles. Eight form a Core Set that applies to any allegation; the rest are grouped by the type of concern raised. Each awards 1.5 to 2.5 CPD hours/points and issues a certificate on completion.

No course decides a GDC case and no provider can promise an outcome. It is also worth knowing that the GDC closes around 40 per cent of complaints without investigation, because they do not call fitness to practise into question at all — so the first thing to establish is whether you are in that process or a different one.

Before you write anything

Who decides your case, and is it even a fitness to practise matter?

A large share of complaints about dental professionals never reach fitness to practise at all, and those that do pass through several sets of hands before any hearing. Knowing which stage you are at changes what you should be writing and when. For a fuller walk-through of who can refer you and what happens next, see our guide to GDC referrals.

The GDC regulates the whole dental team

The General Dental Council registers seven titles, not one: dentists, and six dental care professional titles — dental nurses, dental hygienists, dental therapists, orthodontic therapists, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians. All are held to Standards for the Dental Team and all go through the same fitness to practise process.

Not every complaint is a fitness to practise matter

The GDC has told Parliament it closes around 40 per cent of the complaints it receives without investigation, because they do not call fitness to practise into question. Complaints about private treatment can instead go to the Dental Complaints Service — a free, non-statutory conciliation service funded by the GDC but operating independently, covering private dental care only, and open for twelve months from the treatment. A DCS case is not a fitness to practise case, though the DCS can refer one on.

The Registrar assesses, then two case examiners decide

If the Registrar judges that there is an allegation of impaired fitness to practise, it goes to two case examiners — one lay, one a registered dentist or dental care professional. They can close the case, give advice, issue a warning that is published on your entry in the Register, invite undertakings, or refer the case onwards.

Case examiners do not decide the facts

They apply a real prospect test on the papers: whether there is a genuine possibility that a practice committee would find the facts proved, that they amount to a ground of impairment, and that fitness to practise is currently impaired. They see only the material in front of them, which is why what you write at this stage carries so much weight. If they refer your case, a Rule 6E review lets you ask them to reconsider before the hearing begins.

Hearings are held by a separate service

A referral goes to one of three practice committees — Professional Conduct, Professional Performance or Health — sitting at the Dental Professionals Hearings Service. The Registrar can also refer to the Interim Orders Committee at any time before the case examiners begin, to restrict or suspend registration while a case is still open. That is protective rather than punitive and is not a finding against you.

What does not change, and what a course cannot do

New Guidance for the Practice Committees and a new Conditions Bank came into effect on 6 January 2026, replacing the previous guidance including the Indicative Sanctions Guidance. What the guidance is for does not change: insight, reflection and remediation are weighed at every stage. No course decides a GDC case, and no provider can promise an outcome — what a dated certificate can do is evidence that you acted, and when.

GDC Investigations

Supporting Dental Professionals through GDC proceedings

Courses
28, all CPD-certified
Price
£49 to £99 per course
CPD per course
1.5 to 2.5 hours/points
Core set
8 courses, 14.5 CPD hours
Aligned with
Standards for the Dental Team
Certificate
Issued on completion, downloadable
Accreditation
The CPD Certification Service, Provider No. 13197
Format
Online, self-paced, instant access
Who they cover
Dentists, Dental Nurses, Dental Hygienists, Dental Therapists, Dental Technicians, Clinical Dental Technicians and Orthodontic Therapists — all seven GDC registrant titles

Facing an investigation by the General Dental Council (GDC) can be one of the most professionally challenging experiences of a Dental Professional's career. Whether you are subject to a fitness to practice inquiry, a complaint about your conduct, or concerns raised about your professional standards, demonstrating active engagement with remediation and professional development is a critical part of your response.

Our courses are purpose-built to help UK Dentists, Dental Nurses, Hygienists, Therapists, Technicians and Orthodontic Therapists respond to GDC concerns. Each course is aligned with the GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team and its supporting guidance, providing documented evidence of your commitment to professional learning. The regulator publishes its own guidance on the General Dental Council website. Taking proactive steps to address the concerns raised — through structured CPD, reflective practice and demonstrable behaviour change — is what GDC case examiners and practice committees look for as evidence of insight and genuine remediation.

All courses are CPD-Accredited and certified by The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK). Each course awards CPD hours/points and issues a CPD certificate on completion, which you can include in a remediation portfolio, in a written response to the GDC, or in your revalidation records alongside your own reflection.

Why These Courses

Why CPD-Accredited courses matter for GDC remediation

The GDC expects registrants to demonstrate genuine insight and measurable professional development. Accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is one of the clearest ways to show you have taken your obligations seriously.

Built to support your response

Every course is independently assessed and certified by The CPD Certification Service. The certificate, together with the reflection you write from it, is suitable for inclusion in a remediation portfolio or a written response to the GDC.

Immediately available

Access your course the moment you enrol. No waiting, no scheduling — useful when you need to demonstrate prompt action to the GDC or your indemnity provider.

Aligned to Standards for the Dental Team

Every course is aligned with Standards for the Dental Team, addressing the standards most commonly cited in GDC referrals, fitness to practice proceedings and revalidation portfolios.

The kind of CPD advisers ask for

Indemnity providers and regulatory solicitors routinely advise registrants facing GDC proceedings to undertake structured, certified CPD as part of a remediation plan. We receive recommendations from them, which is not the same as formal endorsement by any organisation.

Certificate on completion

Receive a formal, verifiable certificate for each course completed, to include in a remediation portfolio alongside your own reflection, or to share with your solicitor or indemnity provider.

Expert-developed content

Courses are developed by UK healthcare ethics and regulatory specialists with direct knowledge of GDC standards, Standards for the Dental Team, fitness to practice expectations and remediation best practice.

Life does not always go according to plan.We are here to help…

Author and course facilitator

Dr Shehzad Iqbal, course facilitator at Probity & Ethics

Dr Shehzad Iqbal

Course facilitator and author, Probity & Ethics

Dr Iqbal has designed and delivered ethics, probity and professionalism training for UK healthcare professionals since 2020, working with registrants of all nine UK healthcare regulators, online and face to face. He combines clinical practice with formal postgraduate training in healthcare law and ethics.

MBBS · MRCS · MRCGP · Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics, University of Dundee

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal. Last reviewed .

Key terms

What the GDC means by insight, reflection and remediation

Four terms recur throughout GDC correspondence. They are not interchangeable, and being clear about which one a letter is asking for makes a practical difference to how you respond.

Fitness to practice
Having the skills, knowledge, character and health to practise your profession safely and effectively. The GDC opens a fitness to practice investigation when a concern suggests that one of those may be in question. It is a question about current and future safety, not only about what happened.
Insight
Understanding what went wrong, why it happened, and the effect it had on patients, colleagues and public confidence in the profession. Insight is assessed at almost every stage, whatever the allegation, and it is the element most often described as lacking.
Reflection
Setting that understanding down honestly and in your own words, including what you would do differently and what you have already changed. Reflection is the written record of insight, which is why the two are so often confused.
Remediation
The concrete steps taken so that the same thing does not happen again — training, supervision, changes to how you work — together with evidence that they happened. Insight without remediation is an account; remediation without insight is a certificate.

These descriptions are our summary of how the terms are used in regulatory practice. They are not quotations from the General Dental Council, and they are not legal advice. Your defence organisation or solicitor should advise on your own case.

FAQs

GDC remediation courses: frequently asked questions

Answers to the most common questions from Dental Professionals facing GDC proceedings.

Will completing these courses help my GDC case?

Yes. Completing accredited CPD relevant to the concerns raised is one of the most effective steps you can take. GDC case examiners and practice committees look for evidence of genuine insight, remediation and proactive professional development. A certificate from The CPD Certification Service shows structured, documented learning, and gives your written reflection something concrete to build on. How much weight it carries depends on the circumstances of your case, and no course can guarantee an outcome.

Does the GDC approve or accept these courses?

The GDC does not approve, accredit or endorse courses from any provider, including us, and does not keep an approved list. What our courses give you is independent certification by The CPD Certification Service and a CPD certificate recording what you studied and when. You can include that in a remediation portfolio, a written response, or your Enhanced CPD record — and it is the reflection you attach to it that carries the weight.

How quickly can I access a course after purchasing?

Immediately. Access is granted as soon as your payment is confirmed — no waiting period and no scheduling required. If you are facing an imminent GDC deadline or hearing, you can begin your course and obtain a certificate the same day.

How long do I have access, and can I retake a course?

Twelve months from the date of purchase. The course sits in your account for that whole period, and you can return to it as often as you like, including after you have completed it and downloaded your certificate. Rereading the material costs nothing.

A certificate carries the date you completed the course. If you need one with a current date on it, that means completing the course again, which means buying it again. A repeat purchase of an online course made within your twelve months is charged at half the course fee; once the twelve months have ended it is charged at the full fee. Face-to-face courses are charged at the full fee whenever they are repeated.

Which courses should I choose for my specific GDC investigation?

Start with the Core GDC Remediation Set. These eight courses cover insight, reflection, remediation and rebuilding trust, and are relevant to every case whatever the allegation.

Then use the concern selector to add courses that address your specific issue: ethics and ethical conduct; professionalism, conduct and attitude; probity, honesty and financial integrity; professional boundaries and relationships; or clinical practice, competence and patient safety. If you do not yet know how the GDC has categorised your case, choose Fitness to Practice, or contact us for personalised guidance.

How many CPD hours or points does each course award?

Most courses award 2 CPD hours/points. The three short modules — Insight, Reflection and Remediation — award 1.5 CPD hours/points each. The Medical Ethics Course and the Professional Ethics Course award 2.5 CPD hours/points each. The Core GDC Remediation Set totals 14.5 CPD hours/points across its eight courses.

Do the courses count towards my Enhanced CPD?

Yes. All courses award verifiable CPD hours certified by The CPD Certification Service (CPD UK), and every course issues the certificate the GDC requires you to keep as evidence. There is no revalidation in dentistry — the GDC runs an Enhanced CPD scheme with a five-year cycle, a minimum number of verifiable hours for your registered title, and at least 10 hours in any two-year period. Each activity must be linked to one of the four development outcomes, and ethics and professionalism courses map most naturally onto A and D.

I have received a GDC notification of referral — what should I do first?

Contact your indemnity provider or a specialist healthcare regulatory solicitor immediately. Alongside legal advice, begin demonstrating proactive remediation by enrolling in courses relevant to the concerns raised. Early action signals insight and genuine willingness to improve — both factors the GDC weighs heavily in case examination and committee hearings.

Can I purchase courses for a colleague or member of my team?

Yes. Practice owners, principal Dentists and practice managers can purchase courses on behalf of registrants. Please see our bulk buy offer or contact us for team and group enrolment options, especially if several Dental Professionals need to complete the same course as part of a practice-wide remediation programme.

Are these courses suitable if I am not currently under GDC investigation?

Yes. Many Dental Professionals take these courses as part of their proactive CPD, Enhanced CPD evidence or appraisal preparation, to deepen their understanding of GDC standards and Standards for the Dental Team, or to strengthen areas of practice they feel less confident about. Completing ethics and professionalism CPD is good practice for all registrants, regardless of regulatory proceedings.

Official guidance

Read the GDC’s own guidance

If you are facing a concern, read the source material directly as well as anything written about it.

What the GDC’s own CPD scheme asks for. Under the Enhanced CPD scheme every verifiable activity must be linked to at least one of four development outcomes. Outcome D covers the “maintenance of skills, behaviours and attitudes which maintain patient confidence” in you and in the profession; Outcome A covers communication, consent, complaints and raising concerns. Ethics and professionalism CPD maps onto both, and the GDC requires you to keep the provider’s certificate as your evidence.

Read it on gdc-uk.org ↗

Standards for the Dental Team

The nine principles every GDC registrant must meet

The framework against which all fitness to practice concerns are assessed.

gdc-uk.org ↗ If a concern is raised

Dental professionals facing an investigation

The GDC’s own information and support for registrants under investigation.

gdc-uk.org ↗ The process

Fitness to practise

What the process is for, who assesses concerns, and how decisions are reached.

gdc-uk.org ↗ Enhanced CPD

The CPD scheme and its requirements

Five-year cycles, minimum hours by registered title, and the four development outcomes.

gdc-uk.org ↗

Probity & Ethics is an independent CPD provider. We are not affiliated with, accredited by, or endorsed by the General Dental Council or any other healthcare regulator.

Go deeper

Our guides to the GDC process

The courses evidence your remediation. These guides explain the process around them, in more depth than this page allows.

Guide

GDC referral and investigation

Every stage from the first letter, and what the case examiners are deciding.

www.probityandethics.com ↗ Guide

GDC case examiners

The four outcomes open to them, and what shifts a case away from a hearing.

www.probityandethics.com ↗ Guide

GDC conditions of practice

What conditions require, and what happens at the review hearing.

www.probityandethics.com ↗ Guide

GDC erasure

When erasure is imposed, how it is appealed, and what restoration requires.

www.probityandethics.com ↗

Other Regulators

Remediation courses for other healthcare regulators

We run equivalent CPD-Accredited remediation courses for professionals regulated by other UK healthcare bodies.

Prefer a live course, or booking for a team? The same material runs as facilitated day courses via video link. Dental professionals can book a place on a scheduled date — see Face-to-Face Courses, £499 or £449 inside the Bulk Buy bundle. Organisations can arrange a session for their staff — see courses for healthcare organisations.

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