Should a Dentist Do a GDC Consent Course After a Complaint?

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, MBBS, MRCS, MRCGP, Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics · Updated 9 November 2026

When should a dentist do a consent course after a complaint?

In dentistry, consent covers cost as well as risk. A consent course fits when the complaint says:

• the patient was not told about other options, including delaying treatment or doing nothing;
• the estimate changed during treatment and the patient was not asked to agree again;
• the patient did not understand what they signed;
• the patient asked you to stop and the treatment carried on;
• there was no written consent for treatment under conscious sedation;
• a concern about privacy or a chaperone arose during an examination.

If the complaint is mainly about the way you spoke to the patient, the communication course may be the better first step (see below).

What GDC Principle 3 says about valid consent

Principle 3 of the Standards for the Dental Team is “Obtain valid consent”. It has three standards:

• 3.1: “You must obtain valid consent before starting treatment, explaining all the relevant options and the possible costs”;
• 3.2: make sure patients, or their representatives, understand the decisions they are being asked to make;
• 3.3: “You must make sure that the patient’s consent remains valid at each stage of investigation or treatment”.

The guidance under them is where a complaint is tested. You should document the consent discussion (3.1.2), find out what patients want to know as well as what you think they need to know (3.1.3), and check and document that they have understood (3.1.4). Patients can withdraw consent at any time, and this must be recorded in their notes (3.1.5). Written consent is needed where treatment involves conscious sedation or general anaesthetic (3.1.6). If the agreed treatment or the estimated cost changes, you must obtain consent to the change and document that you have done so (3.3.5).

Where a consent complaint goes, and where the course counts

Principle 5 asks every practice to have a complaints procedure and to give a patient who complains “a prompt and constructive response”. If the patient stays dissatisfied, standard 5.3.11 asks you to tell them about other options, such as the Ombudsman or the Dental Complaints Service. The Dental Complaints Service is a free, impartial service for private dentistry, funded by the GDC; it says it “cannot help with NHS dentistry”.

A concern that reaches the GDC goes through an initial assessment and an investigation. For streamlined clinical cases about a single patient, the GDC’s first inquiries are limited to requesting the clinical records, which a Clinical Dental Adviser reviews, so your consent notes are among the first things read. If the case goes to the case examiners, the GDC gives 28 days as the standard time to comment, and the certificate and your reflection go with those comments.

The first steps after any complaint are set out in our guide to a fitness to practise complaint.

What the consent course covers

Eight sections and 21 lessons: privacy and dignity; informed consent and how to document a consent conversation clearly; when to offer a chaperone and what to record; the standards behind each; worked scenarios; reflective practice; and a final assessment.

When a different course fits better

• The patient felt rushed, talked down to or not listened to: Ensuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals, which answers GDC Principle 2.
• A consent form exists, but the notes around it are thin, late or unclear: Professionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals.

Our GDC courses guide maps each of the nine principles to a course.

Consent as GDC verifiable CPD

The GDC’s development outcome A names consent directly: “Effective communication with patients, the dental team and others across dentistry, including when obtaining consent, dealing with complaints, and raising concerns when patients are at risk.” Link the course to outcome A in your personal development plan and keep the certificate, which the GDC lists as evidence of verifiable CPD. Then write down one change to your consent process, such as a signed cost update at every change of plan, and date it.

Our GDC consent course, after a complaint and for CPD

Courses that sit beside it

Bulk Buy covers the £79 courses: 3 for £200, 5 for £300, 10 for £500. Not sure what to take? Book a free 15-minute call or see which course do I need.

This guide is part of our Professional Misconduct hub, which brings together every Probity & Ethics guide and course on the subject.

The CPD courses linked from this guide, Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice, Ensuring Effective Communication as Healthcare Professionals, Professionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals and Module on Reflection, are by Probity & Ethics, written by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, CPD certified and accredited by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197) and offered since 2020.

Questions and answers