Dental nurses work side by side with other key clinicians to deliver the best care for patients. To do this, a fundamental part of your role involves keeping up with the latest skills and knowledge.
We dive into the world of CPD for dental nurses, exploring requirements in different countries and key topics to focus on. Plus, we look at which CPD courses are available in 2023 and whether they are free or paid for.
If you're looking for something more than CPD, take a look at our recommendations for Dental Nurse courses. Otherwise, keep reading to learn how you can take your skills to the next level and boost your chances for advancement.
Countries requiring CPD for dental nurses
In the UK, the General Dental Council, sets out CPD requirements. Dental nurses must complete "a minimum of 50 hours of verifiable CPD per five-year cycle, with a minimum of 10 hours every two years." So, if you stick to 10 hours a year, you’re in safe hands.
In Ireland, dental nurses need to complete 250 hours of CPD over each five-year cycle. 100 hours of structured learning should focus on core subjects and maintaining clinical skills. The remaining 150 hours should be ‘self-directed’ learning.
Dental professionals in Singapore have two-yearly CPD cycles or ‘qualifying periods’. The CPD points or hours required per cycle vary if you're a Division I or II dentist, or a Dental Health Therapist. The Singapore Dental Council’s continuing professional education page has more information.
Australian dental nurses need to complete a minimum of 60 hours of CPD activities over a three-year CPD cycle. This doesn't change if you work part-time.
The Dental Board of Australia does not review or approve CPD courses or providers. Dental nurses need to make professional judgments about the appropriateness of CPD activities.
Countries with varying CPD requirements
In the United States, requirements for continuing education (CE) vary. You can check the American Dental Association website's interactive map. Renewal cycles, deadlines and how much of the CE needs to be in-person or can be self-study also varies.
Similar requirements exist in Canadian provinces and territories. Each has its own association and dental regulatory authority. You can find the details of each of these bodies on the Canadian Dental Association website.
Countries with no CPD requirements
The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) has set out no specific CPD requirements for dental nurses. Note that the Dental Council of New Zealand has a list of approved CPD suppliers.
DentCPD has put together a handy comparison table for European countries for those interested. Bear in mind it was published in 2011 so guidance may have changed since then.
Key CPD topics for dental nurses
According to the UK’s General Dental Council, topics that relate to patient safety should be included in your CPD, such as:
- Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults
- Oral cancer and early detection
- Legal or ethical issues and complaints handling
Your field of practice will also impact what CPD you may want to complete. These will help you to stay at the top of your field and avoid potential problems or litigation.
The UK GDC sets the following recommended hours:
- Medical Emergencies: at least 10 hours per CPD cycle, ideally 2 hours annually
- Radiography and radiation protection: 5 hours (for those undertaking radiographies)
- Materials and radiography equipment: 5 hours (for dental technicians)
- Disinfection and Decontamination: 5 hours
Make sure that you check the requirements set by your relevant body to understand how best to spend your educational hours.
Members of the British Dental Association or College of General Dentistry can access CPD as part of existing benefits.
Best CPD courses for dental nurses [2023 update]
Below are some of the top free and paid-for CPD dental and non-dental education courses we’ve been able to find. If there are any you recommend - get in touch with us!
1. Dental Update Webinars [free]
Dental Update offers a large range of free CPD webinars on registration. Upcoming and past webinars, available on-demand, offer a CPD certificate.
2. Free Courses in England [free]
Free Courses in England is a UK government-funded initiative. It connects adults, businesses and organisations with training providers. Check if you qualify on their website.
Many of the courses offered are accredited Level 2 Qualifications with Certificates. Some courses have limited access, but they are 100% online. You will need to create an account first.
3. TURAS Learn [free]
Developed by NHS Education for Scotland, TURAS Learn offers a range of Dental CPD for free.
Topics of interest to dental nurses include:
- Anxiety and Pain Control
- Communication
- Infection Control and Decontamination
- Management of Medical Emergencies
4. Dentistry [some free, mostly paid]
One of the major dental communications companies, Dentistry.co.uk, offers over 500 CPD courses. Currently, free access to CPD is limited to 100+ yearly Dental Update webinars. Either way, their slick CPD portal is well worth a look.
Once you’ve created an account, you can build a Personal Development Plan (PDP) in line with the GDC’s Enhanced CPD Scheme 2018. It also suggests topics and frequency, letting you track how many hours you have completed per year of your 5-year cycle.
They offer one-off access to each course for about £7, or paid plans start at around £30 a year. More expensive plans are available that include magazine subscriptions and event access.
Suggested courses:
- Person-centred care – patients with additional needs
- Radiography
- Removing sutures
- Implant dentistry and the role of the dental nurse
- Clinical governance in dental practices
5. Haleon / GlaxoSmithKline [free]
Haleon, formerly GSK Consumer Healthcare, have a 'Learning Lab' offering a variety of articles, quizzes and e-learning modules.
They also offer a ‘personalised learning system’ that tracks and recommends additional learning. You will need to register to access the e-learning modules and CPD platform, but it is free and accredited.
6. Wrigley Oral Healthcare [free]
Mars Wrigley is the world’s ‘leading manufacturer of chewing gum’ and supporters of the benefits of sugar-free chewing gum and research.
They offer free CPD on their website - unsurprisingly, a lot is about chewing gum,food consumption and oral health. Other topics might be of interest, such as communicating with patients and safeguarding the oral health of young people.
Their website states that: modules can currently only be counted as 'verifiable CPD' in the UK. In Ireland, the modules can be counted as 'general CPD'.
You will need to register and create an account before accessing the CPD modules. On the plus side, you also get to order free samples of gum for your practice - subject to availability!
7. UKSedation [free]
UKSedation, in collaboration with Mellow Dental offers several free CPD courses for anyone who creates a free account on their site. Nurses who are new to IV sedation and work with visiting sedationists might benefit from this course.
If you are looking after a dental patient undergoing IV Sedation, you must have ILS equivalent life support skills, including airway management and use of a defibrillator.
8. Cavity Training [free and paid]
Cavity Training is a new specialist company training students and apprentices in Dental Nursing. They provide diplomas as well as training in Mental Health First Aid
They offer a selection of free CPD, the most relevant for nurses is Disability and Autism or Infection Control. To access the CPD for free, you need to provide your details.
9. Apolline [free and paid]
Apolline Training offers two free e-learning courses. A bigger range available to paying annual members.
They also offer course bundles and pay-per-course options, as well as in-person training. Annual membership starts at £39.99 - considering this is the cost of some of their bundles, this is a more economical option.
Their free courses cover compliance with UK GDPR for dental practices and what Enhanced CPD means and how to manage it.
10. The Dental Nurse Network Academy [free and paid]
The Dental Nurse Network Academy offer three free CPD nurse courses, in particular around Oral Health and General Health.
Paid courses cover a wider variety of topics and range from low-cost webinar CPD options to full-on qualifications. They fulfil training requirements and offer a downloadable certificate for each course.
Their £25 Enhanced Verifiable CPD bundle gives you 10 hours of CPD covering all the GDC recommended topics, accessible for 12 months.
11. Dental Nursing [paid]
Dental Nursing is a monthly journal for - surprisingly - dental nurses! To access their CPD, make sure your subscription covers this. At the moment three subscriptions give you access to 18 hours of CPD per year, starting from £100 per year.
12. Now Learning [paid]
Now Learning provides Dental Nursing Diplomas and also offers CPD courses. You can register for access to their CPD for free but you need an annual subscription of £35 to access any of their courses.
13. Aglio iLearn [paid]
Aglio iLearn, formerly isopharm, provide a subscription service that includes an online CPD tracking platform.
Although they offer individual courses, priced between £5 and £40, it’s cheaper to pay the annual subscription of £42. This gives you unlimited access to over 230 CPD courses for the year.
Although your account defaults to a pay-as-you-go user, subscribing is something that the platform keeps driving you to do. You can still buy courses on their own. If you want to use the PDP, CPD tracker and CPD reporting tools, you’ll need to subscribe.
14. CPD4DentalNurses [paid]
Launched in 2009 by two dental nurses, CPD4DentalNurses provides a wide variety of nurse courses. Each comes with a certificate of completion.
Aimed at UK dental nurses, each course matches General Dental Council learning outcomes. There are plenty of courses to choose from.
You do need to be a registered member with a subscription (£34 per year) to join the courses, but the team are on hand to help tailor content to your needs.
Kiroku and professional education for dental nurses
Continuous development is essential for success in today's fast-paced and evolving work environment. By embracing new tools and technologies, we can work smarter, and more efficiently.
As clinicians, keeping our skills up-to-date benefits our own careers as well as the organisations we work for. You can pick up new skills through online courses, attending industry events or even experimenting with new tools.
As a dental nurse with responsibility for contributing to patient record-keeping, it's critical to keep on top of your game. If a dentist in your practice uses Kiroku - ask to see what it's like (or watch the short video below!).
The feedback we get is that it's easy to use and removes the barriers nurses face with note-taking.
Documentation, compliance and litigation are common topics for continuing education. That's why we often tap into our Kiroku community’s expertise by hosting or sponsoring educational webinars - we repost these on YouTube!
