GDC Highly Recommended CPD Topics: Medical Emergencies, Radiography and More

The General Dental Council (GDC) names three "highly recommended" CPD topics: medical emergencies, disinfection and decontamination, and radiography and radiation protection. Its Recommended CPD topics page suggests at least 10 hours of medical emergencies CPD in each CPD cycle (with at least two hours every year), at least five hours of disinfection and decontamination in each cycle, and, if you undertake radiography, at least five hours of radiography and radiation protection in each cycle. The GDC presents these as recommendations, not compulsory requirements. This post explains what each means, how it fits the GDC's CPD rules and how to record it.

It applies to dental professionals registered with the GDC, which covers the UK. For the general rules (hours, cycles, deadlines), see our guide to GDC CPD requirements for UK dentists.

The GDC's recommended topics at a glance

The GDC's enhanced CPD guidance says the recommended topics are not compulsory for dental professionals to cover. You are expected to choose CPD relevant to your field of practice, so the list is a prompt for your personal development plan, not a checklist.

How the hours fit your overall CPD

The GDC's CPD cycle is five years. According to the GDC's enhanced CPD guidance, the minimum hours of verifiable CPD per cycle are:

• dentists: 100
• dental therapists, dental hygienists, orthodontic therapists and clinical dental technicians: 75
• dental nurses and dental technicians: 50

The GDC also says you must complete at least 10 hours of verifiable CPD in every two-year period (unless it is the first year of your first cycle). The recommended topic hours sit alongside these minimums. The GDC's page does not spell out whether topic hours count inside your total, but the GDC says all hours it asks you to declare must be verifiable, so it makes sense to plan them as part of your verifiable hours. For a dental nurse on a 50-hour cycle, the 10-hour medical emergencies recommendation alone would be a fifth of the total, so planning matters.

Medical emergencies

This is the topic with the most specific recommendation: at least 10 hours per cycle, and at least two hours every year. Spread evenly, that is two hours a year across five years, which matches the annual figure.

Several parts of the GDC's Standards for the Dental Team are relevant:

• Standard 1.5.3 says you must follow the guidance on medical emergencies and training updates issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK).
• Standard 6.2.6 says medical emergencies can happen at any time and that you must make sure at least one other person is available within the working environment to deal with them.
• Standard 6.6.6 covers planned treatment, where arrangements must be in place for at least two people to be available. Staff must know their roles and practise together regularly in a simulated emergency.

The Resuscitation Council UK's Quality Standards for primary dental care (published November 2013, last updated May 2020) say that dental practitioners and other dental healthcare staff should update their knowledge and skills in resuscitation at least annually. They recommend hands-on simulation training and assessment for clinical staff, and say new dental staff should have resuscitation training as part of induction.

The Standards for the Dental Team date from 2013. In June 2026 the GDC opened a consultation, which ran until 31 August 2026, on replacing them with a new Framework for Professionalism. At the time of writing that is a proposal, so check the GDC website for the current position.

Whether a particular session counts as verifiable CPD depends on the evidence, covered below. A session that gives you a certificate with the required details can count. A practice drill that produces no such record would not.

Disinfection and decontamination

The GDC recommends at least five hours per cycle. Its Standards for the Dental Team list decontamination among the legislation you must follow (standard 1.5.1, which says the list of laws is not limited to those named) and say you must follow guidance relating to blood-borne viruses (1.5.2).

Sensible CPD in this area is anything that keeps you current on how instruments and surfaces are cleaned and decontaminated in your own setting, ideally from a provider that supplies the evidence needed to count as verifiable CPD.

Radiography and radiation protection

The GDC recommends at least five hours per cycle if you undertake radiography. Dental technicians are advised to cover materials and equipment instead, again for at least five hours per cycle.

There is also a legal angle in Great Britain. The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017, which apply in England, Wales and Scotland, require employers to take steps to ensure that every practitioner or operator they engage undertakes continuing education and training after qualification (regulation 6(3)(b)). Regulation 17 requires employers to keep an up-to-date record of relevant training and make it available to the enforcing authority on inspection. The GDC's standards also list radiography among the legislation you must follow.

The GDC recommendation is about CPD, while the regulations are about employer duties and training records. The two overlap, and a good certificate can serve both purposes. Northern Ireland has separate medical exposure rules, so check them if you work there.

The other recommended topics

The GDC also lists legal and ethical issues, complaints handling, oral cancer early detection, safeguarding children and young people, and safeguarding vulnerable adults as recommended, without hours. You may be able to link them to the GDC's development outcomes, such as outcome A (effective communication with patients, the dental team and others) and outcome D (maintaining skills, behaviours and attitudes that maintain patient confidence in you and the profession).

Recording these topics so they count

The GDC says all hours you submit must be verifiable. Provider evidence must include your name, the subject, learning content, aims and objectives, the anticipated GDC development outcomes, the dates, total hours, quality assurance information and confirmation from the provider that the information is full and accurate. The GDC says to keep a CPD record that includes your personal development plan, an activity log and your certificates, and to retain it for five years from the end of your five-year cycle.

Your log should include each activity's title and description, dates, hours (excluding breaks and travel), development outcomes and a reflective element.

Illustrative log entry written by Learnsignal, not a GDC template: "Medical emergencies update, 2 hours, 14 March. Development outcome C. Reflection: I was slower than I would like at setting up the oxygen equipment, so I have asked the practice manager to put the kit in the same place in every surgery and we will repeat the drill at the next team meeting."

Dentists make their annual CPD statement by 28 January for the previous 1 January to 31 December CPD year. DCPs make theirs by 28 August for the 1 August to 31 July year. After the deadline you cannot amend your statement. You only send your full record to the GDC when it asks for it.

Frequently asked questions

Are medical emergencies, decontamination and radiography CPD compulsory?

The GDC calls them highly recommended and says the recommended topics are not compulsory. Your overall verifiable hours and the annual statement are required.

Do dental nurses need radiography CPD?

The GDC recommends the radiography hours for those who undertake radiography. If you do not, the recommendation is not aimed at you.

Do the recommended hours count towards my 100, 75 or 50 hours?

The GDC's page does not say directly. Verifiable activities with the required evidence count towards your verifiable hours, so plan these topics within your total.

Does the GDC require annual medical emergencies training?

The GDC recommends at least two hours every year. Its standards direct you to the Resuscitation Council UK guidance, which says staff should update their resuscitation knowledge and skills at least annually.

Planning the five years

A simple approach is to put two hours of medical emergencies in your plan every year, schedule decontamination and radiography once or twice per cycle, and fill the remaining hours with topics from your own development needs. For more CPD guides, visit the Learnsignal CPD hub.

This article is general information, not regulatory, legal or compliance advice. Always check current requirements with the General Dental Council.