Thursday, 1 October 2026

Good morning.

This week, the GDC asked people who've actually been through Fitness to Practise what they thought of it.

The answer isn't particularly comfortable.

Plus: 5,274 disallowed dental prescriptions, AI scribes under the microscope, and a caries trial that asks whether spotting more disease necessarily improves the outcome.

Let's get into it.

THE DRILL

New GDC-commissioned research asked 570 dental professionals who had been subject to a concern and 645 people who had raised one about their experience of Fitness to Practise.

The cases reached decisions between April 2022 and September 2025.

Among registrants in concluded cases, only 38% trusted the process to reach the correct outcome.

Just 41% considered it fair and unbiased. And 36% felt it had been handled proportionately.

There's an important caveat.

This isn't 38% of dentists. It's people who had actually been through an FtP case.

But the interesting bit isn't simply dissatisfaction with the outcome.

The GDC found that people's experience of the process itself mattered too. Communication and how their case was handled were associated with satisfaction, while 71% of registrants said the time taken could be improved.

The regulator says things have improved modestly since 2023.

But in its own words, fewer than half still believe the process is fair and proportionate.

Not because the handwriting was bad.

Because the exact product wasn't permitted on an FP10D.

New figures show 5,274 items prescribed by NHS dentists were disallowed between July 2025 and June 2026.

Here's the easy-to-miss example:

Amoxicillin capsules? Yes.

Amoxicillin tablets? No.

NHS dental prescriptions are restricted to the Dental Practitioners' Formulary, so the exact formulation matters rather than just the drug name.

There's another side to this: Community Pharmacy England says the formulary itself is outdated and has asked for it to be reviewed.

Still, if you're writing an FP10D, it's worth checking the precise item rather than assuming.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Researchers followed 260 children aged 3–6 in a randomised trial.

One group had active initial caries lesions detected and treatment specifically guided around them.

The other strategy focused on more advanced lesions.

After two years, did detecting and managing those early lesions reduce the need for new operative treatment?

A) Yes, substantially

B) Yes, slightly

C) No clear difference

Have a think.

Answer near the bottom.

DENTAL TECH & AI

A new British Dental Journal review has looked at ambient AI systems that listen to the consultation and generate your notes.

The potential is obvious.

The dental evidence isn't.

Only one current dental study evaluated speech-to-text accuracy. Performance varied, dental terminology caused problems, and clinically significant errors and hallucinations were observed.

The review found no dental studies yet evaluating AI-generated complete clinical records or letters.

Wider healthcare evidence suggests these systems can reduce documentation burden, although results are inconsistent.

Two useful reminders:

You remain responsible for the final record.

And patients should know when an AI scribe is listening, with a meaningful opportunity to decline.

So by all means let AI write the first draft.

Just don't let it become the first draft and the final draft because you're already running 20 minutes late.

BREAK THE ICE

Try:

“You don't need to apologise. Tell me what bothers you most and we'll start there.”

No lecture.

No instant treatment plan.

Just a much easier place to begin.

THE ANSWER

Of the 260 children randomised, 222 completed the two-year follow-up.

Detecting active initial lesions and basing treatment around them did not reduce the number of surfaces later requiring new operative intervention compared with the strategy focused on more advanced lesions.

The early-lesion group did receive more non-operative procedures and more professional fluoride applications.

That doesn't mean early caries should simply be ignored.

It means that in this particular preschool trial, looking for and acting on more early lesions didn't translate into fewer subsequent operative interventions.

A useful reminder that more diagnosis doesn't automatically mean a better outcome.

THE LAST RINSE

“Just bite together normally for me.”

Patient immediately forgets how they've closed their mouth for the previous 47 years.