Ask DPL

Dental Protection receives hundreds of enquires every week. As a service to members we publish some of the frequently asked questions on this page. This general advice may not always provide the complete answer in your own situation. Click here to request more information.

Q. Is an aspirating technique essential for administering local anaesthetic as an inferior dental block? I would prefer to use the technique but there are no aspirating syringes where I work.
Q. Is there any legal obligation to take photographs of the patient’s teeth prior to undertaking bleaching?
Q. I would like to obtain the IHAS Quality Mark for my practice in order that I can benefit from up to 10 hours a week inclusive indemnity available to DFU and DFN members who provide injectable cosmetic treatment. When will the Quality Mark become available?
Q. Do you know where I can learn more about a possible allergic reaction to local anaesthetic??
Q. Can I withdraw from treating a patient?
Q. What happens if my practice fails an inspection?
Q. When does my NHS practice have to register with the Care Quality Commission?
Q. In order to extract a lower first molar it was necessary to repeat the ID block three times. The patient now has some residual numbness of the lower lip. How should I manage the situation?
Q. What is the minimum frequency that a patient has to have a check up with a dentist in order to have hygiene treatment with a hygienist?
Q. If a clinical dental technician (CDT) referred a patient to a dentist for a treatment plan involving a partial chrome denture and the dentist designed the chrome denture which the technician manufactured and fitted and subsequently a natural tooth broke down due to the design of the denture, which clinician is responsible for the failed treatment?
Q. If a dentist and a DCP were in conflict and were both brought to GDC for a Fitness to Practise hearing how would Dental Protection deal with the apparent conflict of interest? Would they support the dentist and not the DCP?
Q. I have a letter from a solicitor on behalf of a patient regarding trauma to her front tooth in order for her to make a claim. I have already given the patient a letter explaining the various options and costs depending on the success of the first line approach to root fill the tooth. Her solicitor has now asked me to estimate the likelihood of the possible need for an implant if an extraction is required so that this can be included in the claim.
Q. I treat anxious adult patients with RA and have recently been advised that they must always attend the surgery with an escort. Is this really the case?
Q. I have been asked by another practice to supply the radiographs of a patient who has moved away. As the request came from the practice manager do I need the written permission of the patient and what fee can I make for the service
Q. If I refund a patient their fees in response to a complaint am I admitting liability?
Q. How long do I have to keep my patient records? I treat patients privately as well as having an NHS contract.
Q. Can a dental hygienist or dental therapist carry out non-surgical cosmetic treatment (NSCT)?
Q. Is the use of botulinum toxin really the practise of dentistry?
Q. I undertake domiciliary visits as part of my job and I wondered if it is necessary for me to carry the same emergency drugs that I keep in the surgery. Would I need to do this if I was visiting a nursing home with its own supply of emergency drugs?
Q. I have recently completed a course on facial aesthetics and would now like to start providing treatment. Would I need any indemnity if I provided this treatment at a ‘botox party'?
Q. I am an NHS provider and will soon have used up all my UDAs for the year which ends in March. Am I allowed to hold back completed treatments that I provide in March and submit them in April?
Q. If a patient is under 16, who can consent to their treatment?
Q. If a patient wants to come to our practice for hygiene treatment, but retain their own dentist to provide dental treatment, what is the best way to obtain a correct referral to me, the hygienist?
Q. As a DCP, have experienced a couple of issues recently regarding infection control protocols in the practice. The senior partner says that he recognises the BDA infection control guidelines but that ‘guidelines' can be interpreted as he sees fit. Where do I stand here?
My dentist has asked me to undertake tray bleaching for patients and has offered to train me. I haven't attended any courses or studied any theory on the subject. Would the GDC consider me competent?
Q. A new patient arrives at the practice late on a Friday afternoon with a loose crown. There isn't a dentist available but the hygienist has completed the course for temporary dressing placement/ crown recementing. Should the hygienist treat the patient?
Q. The dentist I work for is considering adding facial aesthetics to the list of services our practice offers to patients and wants me to train to use Botox and fillers. I am not sure that this is where I wanted to take my career. Where do I stand legally and ethically if I want to follow this up?
Q. I have received a letter from the GDC advising me that my name has been removed from the GDC register for non-payment of my annual retention fee. I have been working without realising that my registration had lapsed and I have now requested a restoration form - is it ok to continue working in the meantime?
I was breathalysed by the police banned from driving for one year. My conviction has been reported to the General Dental Council who have told me my fitness to practise is in question. What is now likely to happen?
Q. I am a dental hygienist and have recently moved to a new town. Whilst applying for jobs I recently attended an interview with a dentist who asked to see my General Dental Council (GDC) certificate of registration and some proof of indemnity. I showed the dentist my GDC certificate, but was unable to provide a current certificate of indemnity because I had let my subscription lapse a few years ago, when the cost increased and I was trying to save some money for a holiday. I then forgot about it and failed to renew the subscription. The dentist subsequently notified the GDC that I was working without indemnity and now I have been sent a letter from the GDC saying that I am to face an Interim Orders Committee. Please can you tell me what this means and what I should do?
Q. A patient has requested their dental x-rays because they want to have dental treatment provided abroad where it is cheaper. Can I give them to the patient?
Q. Are hygienists allowed to carry out power bleaching (with the use of light) and what proof of suitable training would be required to carry out this procedure?
Q. Can I accept a father's consent on behalf of a 17-year-old patient with learning difficulties?
Q. Can I refuse to treat an aggresive patient?
Q. I asked to see a certificate of indemnity from a new associate that I want to employ. The dentist in question showed me a broker’s certificate for a policy backed by Lloyds but which had an excess of £5,000 for each claim. Is this valid?
Q. Could a male hygienist be vulnerable to accusations of a sexual nature from females unless there is a dental nurse or a chaperone present?
Q. My dentist consistently omits to check the medical history form or get the patient to sign it.
Q. I use a digital camera in my practice and frequently use these images when lecturing. Do I need specific consent of each patient, every time I use the pictures?
Q. I am keen to involve my hygienist in providing tooth whitening in the surgery for our patients. What are the legal and training requirements?
Q. I am worried by two pieces of advice from the GDC about bleaching.
Q. I have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in my practice both for security reason as well as staff training purposes. What legal obligations apply to this material?
Q. A patient was obviously in pain whilst being treated by the hygienist.
Q. Can I take pictures of patients with a camera phone and send them to colleagues/specialists for an opinion or advice?
Q. How does a clinician adhere to the Data Protection Act (1998) when ordering items for their patients from a dental laboratory?
Q. When an NHS patient requests me to use a tooth-coloured material in their posterior teeth, must I comply with this request instead of using amalgam?
Q. Is it reasonable to take an extra x-ray just for the record?
Q. Using automatic external defibrillators without any training in an emergency in the absence of any trained users.
Q. What should I do about obtaining the records of a patient who was treated abroad or who lives abroad?
Q. Can you tell me if the dental nurses assisting in the process of sedation need any particular training?
Q. I am running out of space. Where and how do I keep my records?
Q. Should I only see patients in the presence of a registered nurse?
Q. What do I do about records when I move to a new practice and patients ask to be treated there?
Q. I've received a letter from a solicitor proposing action against me; what should I do?
Q. What do I do with my records when I sell the practice?
Q. I have joined a practice that is owned by a dentist who belongs to a different defence organisation. He has told me that I need to join his defence organisation because my dental nurse will not have indemnity. Is this true?
Q. With the new NHS contract in England, there is no longer an NHS disciplinary process. Is it the same in Northern Ireland?
Q. My former practice has just contacted me to say that a patient is now complaining that there is a problem with a tooth I filled many years ago. She has regularly attended the same surgery and has been examined by two other associates. Can I really be held responsible for her problem?
Q. I will be inserting dental implants for private patients one day a week at a practice in Wales and have been told that I need to register with the Healthcare Inspectorate. Is this correct?
Q. I have been told that the Health and Safety Executive requires every dental practice to appoint a first-aider. Is that correct and what happens if the first aider has time off? Is it illegal to continue working?
Q. How long should I keep my patient records?
Q. I have been offered a job in an NHS practice in Scotland and want to know how it might differ from working in England
Q. I have read that dental practice websites need to include a link to the General Dental Council website. Is this true?
Q. I am a dental hygienist with training in acupuncture. Am I allowed to use these techniques in the dental setting and do I need any additional indemnity?
Q. If I scan medical history forms, consent forms, lab docs in an attempt to reduce the volume of our paper records am I obliged retain the original paper documents or will the scanned copies suffice?
Q. If an NHS patient makes a verbal complaint can it be resolved informally?
Q. I have seen a radiograph reporting service on the internet which offers to provide a same-day interpretation of digital images for a relatively small cost. Am I at risk if do so?
Q. If I receive a complaint from a patient by email do the new NHS regulations allow me to respond by email?
Q. If I refund the patient's fees, am I admitting liability and risking a future claim?
Q. Does the GDC define the training required for a dentist to provide dental treatment for patients under sedation?
Q. Is it advisable for a dentist to apologise if a patient experiences pain after treatment?
Q. Do I need to buy an automatic external defibrillator for the surgery?
Q. What happens when the patient's cardiologist insists that in spite of NICE guidance, antibiotic cover must still be provided?
Q. My dental nurse wants to buy into the business which is registered as a dental body corporate. Is that legal?
Q. Do I need any additional indemnity when I am supervising a younger colleague?
Q. I work as an associate in two different practices and am worried about the vicarious liability implications for the staff
Q. Can DCPs take alginate impressions?
Q. We want to go paperless. If the patient signs their medical history form or a treatment plan can we scan the form into the computer record and destroy the paper form
Q. I have been asked to give smoking cessation advice to a patient who is having multiple implants placed in 6 weeks time.
Q. Should my nurse sign when writing up my patients' notes?