Dentistry Compliance and Dentistry CPD: a practical review for UK dental practices
What each platform does, what it costs, who it suits, and how to keep your locums as inspection-ready as your permanent team.
Dentistry Compliance and Dentistry CPD are two of the most complete practice tools on the UK market in 2026, and both come from the team behind Dentistry.co.uk. If you run, manage or work in a practice, dental compliance and CPD are never-ending jobs. Inspections, policies, audits and GDC hours all compete with patient time.
This guide explains what each platform does, what it costs and who it suits. We also cover where staffing fits in, because a compliant practice is only as strong as the people on the rota that day.
Who is Dentistry?
Dentistry is the UK dental profession's print and online news title, published by FMC from Shenley in Hertfordshire. Its site claims more than 15,000 members and around 50,000 monthly visitors, covering news, clinical, business and products.
Beyond the magazine, Dentistry runs a suite of practice services:
- Dentistry Compliance for regulatory compliance
- Dentistry CPD for verifiable online learning
- Dentistry HR for payroll, rotas and contracts
- Dentistry Consent for informed consent
- Dentistry Marketing, delivered through Xcelerator Dental
This review focuses on the two that matter most for day-to-day practice standards: compliance and CPD.
What does dental compliance actually cover?
Dental compliance means proving, at any moment, that your practice meets the standards of its regulator. Who that regulator is depends on where you are:
| Nation | Regulator |
|---|---|
| England | Care Quality Commission (CQC) |
| Wales | Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) |
| Scotland | Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) |
| Northern Ireland | Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) |
In practice that means a long list of recurring tasks: policies and staff sign-offs, infection control and decontamination audits, waterline management, handpiece maintenance, radiography, risk assessments, staff records and vaccinations, and patient feedback. On top of that, every registrant must keep their GDC CPD up to date.
None of it is optional, and gaps tend to surface at the worst time: during an inspection.
Dentistry Compliance review
Dentistry Compliance is a cloud platform that puts policies, audits, checklists, risk assessments and staff documents in one place, backed by a named account manager. The specialist team is led by Pat Langley and has supported practices for more than 15 years.
Key features
- Automated audits and checklists, including daily surgery set-up tasks that can be tailored per surgery
- Up-to-date policies with document acknowledgement tracking, so you can see who has read what
- Validation audit that double-checks key tasks were completed properly, and can be run remotely
- Staff and patient feedback benchmarked against thousands of UK survey responses
- Secure HR document storage, with role-based access and automatic backups
- Built-in CPD licences for Dentistry CPD (see below)
- Managed compliance and pre-acquisition due diligence audits for practices that want more hands-on help
It covers all four UK nations, aligning with CQC, HIW, HIS and RQIA requirements.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (+ VAT) | Best for | Notable extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | £109 per month | Single practices | Guided self-setup, 5 CPD licences |
| Pro | £139 per month | Growing or multi-site practices | Supported onboarding, inspection assistance, annual remote audit, 10 CPD licences |
| Custom | On request | Groups and corporates | Centralised oversight |
There are no long contracts, and you can book a free demo. Prices are as listed on the Dentistry Compliance pricing page in October 2026.
What users say
Published testimonials focus on time saved and calmer inspections. One practice owner reports weekly compliance admin dropping from a couple of hours to around 20 minutes, and several managers credit the platform with smoother CQC visits.
Dentistry CPD review
Dentistry CPD is an online learning platform with 700+ hours of verifiable CPD, covering every GDC-recommended topic for dentists, hygienists, therapists, nurses and technicians.
A quick reminder of GDC CPD requirements
Under the GDC's enhanced CPD scheme, each registrant completes verifiable hours over a five-year cycle, with at least 10 hours in every two-year period and an annual statement:
| Registrant | Verifiable hours per 5-year cycle |
|---|---|
| Dentists | 100 |
| Dental hygienists, therapists, orthodontic therapists, clinical dental technicians | 75 |
| Dental nurses and dental technicians | 50 |
Always check the GDC's CPD guidance for the current rules.
Key features
- Personal development plans built around your role
- Tracker and certificate vault, with reflections added automatically and certificates generated instantly
- Role-specific pathways for dentists, dental nurses, hygienists, therapists and technicians
- 24/7 access on desktop, tablet or mobile
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Best for | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | £6.99 per course | Topping up a few hours | Any single module, instant certificate |
| Dentistry CPD | £39.99 per year | Dental care professionals | 400+ hours, PDP, tracker |
| Dentistry CPD Pro | £119.99 per year | Dentists and principals | 700+ hours, clinical, compliance and career modules, Private Dentistry and Laboratory subscriptions |
Teams get 10% off when buying five or more licences. Prices are as listed on the Dentistry CPD pricing page in October 2026.
For locums and associates who move between practices, a single portable CPD record is especially useful. Your certificates go with you, not with the practice.
Strengths and things to consider
The biggest strength is integration: compliance, CPD and HR from one supplier, with CPD licences already bundled into compliance plans.
| Strengths | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| Covers all four UK regulators | Pro plan needed for inspection assistance and supported onboarding |
| CPD licences included with compliance plans | Larger teams may need extra CPD licences beyond 5 or 10 |
| Named account manager, no call centre | Software only works if the team keeps using it daily |
| Transparent pricing, no long contracts | Groups need a custom quote |
| Clinician-written guidance and validation audits | Switching providers means migrating existing records |
Our verdict: for single practices wanting structure, Essential is good value. For multi-site owners or anyone dreading their next CQC visit, Pro's inspection support justifies the extra £30 a month.
Compliance doesn't stop at your permanent team
Every locum who works in your surgery is part of your compliance picture. Inspectors expect you to show that temporary staff are registered, indemnified, vaccinated and trained, just like your own team.
Before a locum dental nurse, hygienist, therapist or associate starts, you should be able to evidence:
- Current GDC registration
- Professional indemnity cover
- Enhanced DBS check
- Hepatitis B immunity and vaccination records
- Up-to-date CPD, including medical emergencies and safeguarding
- Right to work in the UK and references
Chasing that paperwork at short notice is exactly where gaps creep in.
How Dental Recruit Network helps
Dental Recruit Network supplies locum and permanent dental nurses, hygienists, therapists and associates to practices across the UK. We vet candidates before they reach your door, so the documents you need for your compliance records are ready when they arrive.
Pair a platform like Dentistry Compliance with a vetted staffing partner and both your systems and your rota stay inspection-ready.
Talk to DRN about your next hireFAQs
What is Dentistry Compliance?
A cloud-based dental compliance platform from Dentistry.co.uk that manages policies, audits, checklists and staff records, aligned to CQC, HIW, HIS and RQIA standards.
How much does Dentistry Compliance cost?
Essential is £109 a month + VAT and Pro is £139 a month + VAT, with custom plans for groups.
How much does Dentistry CPD cost?
From £6.99 per course, £39.99 a year for DCPs, or £119.99 a year for the Pro plan with 700+ hours.
Is Dentistry CPD GDC-compliant?
It covers all GDC-recommended topics and issues verifiable certificates. You remain responsible for logging your hours and annual statement with the GDC.
Do locums need their own CPD?
Yes. CPD belongs to the registrant, not the practice, so locums must keep their own record across every practice they work in.
Can a recruitment agency help with dental compliance?
A good agency checks registration, indemnity, DBS and immunisation before placement, which simplifies your staff records. DRN does this for every candidate it places.
