All dental professionals registered with the General Dental Council are required to make sure they have adequate and appropriate indemnity arrangements in place.

If an issue arises and the dentist involved doesn’t have the right protection, the cost of sorting things out can be disastrous – both financially, and in terms of their career prospects and reputation.

There can also be a huge amount of stress involved in legal proceedings, complaints, and investigations. Professional protection means there is someone on their side, who can relieve some of the burden by responding on their behalf, representing their interests, and focusing on getting the best possible outcome.
 

We actively encourage members to get in touch using our Dentolegal Advice Line if they have any dentolegal or ethical concerns or doubts, even if they just need reassurance. They can get personal advice from fellow professionals who can understand the situation they’re in.

We also have an out of hours advice line, open 24/7, 365 days a year in an emergency.

Call our dentolegal advice line

Let’s dispel this myth. We do not use the number of requests for advice as part of our risk assessment of a member. This includes determining their membership subscription.

In fact, we actively encourage members to contact us for advice as soon as possible, not only to provide peace of mind but also with a view to preventing a concern or problem escalating unnecessarily.

 

A complaint can hit any dentist at any time, irrespective of their level of professional experience. If this happens to you, you're not alone and are welcome to call our dentolegal advice line for assistance and support. Our dedicated and experienced team can assist you to prepare a response to the patient with a view to minimising the risk of the situation escalating. This will enable you to deal with the complaint, learn from it and move on with your career.

 

As an associate in general dental practice, you will be a self-employed independent contractor from day one. You will therefore have a professional responsibility to carry suitable indemnity in the event of a claim for compensation being made against you. Your indemnity provider will also assist you in managing any patient complaints.

However, as a hospital dentist you will be an employee of an NHS Trust. Employers have what is known in law as vicarious liability for their employees acting in the course of their employment. As such, any complaint or claim for compensation pertaining to treatment you have undertaken will be made against the Trust, not against you personally. This is what is generally referred to as the dentist benefitting from ‘Trust indemnity’.

It is nevertheless of the utmost importance to understand that Trust indemnity will not provide a hospital dentist with any assistance or support in the event of a General Dental Council investigation into their so-called Fitness to Practise. For this reason alone, it is vital that all hospital dentists also carry their own, personal indemnity.