History of the issue

The decision by the GDC in November 1995 to allow dentists to use the courtesy title 'Doctor' was the culmination of a well organised campaign run by Dr. Douglas Pike, himself a member of the GDC at the time. Dentists who wished to do so were encouraged to use the title 'Dr.' in relation to their practices and increasing numbers were doing so - even though at that time the GDC regarded the use of the courtesy title 'Doctor' by dentists a matter of serious professional misconduct.

When the issue was debated by the GDC in May 1995 it was defeated by the narrowest of margings. The GDC was fully aware of the rising open useage of the title 'Doctor' within the profession and had to either remove the prohibition or act against those dentists flouting its guidelines.

The matter was once again debated by the GDC in November 1995, by which time a large number - I believe it was in the region of 3000 dentists had written to the GDC stating that they were using the title 'Doctor' in their practices. Indeed this was pointed out by the then President of the Council Margaret Seward before the vote, when she said that if the Council did not vote to remove the prohibition it would be placed in the embarassing position of being out of step with a groundswell of opinion within the profession and that it would be practically and financially impossible to act against dentists openly using the title.

The notification sent to all dentists by the then Registrar of the GDC following the vote removing the ban on use of the title 'Doctor'

The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness amongst dentists in the UK that they are currently under threat of losing their right to use of the title 'Doctor'.

I am not really sure why this has re-emerged at this time - but it appears that, in considering revised guidelines on ethical advertising, the General Dental Council (GDC) were aware of two complaints that use of the courtesy title 'Doctor' was somehow confusing to patients in the UK. As a result the GDC gave its Standards Committee the task of investigating this, which resulted in a recommendation that the Council vote to implement a ban on dentists using the title.

The GDC debated the use of the courtesy title 'Doctor' by dentists at its meeting on 24th. February 2011 in the context of revised guidelines on ethical advertising. The GDC decided at that time not to vote on the issue but to ask for an impact assessment to take place and be presented to a future meeting. Originally it was thought that it would be considered and voted on during the meeting on 20th. May - but it appears that, in order to allow sufficient time for the impact analysis to be undertaken and presented, this has been postponed until the meeting on 22nd. September when the Council will once again consider the matter.
Consequently there is still time to influence the Council's decision and I would urge colleagues who wish to retain their right to legally continue using the title 'Doctor' to write or e-mail the GDC to show the strength of feeling amongst the profession.

Over the next months I will be adding to and expanding this blog so please feel free to post any comments.