Informed Consent in Dentistry
CPD – 1 Hour | Self-Directed Online Course | GDC Outcomes A, B, C, D
- Courses
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- Informed Consent
What’s Included
1-hour verifiable CPD (self-directed)
Full set of module slides and reading materials
Downloadable consent documentation templates and checklists
Dental case studies for real-world application. Reflection prompts for your PDP.
Course Overview
Informed consent is a legal and ethical cornerstone of safe dental practice. It protects patients’ rights, builds trust, and safeguards professionals from complaints or litigation. Yet, misunderstandings around what “valid consent” really means are still one of the most common causes of regulatory investigation.
This self-taught CPD course takes you through the principles, processes, and pitfalls of consent in everyday dentistry. You will learn how to explain treatment options clearly, check patient understanding, and document consent in line with professional and legal standards.
Where earlier tutor-led courses (such as those offered by Glenys Bridges) focused on classroom-style delivery, this programme is built as a self-directed e-learning CPD. It includes downloadable templates, reflective tasks, and dental case studies so you can apply your learning directly in practice.
Course Fee
Enrol Today
Protect your patients, your practice, and yourself by mastering informed consent in dentistry.
Certification
CPD certificate upon successful completion of the quiz
Who Is This Course For?
What You'll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Define informed consent and explain its legal and ethical foundations.
- Distinguish between implied, verbal, and written consent in dentistry.
- Apply the key elements of valid consent: capacity, voluntariness, information.
- Communicate treatment options, risks, benefits, and alternatives clearly.
- Recognise situations where consent may be complex (children, vulnerable adults, language barriers).
- Document consent accurately for CQC, GDC, and legal purposes.
- Manage situations where patients refuse or withdraw consent.
- Reflect on your own practice and improve consent conversations.
Course Modules
- Module 1 – Introduction to Consent Definitions, ethical principles, and why consent matters.
- Module 2 – Types of Consent in Dentistry Implied, verbal, written — when each is required.
- Module 3 – The Principles of Valid Consent Capacity, voluntariness, and providing adequate information.
- Module 4 – Communication for Consent Explaining risks, benefits, alternatives, and checking understanding.
- Module 5 – Complex Consent Scenarios Children, vulnerable adults, interpreters, and refusals.
- Module 6 – Documentation & Compliance Recording consent, CQC and GDC standards, reflective practice.
GDC Development Outcomes
- A: Effective communication with patients and colleagues
- B: Management and leadership in a dental setting
- C: Maintenance and development of knowledge and skills
- D: Maintaining skills, knowledge, and professional behaviours