A dental care professional can make decisions and undertake treatment that is within their scope of practice if they’re:
- competent
- trained to carry out the work
- registered with the GDC
- indemnified
All care that falls outside of the scope of practice must be referred to a qualified clinician.
Dentists remain the only clinicians who can carry out the full range of dental treatments and supply and administer a full range of prescription-only medicines (POM).
Since June 2024, dental hygienists and therapists have been permitted to supply and administer specified medicines directly to patients upon completion of appropriate training.
Further information can be found on the NHS England website.