The dental team--PCDs. Where are we now?
1Birmingham Personal Dental Service, Birmingham Specialist Community Health NHS Trust.
Abstract:
Professionals Complementary to Dentistry (PCDs) have varying roles within the dental team, from chairside assisting to the actual provision of clinical treatment. These tasks are closely proscribed at present, but this may change in the future. The modernization of dentistry, the introduction of registration for PCDs, the introduction of workforce development confederations responsible for funding and commissioning training of dentists and PCDs, and a workforce review looking at the whole dental team will all impact upon the working lives of dentists and their teams. These current changes represent an opportunity to improve the functioning and composition of the dental team, which should not be missed.
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