Professional Standards: Where are We Now?

This article discusses the use and misuse of standards in the dental professional environment and reviews their fitness for purpose. it provides an overview of the legal, regulatory and professional framework within which such standards are likely to be used and applied, and examines the differing needs of the various parties within that framework.
The consequences of poorly constructed and ill-communicated standards, including those whose intention and context is not made clear, are considered from the perspectives of the public and patients, the individual clinician, the wider profession and other stakeholders in the professional environment.