Dental patient care and practice safety advice for dentists

In this section you will find advice and support on patient care and safety regulations in dentistry, including infection prevention and control, risk assessments and clinical compliance. You will also find our popular 'Was not brought' safeguarding resources.

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Was not brought safeguarding resources

Describing children and young people as ‘Was not brought’ instead of ‘Did not attend’ encourages us to think about the situation from the child’s perspective and potentially take action to safeguard them. Our 'Was Not Brought' resources empowers members of the dental team to identify signs of abuse or neglect.

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Latest patient care and safety news

Scotland: Publication of updated Transmission Based Precautions guidance within the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual

Updated guidance published affecting all NHS, primary care services and care homes for adults and older people across Scotland.

England: No change in IPC guidance following invasive meningococcal disease outbreak

National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance has not changed following the outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease linked to the Kent and Canterbury area.

Northern Ireland: Appealing for proper regulatory oversight of dental tourism

We ask the Health Minister and regulators for support tackling illegal practice putting the public at risk.

Minamata Convention decision on phasing out amalgam

Addressing the feasibility of proposed timescales with crucial supply issues, plus debate in parliament.

Informative new videos for Mouth Cancer Action Month

Access short videos on detecting and preventing mouth cancer, produced with input from Professor Gerry McKenna, Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Council.

Learning disability and autism training for clinical and administrative staff

Guidance on what members of the practice team need to do for both parts of mandatory Oliver McGowan training.

Appalled but not surprised: the reality of illegal tooth whitening

BBC investigation lifts lid on fraudsters endangering patients

England: New urgent care scheme launched

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have launched a new urgent care scheme, where practices can earn up to £50 for delivering additional urgent care courses of treatment this financial year.

Scotland: Quality Improvement Activity update

The Scottish Government has published PCA(D)(2025)2 which advises of the arrangements for Quality Improvement (QI) Activity for the 2025-28 cycle.

Immigration rules change will deepen access crisis

Proposed changes to immigration rules will have a direct impact on patient access to care UK-wide, hitting key members of the dental team, and the future pipeline of dentists.

Medicines recall: Erythromycin 250mg tablets

Outdated leaflet prompts Class 4 defect alert for one batch of Erythromycin 250mg tablets.

Sign our petition: Make sugar the new tobacco

Our latest research highlights the shocking amount of sugar in some baby food pouches, and we are encouraging all dental team members to join our call for government to take action.

For extra and expert members

Contact our compliance team

We help members stay on top of changing regulations, and ensure their practices are safe and comply with national standards. If you're an Extra or Expert member, you have access to unlimited one-to-one advice from us via phone or email, in addition to the online guidance.

Richard Harris, BDA Head of Compliance, looking into the camera

Patient care and practice safety

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Safeguarding dental patients

Health, safety and risk assessment

Safeguarding: Was not brought

Infection prevention and control

Clinical compliance

Recently updated

Health Service dentistry in Scotland: An overview for practice owners

Providing NHS dentistry in Scotland

Safer recruitment and training

Complex Care Pathways in NHS dentistry in England

Complaints handling

MHRA guidance and medical devices in dental practice

Sustainability in your dental practice

NHS dental quality improvement programme: Year one (2026-7)

Medical emergencies in dental practices

Significant events

Disability discrimination - dentists as service providers

Sepsis