Applying for Dental Authority Status

All UK dental education providers must have Dental Authority Status (DAS) before they can award degrees in dentistry. DAS is a legal status described in the Dentists Act 1984 and is awarded to organisations by the Privy Council. Organisations apply to the Privy Council for “medical authority status for the purposes of the Dentists Act 1984” and, if approved, is awarded via an Order of Council.

There is no fee attached to this process.

As well as requiring DAS to award dental degrees, the status is needed for students to be considered as ‘students of dentistry’ and allows them to legally treat patients (see s37 of the Dentists Act 1984). This means that, whilst DAS may not be essential for a programme of dentistry to commence, it is necessary for any clinical training to take place.

The process for awarding DAS can take up to 12 months so this should be considered as part of any plans for establishing a new dental school and enrolling students. The key steps in the process are as follows:

• Step 1: Initial application to the Privy Council
  Contact the Privy Council Office to submit a formal letter of application. The information required in the application is set out in the GDC’s guidance for providers seeking to set up a new dental school in the UK.
• Step 2: Programme submission to the GDC
  Where an organisation proposes to offer a new dental programme leading to a registrable qualification in clinical dentistry, a programme submission must be made to the GDC. Applicants should refer to the GDC’s guidance on new programme submissions for further information.
• Step 3: Privy Council consideration
  The Privy Council considers the letter of application and any supporting evidence provided. This can take between 1-6 months to complete.
• Step 4: Notification from the GDC
  The GDC advises the Privy Council where the organisation’s programme submission has been approved by the GDC.
• Step 5: In-principle decision
  Subject to the Privy Council being content to approve the application, and the GDC having approved the programme submission, an inprinciple decision is taken to proceed with the award of DAS.
• Step 6: Legislative process
  The Privy Council commences the formal legislative process to confer DAS by means of an Order of Council.
• Step 7: Post-award quality assurance
  Where DAS is formally granted, the GDC undertakes quality assurance of any new dental programme in accordance with its standard approval and monitoring processes, as set out in its guidance on new programme submissions.

If your organisation intends to offer postgraduate programmes to individuals that are not registered as a dentist in the UK, they should contact the GDC’s Education Quality Assurance team and the relevant UK Chief Dental Officer of the country where the training would be delivered.