Dental regulation at work in Australia, 2014/15

01 Apr 2016

The Dental Board of Australia (the Board) has released its report for 2014/15.

In 2014/15 the Board continued its review of registration standards, codes and guidelines to ensure they remain relevant. This work will continue in 2015/16, including consultation on entry level competencies for specialist registration and endorsement for conscious sedation.

The Board also started work on developing the dental-specific components of the notification taxonomy. This will allow us to identify the common risks and harms in the notifications received. By understanding the patterns we can review our regulatory policies so they are relevant, and work with the dental professions to help reduce these risks overtime.

Highlights

• Registration standard for conscious sedation reviewed. 
• Review and revision of accreditation standards. 
• 21,209 registered dental practitioners in Australia on 30 June 2015. 
• One-third of registered dental practitioners are 35 years old or younger. 
• 18% increase in the number of practitioners registered in the oral health therapist division. 
• 19% decrease in number of notifications received about dental practitioners compared to 2013/14. 
• In 67% of notifications closed (excluding New South Wales), no further action was required. 
• 15 immediate action cases, compared to 18 in 2013/14. 
• 211 registered dental practitioners under active monitoring on 30 June 2015 – 36% due to performance and 33% due to conduct issues.

Download a copy of the report below:

Dental regulation at work in Australia - 2014/15 (37.5 KB,PDF), Word version (58.5 KB,DOCX)