The DTA represent the best interests of all UK Dental Technologists, whether qualified or in training, with one voice. Our voluntary management team regularly meet and continually influence and raise the profile of dental technology with decision makers including regulators, educational providers and various groups and we continue to be actively involved in various National initiatives, consultations, campaigns and activities.

We provide members with a one stop shop including a range of benefits and packages to suit and support students throughout their education; newly qualified individuals taking their next steps starting their career; and experienced professionals, making it easy for you to stay compliant no matter where you are in your journey. See the full list of benefits. 

Yes. If you are a student based in the UK and currently studying for a dental technology registerable qualification, you can register for our special student membership for only £10 per year including a range of benefits and packages to suit and support students throughout their education. See packages here 

Membership is valid for 12-months from registration. If you are a student in your final year, your student membership will expire when you become a GDC registrant and you will be eligible for our discounted newly qualified membership package.  

Your membership expiry date is detailed on your dashboard when you login to your account. Login now.

Overseas membership is open to GDC Registered Dental Technicians and Clinical Dental Technicians living outside of the United Kingdom. Access to DTA publications is digital.

Login  and add your card payment details to your account. When your membership is due for renewal the payment will be made automatically unless you cancel it beforehand. We will always send a notification to the email on your account prior to the renewal payment date.  

You can update your postal address and email address yourself by logging into your account. It's important we have your current address so that we can post your membership documents to you and your quarterly copies of The Technologist. We also email our e-journal Articulate to all members throughout the year and send monthly updates by email.

We email our quarterly e-journal Articulate to all members throughout the year which includes CPD activities. We also send renewal reminders and our monthly newsletter by email.

You can find your DTA membership number in your account . It is also on your DTA membership certificate and card. If you have misplaced these, please contact us.

Click on the forgotten you password  link to reset it.  

Dental technicians need to complete a minimum of 50 hours of verifiable CPD every five years. Clinical dental technicians need to complete a minimum of 75 hours of verifiable CPD.

As a dental professional, you will need to complete a minimum of 10 hours of verifiable CPD every two consecutive years. You can go a year without completing any CPD, but if this is the case, you need to complete 10 hours of CPD in either the previous year, or the year that follows.

Even if you have not completed any CPD hours in any given year, you still need to make an annual CPD statement. In these circumstances, please submit a zero hours CPD statement. Do not forget to ensure that you have your own personal indemnity insurance .

Read more about ECPD here.  

The CPD activities you do must be relevant to your practice or intended practice, including when this is across more than one title. You must do the minimum amount of CPD for the title that requires the higher number of hours.

The DTA editorial team are working diligently to ensure that the DTA's free-to-members CPD meets the GDC's quality criteria. We offer our members over 20 hours of verifiable CPD each year that provides lifelong learning specific to dental technicians' needs and including core subjects. View all other membership benefits here. 

There is no requirement to inform the GDC of any non-verifiable CPD completed under the Enhanced CPD Scheme 2018.

At the end of your five-year cycle you should have completed the minimum CPD requirement. If you are coming to the end of your CPD cycle and discover that you will not be able to meet the minimum CPD requirement, you can request a period of grace from the GDC. They will only grant it if they are satisfied that there is an exceptional circumstance, or good reason to do so.

You can submit a request in writing no earlier than six months before the end of your CPD cycle. If your grace request is granted, you will have an additional 56 days after the end of the CPD cycle to comply with your CPD requirement.

For any further queries, please get in touch with the GDC  using the contact us form or by post, to: GDC, One Colmore Square, Birmingham, B4 6AJ.

It is a requirement of a dental care professional to have a PDP to plan CPD activity according to your field(s) of practice.

DTA provide all members with a template for a personal development plan and log book to update within the members area of the website. To make things easier, when CPD activity is completed on the DTA website, it automatically saves in your log book with your reflection making it easy for members to align CPD activity with a GDC development outcome(s). Login  to view and update your PDP and log book now.

Yes. You can upload the certificate and add reflection. However, you must ensure that any CPD certificate (physical or electronic) that you gain from a CPD provider shows the details:

• The subject, learning content, aims and objectives
• The anticipated GDC development outcomes of the CPD
• The date(s) that the CPD was undertaken
• The total number of hours of CPD undertaken
• The name of the professional who has participated in the CPD activity

• That the CPD is subject to quality assurance, with the name of the person or body providing the quality assurance
• Confirmation from the provider that the information contained in it is full and accurate
• It should also include the participant's GDC registration number

No. When you declare your CPD hours to the GDC you do not need to submit your CPD certificates but you will need to retain them all and keep them in a safe place in case the GDC request that you submit them. We recommend that you print your log book and all your certificates at the end of each year.

The Standards for the Dental Team set out the ethical principles of dental practice and there are four development outcomes A, B, C, D that you need to map each of your activities to. View the development outcomes table and read more. 

Yes. To be able to renew your registration with the GDC, you will be required to declare that you have the necessary indemnity or insurance in place to cover you in your work. DCPs will have to make this declaration during their annual renewal period in June/July. You will not have to provide your indemnity certificate unless the GDC specifically ask you to.

If you are registering with the GDC for the first time, you will need to declare during the registration application process that you will have appropriate indemnity cover in place by the time you start to practise.

The DTA has linked with UK Special Risks to provide cost effective professional indemnity insurance to meet the statutory requirement for our Dental Technician members. 

​Yes. Whilst it is ok to be covered under your employer's workplace policy you may wish to think about having your own policy because they can provide additional support such as:

• Provide you with support and advice if you have any queries or questions

• Provide cover for your legal costs in a FtP hearing if this were ever needed.

​No. Employers' liability insurance covers your employer against the cost of compensation claims arising from an injury you (the employee) might sustain at work.

This is not the same as professional indemnity which can pay out compensation to a patient should they need to make a claim against you.

UK Special Risks also offer DTA members a special discount for Laboratory Contents Insurance.

If you are overseas and want to work in the UK you can complete the GDC route to registration questionnaire  to find out more information.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the UK-wide statutory regulator of around 110,000 members of the dental team. Their primary purpose is to protect patient safety and maintain public confidence in dental services. To achieve this, they register qualified dental professionals and set standards for the dental team. Read more. 

Registration with the GDC depends upon certain criteria and you can find out more on the GDC website. 

It is illegal practice for someone to call themselves a dental technologist/dental technician/dental mechanic or a similar term if you are not currently registered as such with the GDC. It is also illegal to sign off work as fit for the market under MHRA MDD/MDR if you are not currently registered as such with the GDC.

The Annual Retention Fee (ARF) is the fee all registered dental care professionals must pay each year to remain on the dental care professionals register.The deadline to pay is 31 July each year. You will receive a letter ahead of the deadline with information about how you can make the payment.

You have to declare your CPD hour to the GDC by 31 July each year.

In the UK the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the competent authority responsible for the MDR. Read more .

The original framework for medical devices, which consisted of the Medical Devices Directive (MDD) 93/42/EEC and Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMD) Directive 90/385/EEC, has been amended. These directives have now been combined under the Medical Devices Regulations (MDR). Read more.