Specialist training: a more flexible approach?

The General Dental Council (GDC) consultation on flexible dental training for the specialties opened on 18th March and ran until 10th June 2009. It is therefore unlikely that the outcomes of the consultation will be known by the time this edition of Primary Dental Care is published. However, it is worth considering the developments that have led to the consultation (the historical background), the role of the GDC, and the possible implications for the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) (henceforth, ‘the Faculty’) and its members. It is also pertinent to question why, at present, the majority of those entering specialist training do so early in their professional career, before they have gained wide general experience.