Principles of regulationWhile the primary focus of thestatutory regulatory process is to protect the public there is no doubt that it does have other advantages. First, it enhances the status ofthe profession and second, it providessome assur-ance of the standards of the professionals in the working environment. This is achieved through either published ethical guidanceor the inspection of undergraduate courses as provided by dental schools orfaculties, ensur-ing the higheststandards of educational provisions are met.
However, there remaincertain common misunderstandings about pro-fessional regulation in generalterms. It cannot and should not be used as a substitute for the well-established systems of civil redress. The actions normally taken by regulatory bodies are, to put it simply, to protect a member of the public, a patient, from a professional, a dentist, hygienist or therapist, who may either cause him/her harm or undertake treatment which falls short of the expected standards whichwould have been pro-vided by theirpeers. The self-regulatory process iscertainly not designed to award compensation to the a¡ected parties and again, it iscertainly not a substitute for a matter of concern, for example fraud, which clearly needs to be investigated by the police or criminal courts who then decide on theappropriate punishment or penalty.
It is important toremember that the GDC does not aim to punish dentists and when a dentist’s nameis removed from the Dentists Register following an inquiry, this action is taken solely to protect thepublic. However, this is often wronglyseen as a punishment because the dentist, as a consequence of being ‘struck o¡ ’, is deprived of his or herlivelihood. Another common area of doubtrelating to the activities of the GDCisin relation to employment matters. E¡ective management is for employees andemployers to work out together. Any professional regulatory system can only work satisfactorily and retain public con¢dence if the members of the profession adhere to the highest ethical principles. ‘Do as you would be done by’ when dealing with members of the public or, to be speci¢c, patients is the sure maxim to gain success.
