FD Handbook

Foundation Dentists’ Handbook

This Handbook is to provide you with information about your time in DFT. It is divided into sections so that you can find the information easily and rapidly

Dental Foundation Training became mandatory on 1st October 1993, making it compulsory for all graduates of British dental schools to hold a certificate showing completion of an approved course (or experience equivalent to that course)  before they can become a Performer on an NHS contract. Non EU graduates of the UK dental schools may enter Foundation Training if specific regulations are met.

You can still practice without this certification in private practice. If you qualified at a dental school from elsewhere in the EU there would be no compulsion to comply with this regulation. EU nationals are eligible to enter the UK Dental Foundation Training scheme. Overseas nationals who are not EU graduates must gain their Foundation Training Certificate under differing regulations; this is known as Foundation Training by Equivalence (FTQ)..

Satisfactory completion of Foundation Training is dependent not only upon the assessment process, but also upon working in your Training Practice for 12 months; maintaining and keeping up-to-date your E-Portfolio; attending the Study Days for 30 days; and completing the case-study and project work during the year. 
After Foundation Training an ethical practitioner will keep up-to-date by attending meetings and trade shows; undertaking specialised ‘hands-on’ courses; and reading a range of journals.  The General Dental Council requirements mean that dental practitioners need to undertake 250 hours of professional development every five years:- this is 15 hours of verifiable and 35 hours of non verifiable education each year.

The funding of Dental Foundation Training used to be arranged centrally, but now is part of the overall budget for Health Education England.  Funding for the practice based component of Dental Foundation Training is delivered via the NHS Business Services Authority