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What's New
Last Updated: 2 September 2010
Guidance and Policy Changes
 
  • New Zealand Dentists Registration Examination (NZDREX)
     
    The enrolment for the November clinical examination opens on 1 September 2010 and for the written examination on 6 September 2010.
    The new Dental Council examination policies are also available.
     
     
  • The New Zealand Dentist Registration Examinations
     
    New Council policies have been adopted on the New Zealand Dental Registration Examinations.
    Under the new policy, candidates who have failed the respective dental examination components (inclusive of both the written and clinical components) three times will not be permitted re-entry into the examinations.
     
     
  • DCNZ Fees 2010/2011 year
     
    At the February 2010 meeting, Council approved new and updated fees to take effect from 1 April 2010.
     
    The Annual Practising Certificate (APC) fees as published in the December 2009 edition of DCNZ News are unchanged and will be gazetted to be effective in the 2010/11 year.
     
    The fees can be viewed on the Schedule of Fees page.
     
     
News and Events
 
  • Dentists and Dental Specialists - APC Year 2010/2011
     
    The current APC cycle for dentists or dental specialists is for the period 1 October 2010 - 30 September 2011.
    APC Application forms and Retention forms have been dispatched to all existing registered practitioners. If you need to access the relevant forms, they are available on the website - the APC Application form is here and the Application for Retention on the Register form is here.
     
     
Publications
 
  • DCNZ Annual Report 2010 (1Mb)
    Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2010.
    1 July, 2010
     
  • DCNZ News March 2010
    Annual Practising Certificates | DCNZ Annual Plan and Budget for the 2010/2011 year | CPD Compliance | A Reminder to New Registrants (including graduates) - Emergency Care Training | Reminder: Dental Therapy Practice Appraisals | Accreditation of the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists (NZAO) Orthodontic Auxiliary Training Programme: Certificate of Orthodontic Assisting | Australian National Registration and Accreditation Scheme| Code of Practice on the Working Relationship between Orthodontic Auxiliaries and Dentists
    25 March, 2010
     
Archives
 
  • Continuing Professional Development Returns
     
    The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) cycle for dental therapists, hygienists, orthodontic auxiliaries, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians ended on 31 December 2009. Further information relating to CPD can be found on the page Continuing Professional Development.
     
    If you have not yet submitted your CPD activity summary to the Dental Council, download and complete this form and attach it to your APC application.
     
     
  • Code of practice on the working relationship between orthodontic auxiliaries and dentists
     
    Following consultation with stakeholders, the Dental Council has approved a revised code of practice on the working relationship between orthodontic auxiliaries and dentists. The aim of the code is to describe the general functions and levels of supervision required by orthodontic auxiliaries and assist practitioners to understand the requirements of orthodontic auxiliary practice.
    Please refer to Codes of Practice and Council Statements for further details.
     
     
  • Policy on Annual Practising Certificate (APC) fees
     
    Council has updated the Policy on Annual Practising Certificate (APC) fees effective from 1 April 2010.
     
     
  • New Zealand Conditions of Practice (NZCOP) Examination Removed
     
    Following consultation, the Council has removed the requirement for candidates to gain a pass in the New Zealand Conditions of Practice (NZCOP) Open Book Examination as part of a prescribed qualification for all dentist scopes of practice. Prospective registrants are required to complete a statutory declaration declaring that they have read and understood the content of the NZCOP resource book. The Dental Council considers that the statutory declaration is equally as robust as the open-book examination. The requirement to provide a statutory declaration streamlines the process with less time, cost and resource implications.
     
     
  • Continuing Professional Development Policy
     
    In December 2008, the Dental Council invited all oral health practitioners, associations and continuiing professional development (CPD) providers and verifiers to comment on a draft CPD policy.
     
    From the consultation feedback received, the following changes were made to the CPD policy:
     
    • Removal of the recording of non-verifiable CPD activities for all practitioner groups from 1 January 2009.
    • Aligning the recertification with calendar years instead of financial years with effect from 1 January 2009.
    • Renaming of 'peer group' to 'study group'.
    • Adoption of a revised CPD record template.
     
    Following the consultation period, it was clear that a number of CPD-related matters required further consultation, in particular:
     
    • whether dental therapists are required to complete a clinical appraisal
    • the number of CPD hours required for each practitioner group
    • the length of CPD cycle
    • the value of the peer contact activities and the CPD providers' role in recording this
    • the length of time it takes to process turn around a Board-approved CPD application.
     
    The Council asked its Professional Boards to work in consultation with the relevant professional associations to resolve these outstanding matters. In consideration of the consultation feedback received, the Council has resolved that:
     
    • practice appraisal as part of the recertification process for Dental Therapists will be removed
    • the recertification cycle for each practitioner group will be four years and staggered
    • the number of CPD hours required for each practitioner group (over a four-year recertification cycle) will be as follows:
       
      Practitioner Group CPD Hours per Recertification Cycle
      Dentists/Dental Specialists 80
      Dental Hygienists 60
      Dental Therapists 60
      Orthodontic Auxiliaries 30
      Dental Technicians 40
      Clinical Dental Technicians 60
       
    • CPD providers must specify whether or not a CPD activity qualifies as a peer contact activity
    • the length of time it takes to process a Board approved CPD application will be 8 weeks
     
    The revised Continuing Professional Development Activities Policy becomes effective from 1 January 2010.