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This paper is intended to update dental practitioners and commissioners of dental services on the significance of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 which came into force in April 2008. The paper places the Act in the context of the potential criminal (as opposed to civil) liabilities of dental providers. It looks in detail at criminal liability, health and safety and gross negligence manslaughter. In particular it explains the essential elements of the new offence: the threshold question of which organisations are covered, the relevant duty of care, when an organisation may be culpable, and what penalties they may face on conviction. The paper concludes that any dental provider may be liable for one of these offences (health and safety, gross negligence manslaughter or the new corporate manslaughter offence) but only a limited number is likely ever to find themselves answering a criminal charge.

The Government is proposing a major deregulation to the dental market by removing the restriction which allows only 27 named corporate bodies to carry on the business of dentistry. The Government sees benefits in incorporation for both NHS and private dentistry and in particular by providing wider ranging options for attracting investment. The necessary changes to the Dentists Act 1984 would be implemented by an Order under Section 60 the Health Act 1999. The latest news from the Department of Health when this was written is that they anticipate consulting on the draft Order by September of this year.

I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share with you my understanding of the much-needed and long-awaited reform of the General Dental Council. Change is moving apace and the new, modern GDC, for which the existing Council has been working so hard, is taking shape as part of widespread fundamental reforms in the regulation of healthcare.

A review of the legislation and regulation impacting upon Dental Bodies Corporate. This includes consideration of the Dentists Act 1984; the GDC Rules and Regulations made there under; and current ethical guidance issued by the GDC.

One of the most exclusive clubs in the dental world comprises the 27 members who can call themselves Dental Bodies Corporate (DBCs). Among this elite are well-known names such as Dental World, Dencare, Whitecross, Benedent and also Oakley, which is owned by Denplan. In the UK only dentists and DBCs are permitted to carry on the business of dentistry. DBCs are simply companies whose directors (the majority of whom must be dentists) are protected by the laws of limited liability, with the purpose of encouraging investment by shareholders (who need not be dentists). This article outlines the story of how this select band of Corporate Bodies gained their exclusive status which goes back to the very earliest days of our profession.