Pathway to Fellowship

The College’s new Pathway to Fellowship offers staged recognition of your commitment to professional development and your achievement across different dimensions of your career.

ASSOCIATE FELLOWSHIP, previously based only on clinical qualifications, is now open to any dental professional with at least five years’ practice who meets the requirements of any one of the College’s five recently-revised Fellowship domains.

ROLE-BASED FELLOWSHIP, a brand new initiative, is open to any registered Dental Care Professional with at least ten years’ practice who can satisfy any two domains of Fellowship.

COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP remains open to all dental professionals with at least ten years’ practice who fulfil the criteria in any three Fellowship domains.

Further information on Role-based Fellowship and the widening of Associate Fellowship is available at cgdent.uk/news and will be included in the next issue of the PDJ.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Associate Fellows, Role Fellows and College Fellows are all part of the Community of Fellowship, senior members of the College who help provide leadership and support to the development of dentistry. They may use enhanced College post-nominals, can attend the biannual Fellows’ Receptions, have the opportunity for ceremonial admission by the President, receive a 5–8% reduction in their dental indemnity fees with Dental Protection and are eligible to enrol on a ‘top-up’ MSc in General Dental Practice (see online at tr.ee/jvwSAd ).

Further information on the recent revision of the Fellowship domains is found in the News & Perspectives section of this issue, and the full new domain requirements are set out below.

To apply to become an Associate Fellow, Role Fellow or Fellow of the College, visit cgdent.uk/fellowship-application

CLINICAL & TECHNICAL DOMAIN

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

An eligible postgraduate qualification
The following are accepted as eligible qualifications:
• Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7 in England & Wales) or Master’s (e.g. MSc, MClinDent) in an oral healthcare subject (qualifying as 120 Credits minimum in the UK CAT scheme) awarded by a higher education institution in the UK or European High Education Area (EHEA), or accredited by a regulated awarding body in the UK
• RCS Eng / FGDP(UK) / CGDent Diploma in Implant Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry, Primary Care Orthodontics or Minor/Primary Care Oral Surgery
• Master of Dental Surgery (MDS)
• CGDent Certified Practitioner status An eligible Diploma of Membership
The following are accepted as eligible Diplomas of Membership:
• Diploma of Membership in Advanced General Dental Surgery, RCS Edinburgh (MAGDS)
• Diploma or Membership in a specific discipline (RCS Edinburgh)
• Diploma of Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) from any UK Royal College, or RCS Ireland
• Diploma of Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
• Diploma of Specialty Membership of a UK Royal College
• Accredited Full Member of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
• Fellowship of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry Submission of portfolio for assessment
You can apply for assessment by portfolio for this domain, for which a fee is payable. This is currently available in Restorative Dentistry, and will open soon in Orthodontics and Implant Dentistry. For further details, see pages 13–15 in the previous issue of the Primary Dental Journal (Leadership issue, Autumn 2025, v14 n3) or visit cgdent.uk/clinical-technical-portfolio

Achievement in the Clinical & Technical domain may also progress you toward recognition as a CGDent Certified Practitioner. For further information, see page 8 in the previous issue of the Primary Dental Journal (Leadership issue, Autumn 2025, v14 n3) or visit cgdent.uk/certified-practitioner

TEACHING & ASSESSMENT DOMAIN

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

Recognition by an authoritative body
The following are accepted:
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE)
• Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Educators PG Certificate and three years’ qualifying experience
You will meet the requirements in this domain if you:
• Have a postgraduate certificate (60 credits at Level 7 in England & Wales) in dental, medical or clinical education
AND
• Provide evidence of three years’ service in one paid or otherwise explicitly accountable, relevant role, in a regulated/accredited academic institution (including RCS, NEBDN), and amounting to at least 200 hours/year Eight years’ qualifying experience, plus verified training
You will meet the requirements in this domain if you:
• Provide evidence of eight years’ service in one paid, relevant role, in a regulated academic institution (including RCS, NEBDN) OR as an NHS Educational Supervisor, and amounting to at least 200 hours/year
AND
• Provide evidence EITHER of 27 hours’ verifiable CPD related to your teaching & assessment role, undertaken within the past three years, OR that you hold the Diploma of Fellowship of the Faculty of Dental Trainers (RCS Edinburgh)

LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CLINICAL GOVERNANCE DOMAIN

YOU WILL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS IN THIS DOMAIN IF YOU FULFIL ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SETS OF CRITERIA.

In addition, you will be asked to describe your methods to seek feedback on your performance. The College provides the Professional Framework to guide your statement (see cgdent.uk/professional-framework )

An eligible leadership qualification only
You will meet the requirements of this domain if you hold one of the following qualifications:
• Fellowship of the Faculty of Medical Leadership & Management (FFMLM)
• A PG Diploma (120 credits at Level 7 in England & Wales) in Medical Leadership & Management, which includes an applied work-based project (in dentistry) of at least 20 credits
• FGDP Diploma in Leadership & Management A leadership qualification AND relevant leadership experience
You will meet the requirements of this domain if you hold one of the following qualifications AND provide evidence of three years’ qualifying leadership experience (see below):
• PG Certificate (60 credits at Level 7 in England & Wales) in Medical Leadership & Management
• PG Certificate in Clinical Governance
• Institute of Leadership & Management Diploma in leadership at Level 5 or above
Qualifying leadership experience
Demonstrable responsibility for implementing strategic initiatives, managing teams, and ensuring that organisational goals are executed effectively across departments or units.
Examples of the level of experience expected are set out below.
• Leadership of multidisciplinary dental teams, with accountability for performance, patient safety, and regulatory compliance (e.g. CQC, GDC standards). For example, Practice Principal (of a multi-chair practice with minimum six Registrants), Practice Manager (with demonstrable leadership, strategic involvement, operational oversight, financial accountability, regulatory and QA accountability, and reporting directly to the owners, partners or board, in a multi-chair practice of minimum six Registrants).
• Key accountability in managing budgets, workforce planning, or commissioning dental services at a regional or national level, including service as a Chair of a Local Dental Committee (LDC).
This should be evidenced through a countersigned personal statement and employer testimonial. A declaration is required that the practice(s) do not have any current adverse regulatory findings. Senior leadership experience only
You will meet the requirements of this domain if you can evidence three years’ qualifying senior leadership experience AND 10 hours’ accredited CPD with a leadership and management focus undertaken in the past three years.
Qualifying senior leadership experience
Senior leadership roles include those with:
• Demonstrable experience of holding senior clinical or strategic accountability within a dental service, such as a Clinical Director, Consultant in Dental Public Health, or Head of Department.
• Proven responsibility for service delivery, clinical governance, and quality assurance in a dental or oral health setting (comparable with a Clinical Director of Dental Services, Consultant in DPH or Lead Clinician or Clinical Lead (in CDS), Specialty Lead (e.g. Ortho, Restorative Dentistry), Dental Services Manager (across multiple sites).
The above should be evidenced through a countersigned personal statement and employer testimonial.

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS DOMAIN

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

Research Doctorate or Master’s involving a research dissertation• A master’s degree or doctorate in a subject relevant to dentistry or the wider enhancement of oral healthcare, which includes a research dissertation of at least 30 academic credits. Significant record of research publication• At least five publications in recognised, peer-reviewed publications relevant to dentistry or the enhancement of oral healthcare.Our publication requirements emphasise the College’s ethos of sharing and promoting credible and trustworthy knowledge. We will require you to have published in journals we recognise as authoritative. We recognise journals that are indexed by MEDLINE (see www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals ) plus Dental Update. Other journals may be considered at our discretion.

LAW & ETHICS DOMAIN

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:

A law degree or relevant postgraduate qualification, with experienceYou will meet the requirements of this domain if you hold one of the following qualifications and have one year’s experience in a qualifying role (see text below, right):• PG Certificate or Diploma in a legally-related subject of relevance to dentistry• LLB/LLM• Bond Solon or comparable qualification as an expert witness Five years’ experience in a qualifying roleYou will meet the requirements of this domain if you have five years’ experience in a qualifying role (see below) and can evidence 10 hours’ verifiable CPD in a relevant subject area in the past three years.

Qualifying roles are:

Contracted dento-legal clinical advisor

Decision-maker on a regulatory panel (CQC or GDC)

Expert witness (for those seeking to meet the requirements based on five years’ experience in this role, evidence should be provided of writing at least 60 Part 35-compliant reports or having given live evidence in 20 cases)