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Key facts for dentists and oral health practitioners
- Regulator
- Dental Council (Te Kaunihera Tiaki Niho)
- Standards
- Standards Framework for Oral Health Practitioners: ethical principles, 28 professional standards, practice standards
- Recertification
- Professional peer, PDP, professional development, written reflection, annual declaration; no minimum hours
- Who it covers
- Dentists, specialists, hygienists, therapists, oral health therapists, clinical dental technicians, dental technicians
- Our two core courses
- Ethics for Dental Professionals and Professional Standards for Dental Professionals
- Each course
- 3 hours (estimated), 20 questions, 80% pass, certificate and written reflection
The two core courses for oral health practitioners
Core course 1Ethics
Ethics for Dental Professionals
The Dental Council's five ethical principles and 28 professional standards applied to fees, treatment planning, consent, cosmetic care and disclosure.
Core course 2Professionalism
Professional Standards for Dental Professionals
Scopes, supervision and delegation, plus the Dental Council's IPC, medical emergencies and sedation standards, complaints and notifications.
Which one do I need?
| Compare | Ethics for Dental Professionals | Professional Standards for Dental Professionals |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Values, reasoning and ethical dilemmas | Conduct, standards, scope, records and accountability |
| The question it answers | What is the right thing to do here, and why? | What do my standards require, and how do I show it? |
| Choose it when | A decision, a dilemma or your judgement is in question | Behaviour, systems, scope of practice or records are in question |
Not sure? Many concerns and most CPD plans need both: take them together for a complete picture.
Many concerns about oral health practitioners have nothing to do with clinical skill. They are about a treatment plan that served the practice more than the patient, an estimate that changed halfway through, consent that was a signature rather than a conversation, or a steriliser that had not been validated. Our two core courses separate the ethical questions from the professional standards so that you can work on each properly.
Ethics for Dental Professionals: patients' interests first
The ethics course applies the Standards Framework's ethical principles and professional standards to everyday decisions: conflicts of interest in fee-for-service care, overtreatment and supervised neglect, honest estimates, informed consent in the chair, working within scope alongside dentists, advanced and cosmetic procedures, advertising, disclosure of complications, record integrity, boundaries, equity and cultural safety, blood borne viruses and concerns about colleagues. It uses published HDC and Tribunal decisions about dental care.
Professional Standards for Dental Professionals: the systems you are accountable for
The professional standards course covers registration and APC duties, scopes of practice and their supervision conditions, delegation to unregistered staff, the Council's practice standards on infection prevention and control, medical emergencies and sedation, radiation safety and medicines, complaints handling, notifications and the recertification programme. It is useful for practice owners and managers as well as clinicians.
Ethics asks whether a decision is right for this patient. Professional standards ask whether your practice and team meet the Council's requirements, and whether you could show it.
How the courses map to the Standards Framework
The Dental Council's Standards Framework has three tiers: ethical principles, professional standards and practice standards. The 28 professional standards are grouped in five areas.
| Professional standards group | Standards | Main course |
|---|---|---|
| Put patients' interests first | 1–7 | Ethics for Dental Professionals |
| Ensure safe practice | 8–12 | Professional Standards for Dental Professionals |
| Communicate effectively | 13–18 | Ethics core course; Informed Consent and Communication |
| Provide good care | 19–22 | Professional Standards core course; Infection Prevention and Control |
| Maintain public trust and confidence | 23–28 | Both core courses; Probity; Professional Boundaries |
The practice standards add detail on specific topics. Those most relevant to our courses are Professional boundaries (October 2017), Informed consent (May 2018), Advertising (September 2020), Patient records and privacy of health information (December 2020), Best practices when providing care to Māori patients (March 2021), Blood borne viruses (May 2022), infection prevention and control, medical emergencies and the sedation standard (2026).
Oral health situations the courses work through
- The comprehensive treatment plan. A new patient is offered several crowns and implants. Which options were presented, at what cost, and would a conservative approach have been fairly offered?
- The estimate that grew. Treatment costs more than quoted. When must you stop and re-consent, and how do you document the conversation about fees?
- The hygienist asked to work outside scope. Scope, supervision conditions and who is accountable when a practice owner sets the appointment book.
- The before-and-after photos. Advertising must not mislead, and patient images need consent and privacy safeguards.
- The complication you did not mention. Open disclosure under the Code of Rights and the HDC's guidance, and why an honest explanation often prevents a complaint.
- The steriliser log with gaps. Infection control is a systems duty, and a gap in records can look like a gap in practice.
A worked example: when the treatment plan changes mid-course
The ethics course uses a structured approach that you can apply in the chair. Here is how it works on a common case.
A patient consented to a large composite restoration at a quoted fee. Once the old filling is removed, you find the tooth would be better served by a crown at roughly three times the cost, over two more visits.
- Pause before proceeding. Consent covered the composite, not the crown. If it is safe to do so, stop and explain what you found.
- Present the real options. The crown, a large composite with its limitations, a temporary restoration while the patient decides, and the risks of each, in plain language and with honest costs.
- Check the patient's priorities. Cost, time off work, appearance and long-term outcome may weigh differently for them than for you.
- Let the patient decide. Under Right 7 of the Code of Rights, the choice is theirs. Avoid pressure created by having the patient already in the chair with an open tooth.
- Record it. Note what you found, the options and costs discussed, the decision and any updated estimate.
The professional standards course then covers the practice side: estimate templates, how front-desk staff explain changes, and a records audit that would show this conversation happened.
Equity and cultural safety in oral health
Oral health outcomes in New Zealand are markedly unequal, with Māori and some other groups carrying a heavier burden of disease. The Council's practice standard on best practices when providing care to Māori patients sets specific expectations, including offering extracted teeth to Māori patients. The ethics course covers this standard and the wider duty to provide culturally safe care, and the Cultural Safety and Health Equity course can be added for more depth.
Cost is an ethical issue too. When most care is paid for privately, treatment planning must be honest about options that are affordable as well as those that are ideal, and about the consequences of doing nothing.
Using the courses in the Dental Council recertification programme
The recertification programme introduced in 2021 replaced the old hours quota. There is no minimum number of hours. Instead each practitioner has a professional peer recorded with the Council, keeps a professional development plan, completes professional development activities and writes a reflection. The peer confirms the interaction each year, and you make a declaration when you renew your APC.
- Choose a course that matches a goal in your PDP, for example consent, fees or infection control.
- Use the structured reflection after the course as the basis for your written reflection.
- Discuss a case from the course with your professional peer and record the conversation.
Your certificate shows 3 hours (estimated), which supports your evidence but is not a Council credit. See our Dental Council recertification guide for the full programme.
Supporting courses: communication and consent
Standards 13 to 18 and the Informed consent practice standard ask for clear information on options, risks and costs. Anxious patients and children add further challenges.
Supporting courses: records and privacy
Dental records, radiographs and photos are health information. The Council's records standard and the Health Information Privacy Code apply, and records generally must be kept for at least 10 years.
Supporting courses: professional boundaries
Treating friends and family, social contact with patients and sedated or vulnerable patients all raise boundary questions covered by the Council's 2017 standard.
Supporting courses: probity, fees and advertising
Honest fees, accurate claims to funders, truthful advertising and correct declarations are where ethics and money meet.
Supporting courses: infection control, medicines and safety
Clinical environment standards are among the most auditable parts of dental practice. These courses support safe systems in the surgery.
Supporting courses: complaints and remediation
Dental complaints often start with cost or an unexpected outcome. These courses help you respond well and learn from it. See our remediation courses for oral health practitioners and the Dental Council complaint guide.
Who these courses suit
- General dentists and dental specialists in private and public practice.
- Dental hygienists, dental therapists and oral health therapists working within scope and alongside dentists.
- Clinical dental technicians and dental technicians, including those who see patients directly.
- Practice owners and managers responsible for systems, staff and advertising.
- Practitioners in community oral health services working with children and high-need groups.
- Overseas-trained practitioners learning the Standards Framework and the HDC Code.
How studying online works for dental teams
Courses are self-paced and work on any device, so you can study between patients or after clinic. Enrol and begin straight away. Each section ends with a short knowledge check, and the 20-question final assessment uses oral health scenarios; 16 correct (80%) is a pass. You then download a certificate for 3 hours (estimated) and complete a structured reflection designed to feed into the written reflection your recertification programme requires.
Start your oral health ethics and professionalism CPD
Choose a core course, then one supporting course from your PDP. Browse the course catalogue or go back to all professions.
Questions
Are the dental ethics courses only for dentists?
No. Both core courses are written for every oral health practitioner registered with the Dental Council: dentists, dental specialists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, oral health therapists, clinical dental technicians, dental technicians and orthodontic auxiliaries. Cases are drawn from several professions so each reader sees situations from their own scope.
How do the two dental core courses differ?
Ethics for Dental Professionals covers judgement and values: fees, treatment planning, overtreatment, consent, cosmetic care, advertising and disclosure. Professional Standards for Dental Professionals covers the systems you are accountable for: scopes and supervision, delegation, infection control, medical emergencies, sedation, radiation, complaints and notifications. Together they span the whole Standards Framework.
Does the Dental Council require a set number of CPD hours?
Not under the current recertification programme, introduced in 2021. Instead you work with a professional peer, keep a professional development plan, complete development activities and write a reflection, with an annual declaration at APC renewal. Our certificate shows the hours studied as evidence, but the programme is not based on an hours quota.
Does the course cover the Dental Council's 2026 sedation standard?
Professional Standards for Dental Professionals covers the Council's practice standards on medical emergencies and sedation, including the sedation standard issued in 2026. It explains what the standards expect of the practitioner and the practice. Always check the Council's site for the current version and any transition dates.
What does the ethics course say about overtreatment?
It examines how fee-for-service incentives, patient expectations and confidence in your own skills can push treatment plans beyond what a patient needs. It works through presenting all reasonable options, including no treatment and conservative care, documenting why a plan was chosen, and the HDC and Tribunal cases where overtreatment was found.
Is advertising for dental practices covered?
Yes. The ethics course covers the Council's Advertising practice standard from September 2020, including claims that may mislead, testimonials, before-and-after images and offers that pressure patients into treatment. It also covers websites and social media posts run on your behalf. The Probity and Financial Integrity courses add more on honest claims and pricing.
How does the course handle care for Māori patients?
It covers the Council's practice standard on best practices when providing care to Māori patients from March 2021, including offering extracted teeth, along with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, cultural safety and inequities in oral health. The Cultural Safety and Health Equity course goes further for those who want more depth.
Can a hygienist or therapist use these courses to understand scope and supervision?
Yes. The professional standards course explains each scope of practice, the supervision conditions that apply, and what to do if you are asked to work beyond your scope. The ethics course adds the ethical side of working with dentists, including raising concerns about a colleague's treatment planning.
Are the courses useful for a practice owner who is not the treating clinician?
They are. Owners and managers set the systems, staffing, fees and advertising that shape whether clinicians can meet the standards. The professional standards course covers delegation, infection control, emergency readiness and complaints systems, and the ethics course covers commercial pressure on clinical decisions.
Can these courses help after a complaint to the Dental Council or HDC?
Structured learning and reflection can help show insight and change. Take advice first from your indemnity provider, professional association or a lawyer. If the Council or the Tribunal has set conditions or a competence programme, confirm with them that a course is acceptable before enrolling. No course can guarantee an outcome.
How long does each dental course take to finish?
Each core course is worth 3 hours (estimated). Most practitioners complete it over two or three sessions, often between clinics, and your progress is saved automatically each time. After the 20-question assessment, which needs 16 correct answers, you complete the reflection and download your certificate immediately.
Do the courses cover practitioners with a blood borne virus?
Yes. The ethics course covers the Dental Council's Blood borne viruses practice standard from May 2022, including the practitioner's responsibilities for their own health status, when to seek advice, and how this affects the procedures they perform. It treats the topic with privacy in mind and links it to the wider duty to protect patients.
What should a dental professional do if they are worried about a colleague's work?
The ethics course works through raising concerns about a colleague, including treatment planning you think is excessive or unsafe care. It covers speaking to the colleague where appropriate, escalating within the practice, and when a notification to the Council may be needed. The Raising Concerns and Protected Disclosures course adds detail on protection for those who speak up.
Which supporting course should an oral health practitioner add first?
It depends on your PDP. Informed Consent and Communication suits those working on treatment planning and fees. Infection Prevention and Control suits anyone responsible for the clinical environment. Financial Integrity in Practice suits owners and those handling funder claims. Choose based on a real gap identified with your peer.
Official sources
Checked October 2026. Rules and processes change, so confirm the current position with the official source. This page is general information, not legal advice.
How these courses are built
Official sources only
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: the HPCA Act 2003, the responsible authorities' standards and the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Original, edition by edition
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
Reviewed when rules change
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.