The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) has issued a clarification on the role of dental professionals in non-dental cosmetic procedures, following concern over recent changes to the General Dental Council (GDC) scope of practice guidance.
As previously reported in Aesthetics in News Special: GDC Removes Non-Surgical Cosmetic Injectables from Scope of Practice Guidance, the JCCP says it has received a number of enquiries and expressions of concern from dental professionals and others about how the revised GDC scope of practice guidance affects non-dental cosmetic procedures.
In its new statement, developed in collaboration with the GDC, the JCCP confirms that cosmetic procedures such as botulinum toxin and dermal filler injections are not considered the practice of dentistry and therefore sit outside the GDC’s direct regulatory remit. The GDC has removed explicit reference to non-dental tasks, including “providing non-surgical cosmetic injectables,” but dental professionals must still act within the broader GDC framework.
The JCCP records dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists on Part A of its Professional Standards Authority-accredited register. These practitioners may continue to offer non-surgical cosmetic injectables where they can evidence appropriate training, competence and indemnity, either via a JCCP-approved qualification (Category 1) or self-declaration against the JCCP Competency Framework (Category 2). Dental nurses are listed on Part B as professionally unregulated for this work.
The JCCP advises practitioners to consult the GDC Scope of Practice 2025 and notes it will share fitness to practise information on dental registrants with the GDC under an existing Memorandum of Understanding.