Return to practice—calm, current, and clinically confident

Stepping back into dentistry after a career break (or following the ORE) can feel daunting: regulations evolve, expectations rise, and hands-on skills can feel rusty. Return To Practice With Confidence is a structured, supportive six‑module programme designed to help you rebuild assurance, refresh core knowledge, and re‑establish practical competence for contemporary UK general dental practice.

Delivered by LonDEC at King’s College London Dental Institute, the course blends face‑to‑face teaching with intensive phantom‑head skills lab training, giving you both the why and the how you need to return safely and effectively.

Who this programme is for

• Dentists returning to clinical practice after a career break
• Clinicians completing or recently completing the ORE
• Practitioners who want a refresher on NHS frameworks, ethics, guideline-led care, and restorative fundamentals in a non‑judgemental learning environment

What makes this course different

A balanced 6‑module structure

• 3 lecture-based modules to update your knowledge and decision-making
• 3 hands-on modules in a phantom head skills laboratory to rebuild practical confidence

Designed for real-world UK practice

You’ll revisit the key areas most likely to impact safe, compliant, day-to-day dentistry—supporting confident clinical judgement as well as technical execution.

Supportive and reflective learning environment

The programme is positioned as a safe, supportive, non‑judgemental space for learning, reflection, and professional growth—ideal if you’re returning after time away.

Core themes covered

Across the six modules, you will strengthen capability in:

NHS dentistry and compliance

• Navigating the NHS dental contract and regulations
• Understanding common areas of misunderstanding and non‑compliance
• Appreciating the importance of clinical justification and record keeping in audit and assurance contexts

Ethics, legal responsibilities, and record keeping

• Consent and patient-centred decision making
• Transparency in communication
• Confidentiality and data protection expectations
• Robust, defensible clinical records aligned with UK professional standards

Evidence-based dentistry and guideline-led care

• Applying evidence-based thinking to diagnosis, treatment planning, and referral
• Working with key UK guidance (including BSP, SDCEP, FGDP and NICE)
• Raising standards in case presentation and clinical documentation (including the role of clinical photography)

Restorative confidence—hands-on skills refresh

In the phantom head lab, you will revisit essential restorative workflows, including:

• Indirect restorations: tooth preparation principles, precision, and material-aware techniques
• Material selection: understanding contemporary options such as lithium disilicate, zirconia, and hybrid ceramics
• Temporisation and luting/cementation: provisional restorations, selecting luting agents, and cementation protocols
• Contemporary direct restoratives: practical composite placement, layering, finishing and polishing, plus a review of amalgam where appropriate

What you’ll leave with

• Clearer, current understanding of UK regulatory and ethical expectations
• Greater confidence applying evidence-based guidelines in everyday dentistry
• Re-established practical assurance in core restorative techniques through structured hands-on training
• Course notes to support ongoing learning
• A certificate of attendance from LonDEC, King’s College London Dental Institute

CPD

• 6 hours verifiable CPD per module (36 hours total)

Meet your tutor

This programme is led by Ms. Chrisoula Nicolopoulos (BDS, PG Dip Med Ed), bringing an education-focused approach to helping returning clinicians consolidate knowledge, rebuild skills, and regain professional confidence.

A focused, practical route back to confident dentistry

If you want a programme that addresses the real challenges of returning—NHS frameworks, ethical practice, guideline-led decision making, and restorative fundamentals—and pairs it with hands-on phantom head training, this six‑module course offers a clear and supportive pathway back to practice.