A dental bodies corporate (DBC) is a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

entitled to practice

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

in the UK using the structure of a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

History

DBCs have practised dentistry in the UK for over a hundred years. The

Dentists Act 1878 A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providi ...

( 41 & 42 Vict. c. 33) established a register for qualified dentists in order to combat an increase in unregistered practice by dental companies. In its 1946 report, the Teviot Committee recommended the inclusion of a comprehensive dental service as part of a national health service. As a result, the

General Dental Council The General Dental Council (GDC) is an organisation which regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom. It keeps an up-to-date register of all qualified dentists and other dental care professionals such as: dental hygienists, dental ther ...

(GDC) was established to make dentistry a

self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

profession. The 1955 Dentists Bill prohibited DBCs from dentistry unless they were open and practising on 21 July 1955, as well as registered with the GDC. When the bill received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 15 March 1956, there were 74 DBCs listed. This number fell to 27 in 2002 when DBCs became the subject of a government consultation. Although DBCs were originally limited in number by the

Dentists Act 1984 The Dentists Act 1984 (c. 24) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating dentistry. In particular the function of the General Dental Council, dental bodies corporate etc. It is a consolidatio ...

, their status changed following a 2005 amendment to the act which removed key restrictions. Although a DBC does not require GDC approval to set itself up, it must satisfy the requirements of sections 40 and 43 of the Dentists Act 1984. The GDC was also required to maintain a list of DBCs. DBCs have since expanded to the extent that in 2015, they held over 40% of

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

contracts in England worth over £1.3 billion.The history of dental bodies corporate and the role of the BDA in their development , British Dental Journal (nature.com)

References

{{Reflist Dental organisations based in the United Kingdom