Dentists Act 1984

45Establishment by Council of classes of dental auxiliaries

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section and section 46 below, the Council may by statutory instrument make regulations for the establishment of classes of dental auxiliaries to undertake dental work of kinds prescribed by the regulations, being dental work amounting to the practice of dentistry.

(2)Regulations under this section may in particular make provision as respects any class so established—

(a)for prescribing the qualifications for becoming a member of that class;

(b)for prescribing the dental work which a member of that class may undertake and the conditions, if any, under which he may undertake it;

(c)for the establishment of a roll or record for that class.

(3)The regulations shall be so framed as to secure that provisions in the regulations as to the arrangements to be made for training persons to become members of a class of dental auxiliaries do not materially impair the facilities for the training of dental students.

(4)Regulations under this section may make provision for the appointment of persons to visit places providing courses of instruction approved by the Council under the regulations or to attend examinations so approved by them, and for the remuneration of such persons.

(5)If, after regulations have been made under this section establishing a class of dental auxiliaries, the Council propose to make further regulations varying the provisions relating to that class or abolishing that class, the further regulations shall be so framed as to secure that a person belonging to that class at the time when the further regulations are made is still permitted to do any dental work of a kind which he was previously permitted to do.

(6)The Council need not comply with subsection (5) above in framing the regulations if they are satisfied that reasonable steps have been taken to give each of the persons belonging to the class in question particulars of their proposals with an opportunity of raising objections and none of those persons has maintained any objection to those proposals.

(7)Where a roll or record is established for a class of dental auxiliaries, regulations under this section may, in particular, provide for—

(a)prescribing a fee to be charged when a person's name is entered in the roll or record,

(b)prescribing a fee to be charged in respect of the retention of a person's name in the roll or record in any year subsequent to the year in which that person's name was first recorded, and

(c)authorising the person in charge of the roll or record to erase from the roll or record the name of a person who, after such notices and warnings as may be prescribed by the regulations, fails to pay a fee prescribed under paragraph (b) above.

(8)Section 38 above shall not operate to prevent a person doing anything which he is permitted to do by regulations under this section; and the prohibition contained in that section on a person holding himself out as practising or being prepared to practise dentistry shall not apply to a person for the time being permitted by regulations under this section to practise dentistry of any particular kind.

(9)The Council shall not make any regulations under this section unless a draft of those regulations, which has been approved by the Privy Council, has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.