Continuing dental education: learning that serves practice

What continuing education brings to practice

A qualification marks the beginning of professional practice. Keeping knowledge and skills current remains part of the work that follows. Germany’s Federal Dental Association, for example, describes continuing education as a way to maintain professional competence in line with scientific knowledge. The learning need may concern a treatment technique, interpreting evidence, communicating with patients or working effectively as a team.

Choose a question from your own practice. Perhaps you want to explain treatment alternatives more clearly, understand the limits of a new material or rehearse the team’s response to an emergency. A focused question makes it easier to decide whether you need a guideline, a discussion with colleagues or supervised practical training.

Learning also means deciding what to keep doing. A new technique deserves scrutiny before adoption: who was studied, what was it compared with, and do the benefits and limitations apply to your patients? Our guide to assessing prevention evidence develops those questions.

Choose a course for the skill you need

Read the programme before choosing by title or credit total. Check the intended audience, required experience, lecturer’s relevant qualifications and what participants will actually do. A lecture can explain a method; supervised practice and feedback address a different learning need. Completing a course does not by itself establish competence to perform an unfamiliar procedure independently.

Our suggested course check is simple:

• Identify one question or skill you want to work on.
• Match it to the programme, level and teaching format.
• Check the teaching language, dates, location, total cost and cancellation terms.
• Ask who recognizes any advertised credits and what evidence of completion you will receive.
• Look for discussion of evidence, limitations and commercial interests, especially when a product is central to the course.

For a team emergency exercise, for example, check whether participants rehearse their roles and receive feedback. A programme that only describes emergencies would serve a different purpose. This is an example of choosing a learning format, not an emergency-care protocol.

Learning is also a professional obligation

In Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Dental Association’s continuing-education rules describe participation as a legal, professional and ethical duty for practising dentists. Article 41, amended on 12 June 2024, sets a minimum of 75 credits over three years. When choosing training in Bulgaria to earn these credits, look for explicitly confirmed BZS accreditation. Before registering, ask the organiser about the specific event’s accreditation, credit award and completion requirements. An attendance certificate alone is not enough.

Check BZS’s scientific events calendar and organisers’ programmes. The 2026 calendar includes Sofia Dental Meeting and other national and regional forums. Verify the accreditation and credits for each edition, even if you have attended the event before.

Accreditation requires organisers to prepare in advance. The rulebook requires programme and lecturer documentation, assessment by the Qualification and Accreditation Commission and approval by the BZS governing board. For national and regional forums, the programme must be accredited at least three months before the event. This requires preparation time and administrative work.

Our separate guide explains Bulgaria’s credit requirements and selected European systems, including accreditation, documentation and why points from different countries cannot simply be compared. The rules for dentists should not be assumed to apply unchanged to doctors or other health professions.

Our initiative with Medentic.app

We have taken the initiative to support access to continuing education through our partner Medentic.app. We want dental and medical professionals to find relevant learning opportunities more easily and spend less time searching for basic course information.

Medentic’s event directory presents courses and practical training with dates, organisers and lecturers. Start with a subject relevant to your work, then read the individual programme and the organiser’s registration conditions. Check the actual teaching language separately from the language of the website.

Our support includes explaining learning choices and directing readers to available educational opportunities. We will continue supporting efforts to make dental and medical education easier to find. Listing a course or linking to a partner does not establish accreditation, transferable credits or a guaranteed clinical result; confirm these details with the organiser and the professional body that records your learning.

Make room for what happens after the course

Keep the certificate and programme, then write a short note: what did you learn, what needs further checking, and what will you do next? Discuss any proposed change with the relevant team members and identify whether further training or supervision is needed.

We suggest setting a review date when you choose the course. You might revisit a patient-information sheet, discuss a clinical question with a colleague or repeat a supervised exercise. Recording attendance and checking what you can now do are separate tasks. Both deserve space in a learning plan.

If you teach or organise relevant education and want to discuss a partnership, contact us with the subject, intended audience and a link to the programme.