Dental Vocational Training Number

Applying for a Vocational Training Number

All dentists applying for a Vocational Training (VT) Number or Orthodontic Vocational Training Number must apply using the eGP21C application form.

Please submit your related documents to the following email address: DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk

All dentists applying under Category E - must apply using the eGP21C application form and submit all required documentation to the following email address: DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Applying across multiple practices or multiple Health Boards

• If you will be working in two practices in the same Health Board, you should ONLY insert the details of the practice that you will be working the most sessions in.
• If you will be working in two practices across two Health Boards, you should select the Health Board which you will be working the most sessions in. The Health Boards will liaise with each other once your VT Number has been issued.

Application for a Health Board List Number

All dentists must simultaneously submit a GP21 application to the relevant NHS Health Board for a list number. Contact details for each Health Board in Scotland can be found at the following website.

The Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) will check that the NHS Health Board has received the completed GP21 from the dentist.

Application categories

Category A – Satisfactory completion of Vocational/Foundation training.

For dentists who have completed VT in Scotland there is no need to send in the completion certificate as SDVTECC already holds this information.

For those who have completed VT elsewhere in the UK the completion certificate must be submitted.

Category B – Member of the European Economic Area.

NOTE: A non-EEA dentist holding a qualification from an EEA country should also apply under this category.

Category C – Dental List/Performer Number.

For dentists who already hold an NHS Health Board list/performer number the full number and the name of the NHS Health Board/Primary Care Trust must be provided.

NOTE: For dentists who currently hold a performer number in England, Wales or Northern Ireland they must provide a scanned copy of a letter from the Primary Care Trust which confirms the date the number was awarded.

Category D – Public Dental Service or Armed Forces.

Please submit a scanned copy of a letter from your employer confirming your work experience with full dates.

Category E - Experience equivalent to Vocational/Foundation Training.

Please submit a full application and include all documents specified in the guidance notes below. Your application will be submitted to the next scheduled meeting of the Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC).

 

VT Number following satisfactory completion of vocational training

All dentists who have successfully completed vocational (foundational) training and are going to work as an Associate in an NHS dental practice in Scotland are required to join a NHS Health Board dental list and apply for a vocational training number, as stated in The National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations. (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 292 The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Dental Practitioners) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, Section on Applications for vocational training numbers 2.(1)(ii))

Once confirmation of satisfactory completion of the VT year is received, dentists can apply for a VT number via the process described above.

Part 1 of the GP21C asks for details of the applicant's qualifications and registration with the GDC. The applicant must also provide the name of the NHS Health Board and the full name and address of the practice where they will be working.

The Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) will confirm that the NHS Health Board has received an application (GP21) from the dentist to join its dental list.

Part 2 – The dentist must complete section A and provide the dates when vocational training was undertaken and the region in which they were working.

Part 3 – Declaration – All dentists must confirm this section before submitting.

Do not send practising certificates or registration documents as these will be required by the NHS Health Board.

If you are taking up at Dental Core Training 1 post in Scotland, you are only required to apply for your VT number when you are about to commence the Public Dental Service part of your rotation.

Allow at least two weeks from submitting an application for the VT number to be awarded.

If an applicant gains a VT number, and does not practise within a five year period, the VT number expires.

Experience equivalent to Vocational/Foundation Training

PLEASE NOTE - There is no Vocational Training by Equivalence (VTE) in Scotland.

Applications to the Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) are individually assessed by the committee members to consider whether a dentist’s experience is equivalent to twelve months spent working full-time in a dental vocational training programme.

Application process

Please ensure that you submit your complete portfolio in the correct format, as outlined below, and before the specified closing date.

Portfolios that do not meet these requirements will not be considered for review.

To apply for a VT Number please complete the eGP21C application form and submit your portfolio to DentalVtNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk. You will receive an email confirming receipt when you have submitted your application.

At the same time, the dentist must also submit an application form (GP21) to the relevant NHS Health Board for a Health Board list number. The Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) will check that the Health Board has received the completed GP21 from the dentist.

Please submit the following documents as PDF attachments:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• General practice experience and treatments
• CPD Log
• CPD Certificates (Must be in chronological order (newest to oldest) and combined in one PDF file)
• Personal Development Plan
• Dental Reference Officer Reports
• NES approved Quality Improvement certificate
• References (These should be submitted directly by your Referees)

Saving your documents

When saving your documents please name each individual attachment using the format – initial, surname document name. The following are examples of this format:

A N Other CV

A N Other CPD Log

Application guide

Applying for equivalence - Guidance [PDF]
Provide all the information below in the following order - Checklist for equivalence applications [DOC]

Document	Description
eGP21C	Please complete the online form at the link above. This will be submitted automatically to the Dental VT Number mailbox.
Curriculum Vitae	This should include dates of all employment since qualifying (in chronological order, newest to oldest). You should state whether posts were full or part time and should include your working hours. If part-time, the number of sessions and hours worked should be clearly stated.
General Dental Practice Experience	All periods of primary dental care should be highlighted. Details of the range and scope of general dental practice undertaken should include clinical elements, managerial elements, continuing care, and which of these encompassed a wide range of age groups. For example, SDVTECC will need to know if the applicant has carried out the full range of general dental practice, or they have specialised in one area such as oral surgery or orthodontics. SDVTECC will also need to know if the applicant has been involved in the management and training of staff. Please note with the change to the regulations (2004), only training and experience gained in the five years immediately prior to the application will be deemed valid (see Scottish Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 292 The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Dental Practitioners) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, Section on Applications for vocational training numbers 2.(1)(ii)).
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Summary Log	NOTE: SDVTECC requires that the majority of CPD courses should be face to face events or live webinars. The log should contain a list of all recommended* postgraduate courses undertaken over the last 5 years and certificates of attendance at all courses should be included. Details should include the Date CPD activity was completed, title, provider, location or on-line, the content of the course and duration of the course, and whether there was any 'hands on' practice and  CPD points awarded. All of the above data MUST BE completed on the attached CPD Log template [DOC]. Please put courses in chronological order, newest to oldest. *The GDC eCPD guidance document and website pages detail the recommended subjects for all dental professionals. It also states that dental professionals must complete CPD relevant to their field(s) of practice. It requires all registrants to: · Keep and regularly update a Personal Development Plan (PDP) · Keep and regularly update a log of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) · Keep evidence of CPD (Certificates) PLEASE NOTE Dental vocational training in Scotland covers all of the recommended subjects as well as a broad range of subjects that span the GDC Development outcomes detailed in the guidance. It is therefore expected that anyone applying under equivalence be able to evidence a similar commitment to CPD in recent years and an ongoing commitment within their PDP.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certificates	All Vocational Dental Practitioner CPD is NHS Education for Scotland approved. In order to award a VT Number your CPD should be of a similar standard. All original CPD certificates must be provided in chronological order (newest to oldest), and combined into one PDF. Please make sure your certificates are not password protected as this will stop them from being combined.
Personal Development Plan (PDP)	A Personal Development Plan (PDP) must be included. This should include the recommended subjects as per the GDC. You should also include previous completion dates, future renewal dates. It should provide reflection on personal learning, clinical performance and areas of development to help plan for personal, educational and career progression. SDVTECC recommends using the template provided by the GDC at the link below. It also provides guidance on how to create a PDP. Enhanced CPD supporting documents (gdc-uk.org)
Quality Improvement	Please submit certification of approved quality improvement projects. All QI projects (audit or significant event analysis) must be a minimum of 5 hours and be NES-approved (see Quality Improvement Activity | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot). A copy of your completion certificate from NES must be provided. Quality Improvement activity in dental practice is an NHS terms and conditions of service requirement. It should be noted that it is compulsory under the VT programme in Scotland for trainees to complete at least one quality improvement project. PLEASE NOTE: The NES Portal is no longer open to all dentists. To ensure that your audit application or your eSEA report is not rejected, you will need to email the QI Hub, in advance of any applications you intend to submit to make them aware that you are going to be submitting an application to the equivalence panel. If you do not do so, your project will not be accepted and will be rejected, slowing down your equivalence application. Please email: QI.Hub@nes.scot.nhs.uk stating your name, your GDC number and your Health Board and if possible, the date that you intend to submit your QI project. This will ensure that your project is not rejected and is either reviewed and approved (audit) or reviewed and certified (eSEA).
Dental Reference Officers (DRO) Reports	A copy of any DRO Reports must be provided if available. Please make sure that any patient identifiable details are redacted.
References	You must provide three references from dentally qualified professional colleagues (i.e. not from Dental Care Professionals) who have known you professionally for a minimum of nine months and who are able to testify as to your clinical ability and fitness to practise. References should be from your current or most recent employer. Only references pertaining to clinical experience undertaken in the last five years will be considered. All References must be submitted on the SDVTECC structured reference form [DOCX]. The reference should provide full details of their clinical ability as a safe independent practitioner within NHS dentistry. References should provide information on the following areas –   Caries Patient care Radiography Treatment planning Quality of clinical work Professionalism Referees should email their reference directly to DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk and mark as CONFIDENTIAL. The subject line should include the applicant’s full name and their GDC number. e.g. - CONFIDENTIAL REFERENCE FOR MR/MRS XXXX GDC NO 00000

Closing date

• Applications received after 4pm on the closing date will not be considered until the next meeting.

If you have any queries or require help with your application please contact the Dental Vocational Training Secretariat at dentalvtnumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

Equivalence meeting dates 2025

 

Closing date - time	Meeting date
Wednesday 29th January - 4pm	Thursday 20th February
Wednesday 5th March - 4pm	Thursday 27th March
Wednesday 16th April - 4pm	Thursday 8th May
Wednesday 28th May - 4pm	Thursday 19th June
Wednesday 23rd July - 4pm	Thursday 14th August
Wednesday 3rd September - 4pm	Thursday 25th September
Wednesday 15th October - 4pm	Thursday 5th November
Wednesday 19th November - 4pm	Thursday 11th December

Forgotten or lost Vocational Training Number

If you have forgotten or lost your Vocational Training Number please email DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk with the following information:

• Full Name (include your maiden name if you are married)
• GDC Number
• Date of Birth (If your application was before 2022)

Contact us

For further information please contact -

DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk

 

FAQs