Guide
Dental practice CQC compliance: policies, procedures and guidance
Dental practices are inspected against the same fundamental standards as every CQC-registered service. This guide gathers the policies, procedure checklists, regulations and articles a practice has to get right, in one place.
What CQC weighs in a dental practice
Dental practices sit under the same five key questions as every CQC-registered service, with one difference: CQC registers and inspects dental practices but does not give them a rating the way it rates most other services. The evidence still has to be there.
The weight falls on decontamination (Health Technical Memorandum 01-05), dental radiography under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R), medical emergency readiness, consent, and safeguarding. The materials below are organised around that evidence trail.
Start with the guidance
Two reads that frame what inspectors actually look for in a dental practice.
Sector focus
CQC for dental practices: what is different
Dental practices are registered and inspected but not rated. An ex-CQC inspector on where the evidence focus actually falls.
Read
Inspection
What CQC inspectors actually look for
An ex-CQC inspector on what carries weight in an inspection, and what does not.
Read
Policies for dental practices
5 sample policies written for dental practices. Each is a starting point to adapt to your service, roles and local arrangements, not a document to adopt unchanged.
Reg 11
Consent for treatment policy (dental)
Regulation 11 (need for consent) for dental teams: obtaining valid consent, Mental Capacity Act capacity checks and record-keeping. A Verivius sample to adapt.
Read
Reg 12
Dental decontamination policy: HTM 01-05 template
A sample HTM 01-05 dental decontamination policy under Regulation 12: reusable instrument reprocessing and infection control, ready to adapt.
Read
Reg 12
IR(ME)R local rules (dental)
Dental radiography employer's procedures under IR(ME)R 2017 and Regulation 12, covering justifying and taking X-ray exposures. A Verivius sample, adapt before use.
Read
Reg 12
Medical emergency policy (dental)
Medical emergency readiness for dental practices under Regulations 12 and 18: kit, drugs, roles and training. A Verivius sample template to adapt to your practice.
Read
Reg 13
Safeguarding policy (dental)
Verivius sample dental safeguarding template for Regulation 13: dental neglect, adults at risk and staff allegations. A structure to adapt, not a finished policy.
Read
Checklists
Audit and readiness checklists to self-check a single area before an inspection.
Reg 12
Infection prevention and control procedure checklist
A practical infection prevention and control checklist for small CQC-regulated providers, focused on hand hygiene, cleaning, PPE and outbreak readiness.
Read
Reg 11
Consent and mental capacity procedure checklist
A practical consent and mental capacity checklist for small CQC-regulated providers, focused on capacity assessment, best interests and recording consent.
Read
The general checklists (incidents, safeguarding, staffing, training) apply to dental practices too. Browse the full checklist library.
The regulations that carry the most weight
The standards a dental practice is most often tested against, each with the duty quoted from the primary source.
Reg 9
Regulation 9: person-centred care
Care and treatment shaped around the patient, evidenced in the record.
Read
Reg 12
Regulation 12: safe care and treatment
Safe care: decontamination, radiography and medical emergencies.
Read
Reg 13
Regulation 13: safeguarding
Recognising and referring safeguarding concerns.
Read
Reg 17
Regulation 17: good governance
The living records that show the practice is well-led.
Read
Reg 20
Regulation 20: duty of candour
Being open and honest with patients when something goes wrong.
Read
Reg 18
Statutory notifications
What CQC has to be told about, and when.
Read
See the dental setup in your practice
The policies and checklists are free to download and adapt. Verivius loads the dental content into your account from day one, so decontamination, radiography, medical emergencies, consent and safeguarding sit in one structured trail. A Verivius consultant (an ex-CQC inspector) can also work through any of this with you against the live regulation and your practice shape.
Free to start, no card. A 14-day trial when you subscribe.
Last reviewed 30 June 2026