SDCEP Guidance

Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) guidance is designed to help the dental team provide improved care for patients. It aims to do this by bringing together, in a structured manner, the best available information that is relevant to priority areas in dentistry, and presenting this information in a form that can be interpreted easily and implemented.

The guidance can be downloaded from this website to view or print.  For advice about obtaining printed copies, please email scottishdental.cep@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

The current programme is shown below.

Topic Area Status

Patients Prescribed Bisphosphonates

Guidance published April 2011

Conscious Sedation

Second edition published June 2012;
First published May 2006

Dental Caries in Children

Guidance published April 2010

Decontamination - Part 1 Cleaning of Dental Instruments

Guidance published March 2007

Decontamination - Part 2 Sterilization of Dental Instruments

Guidance published December 2011

Drug Prescribing

Dental Prescribing app launched April 2012.
Second edition published August 2011; 
First published April 2008.

Emergency Dental Care

Guidance published November 2007

Management of  Acute Dental Problems

Guidance published March 2013

Oral Health Assessment and Review 

Guidance in Brief published March 2011

Practice Support Manual

Final topic added December 2012.
First topics published June 2010.

Consultation and Review 

SDCEP guidance documents are subject to consultation. Feedback from all members of the dental team, other healthcare professionals, organisations and members of the public is welcome through the consultation process. If you would like to contribute to a consultation, please either download the draft guidance by clicking on one of the relevant links above or request a hard copy of the guidance by emailing scottishdental.cep@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

All comments received through the consultation process are considered and the guidance is amended where appropriate before either publication, if rapid guidance development is being followed, or peer review and publication.

For further information about guidance development, please contact the SDCEP office (scottishdental.cep@nes.scot.nhs.uk).

Each topic will be revisited in the future to review all aspects of the context of the guidance (regulations, legislation, trends in working practices, and evidence) and the guidance updated as necessary.

Page last edited: 27 March 2013