Abstract
The Chief Dental Officer of England, Professor Raman Bedi, introduced the concept of Dentists with Special Interests (DwSI) for the NHS in England at the Dentistry 2004 Conference in Bournemouth in May 2004. The Department of Health and the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (UK) (FGDP(UK)) later published details,1 which represents the dental version of a scheme which operates in primary medical care. The Chief Dental Officer announced that the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (UK) would be co-ordinating the development of the initial set of competencies for DwSls. These will be made available to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the spring of 2005 to assist them in commissioning DwSI services in their locality.