How the DDU can support you

The Dental Defence Union (DDU) can support you throughout your professional life.

As you enter the working world, it is important to know that there is an organisation who can guide, support and defend you throughout your career. The Dental Defence Union (DDU) is led and staffed by dentists with real-life experience of the pressures and challenges faced in practice. We exist to provide the benefits our members rely upon and here are just some of the ways we can support you throughout your professional life.

1.A dedicated and
confidential advice line

One of the DDU’s core services is to provide expert dento-legal advice to our members, who can call us any time they find themselves facing a tricky or unfamiliar ethical situation, or need guidance on what to do when something has gone wrong. Calling our advice line is free, treated in the strictest of confidence and does not affect future subscriptions.

We speak to thousands of members every year. Our dento-legal team is available between 8 am and 6 pm Monday to Friday and provides an on-call service for urgent queries 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

This frontline service can pre-empt the kinds of problems that result in a complaint or claim and cause worry, which is why we encourage our members to call for advice and support as early as possible.

2.Free online resources and guidance

The DDU website contains a wealth of videos, articles and case studies, along with online learning modules, to keep you up to date with dento-legal and regulatory issues. Our digital journal contains in-depth features, interviews and advice line dilemmas so you can learn from the experiences of other DDU members. Read it here: www.ddujournal.theddu.com

Our new free e-learning module is on periodontal disease. Developed in partnership with the British Society of Periodontology (BSP), you can access seven short modules, which aim to help you improve patient care, reduce the risk of a claim and get CPD. Work through the modules in your own time and save your progress as you go at www.theddu.com/learn-and-develop.

3.Defending our members at all stages of their career

Recently, the DDU has seen a rise in the number of high-value claims against members. Dental claims can exceed £200,000. Unfortunately, you can receive a complaint or claim at any stage of your career.

Our dedicated claims handling team, made up of lawyers and industry specialists provides members facing claims with unrivalled support and uncompromising defence.

We take a tough, but fair approach to settling claims. We appreciate that our members’ reputations are vitally important and so we do not settle without our member’s consent. Over the last 10 years the DDU has successfully defended over 50 per cent of claims without making a compensation payment to patients.

Our members deserve the best defence available and they can rely on this with the DDU.

4.Specialist legal representation

Formal investigations can be very stressful and prolonged, sometimes taking several years to conclude. At the DDU, we don’t underestimate the effect an investigation can have on your health and wellbeing, which is why we offer support and advice to members on the most effective way to proceed. 

We can help with inquiries and investigations by the General Dental Council and the NHS.

5.Advice on dealing with the media

Being contacted by a journalist questioning you about some aspect of your practice is enough to fill most dentists with dread.

The DDU press office can support you with this stressful situation. The team is available to members 24 hours a day to help deal with press enquiries or concerns about media coverage. We also offer help and guidance about social media, such as how to deal with critical online reviews about patient treatment.

For more information on what the DDU has to offer, visit our website
https://www.theddu.com, follow us on Twitter @the_ddu, like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/DentalDefenceUnion or call
0800 374 626.

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