A Dental Apptitude project
CPD built specifically for the dental laboratory bench.
Bench Hour is a Dental Apptitude project, developed to provide rigorous, verifiable continuing professional development specifically for dental laboratory professionals.
Dental Apptitude develops digital tools, educational resources and professional development solutions for dental technology and the wider dental laboratory profession.
Why Bench Hour Exists
Dental technicians and clinical dental technicians have statutory CPD requirements set by the General Dental Council (GDC) under the Enhanced CPD Scheme. All CPD hours declared to the GDC must be verifiable.
Trade shows, manufacturer education, lectures and hands-on masterclasses can provide valuable professional development. However, these opportunities can be seasonal, sporadic or dependent on travel, location and commercial schedules.
Online dental CPD is also often designed primarily around chairside practice. Laboratory professionals can therefore find themselves working through clinical content that does not always reflect the realities of the dental laboratory, digital design, materials, manufacturing processes or custom-made medical devices.
Bench Hour provides a structured alternative, with two distinct pathways designed specifically for dental laboratory registrants.
1 hour every month
A structured 12-month curriculum delivering one hour of verifiable CPD each month, combining laboratory-focused technical education with relevant GDC-recommended topics.
CPD built around your work
A bespoke Bench Hour pathway designed around the registrant's own workplace, responsibilities and professional development needs, connecting real-world laboratory practice with a structured CPD journey.
The Work-based Pathway is designed for registrants who want their CPD to connect directly with the work they actually undertake. Rather than requiring every technician to follow an identical curriculum, the registrant's own professional context becomes the starting point for development planning, learning and evidence.
Together, the two pathways provide a choice between a ready-made annual programme and a personalised work-based approach.
Academic Oversight & Quality Assurance
Chet Geisel
Bench Hour is led and quality-assured by Chet Geisel, a dental technology educator with experience in higher education, dental technology and digital restorative dentistry.
Learning aims, technical content, assessments and GDC development outcome mappings are reviewed before publication, with particular attention to accuracy, relevance to laboratory practice and the requirements for verifiable CPD.
Our quality assurance process is designed to ensure that each activity provides appropriate learning content, clearly defined aims and objectives, relevant GDC development outcome mapping, assessment and evidence of completion.
Independence & Transparency
Bench Hour is an independent CPD provider. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the General Dental Council.
The GDC does not quality-assure individual CPD providers. Responsibility for the quality and design of CPD activities sits with the provider, while registrants remain responsible for ensuring that the CPD they undertake is appropriate to their field of practice and meets their individual GDC requirements.
We believe registrants should be able to understand who is responsible for their CPD, how learning is quality-assured and how activities align with the GDC framework. This page sets out our approach openly.
Editorial & Technology Policy
Bench Hour may use digital authoring tools and AI-assisted technology during the development of educational materials. These tools support research, organisation and initial drafting; they do not replace subject-matter expertise or constitute the final editorial authority.
Published technical content, calculations, clinical or laboratory recommendations, assessments and regulatory information are subject to human review and fact-checking before publication.
Where appropriate, source material and references are reviewed against current academic literature, technical standards, manufacturer information and relevant UK guidance.
GDC Enhanced CPD Scheme Alignment
Bench Hour activities are mapped to one or more of the GDC's four development outcomes, as appropriate to the subject matter. Not every activity will address all four outcomes.
What You Can Expect
Verifiable learning
Structured learning activities with evidence of completion.
Laboratory relevance
Content designed around the realities of dental technology and laboratory practice.
GDC alignment
Activities mapped to appropriate GDC development outcomes.
PDP support
A structured approach to planning and recording professional development.
12-hour pathway
A ready-made programme delivering one hour of verifiable CPD each month.
Work-based pathway
A bespoke route connecting CPD directly to the registrant’s own professional practice.
About Dental Apptitude
Dental Apptitude is an independent UK-based initiative focused on education, digital innovation and professional development within dental technology and the wider dental laboratory profession.
Bench Hour is one of the projects developed under the Dental Apptitude umbrella, alongside digital tools and resources designed to support dental professionals and laboratory teams.
Dental Apptitude and Bench Hour are independent of the General Dental Council and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the GDC.