Aim: This study examined the opinion of general dental practitioner (GDP) towards the new mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) requirement imposed by the Malaysian Dental Council (MDC) and to identify the current CPD practices of Malaysian’s GDP.
Materials and Methods: A paper-based survey questionnaire was distributed to 229 participants that attended CPD programmes at Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) from April 2017 to November 2017.
Results: The overall respond rate was 49.8% (n=119). 85.9% of respondents were aware on MDC requirement regarding CPD whereas 79.8% of respondents were confident that they would achieve the minimum CPD requirement at the current time. Although 93% of respondents agreed on the importance of CPD, 52.6% of them disagreed that they should be removed from the register if they did not complete a portfolio of evidence in documenting their CPD activities.
Conclusion: Malaysian’s GDP acknowledged the importance of undertaking CPD. The introduction of a mandatory CPD system will provide the motivation among GDP to engage in CPD programme in future.