It is the duty of a doctor to act within their competence. According to the GMC guidance on Good Medical Practice (2013), you must recognise and work within the limits of your competence and prescribe drugs or treatment only when you have adequate knowledge of the patient’s health and are satisfied that the drugs or treatment serve the patient’s needs.
It is reasonable to suggest that a GP does not fully understand dentistry, having never studied it, and is therefore not best placed to treat the patient, not properly understanding their needs.
To ensure that a patient receives adequate care, we suggest that patients with dental complaints are signposted to a a local dentist for treatment of their dental complaint.
However, it may be appropriate to provide short term analgesia to the patient to alleviate their symptoms whilst they seek help from a dental practitioner.
