Note bloat

This article provides an overview of the composition and purpose of record-keeping in dental practice and in the context of a General Dental Council (GDC) fitness to practise (FtP) investigation. It includes an overview of the GDC's FtP process. The importance of making appropriate patient records from a dento-legal perspective is also highlighted, together with changing trends in record-keeping in the United Kingdom over the past 50 years and factors that have contributed to 'note bloat' - a term that describes unnecessarily lengthy (at times, superfluous) records. It calls for a shift in current practice and explores alternative options for record-keeping in a more concise way and discusses how this may be achieved.