Dental nurses support dentists in the healthcare of patients. Their work includes helping to prepare the dental surgery and ensuring that equipment and working areas are sterile. While the dentist examines and treats a patient, dental nurses help by performing tasks such as making sure the patient is comfortable, recording the dentist’s observations, passing instruments, using a suction device to remove saliva and debris from the patient’s mouth, preparing materials for fillings and sterilization of instruments and infection control procedures.
There are several pathways to dental nurse registration; these all require the student dental nurse to have access to work-based learning in a dental practice. In most cases this is through employment as a student (trainee) dental nurse at a dental practice, alternatively some training providers do arrange work placements with local dental practices. However, this is not available with the majority of training providers in Thames Valley and Wessex therefore, it is recommended that potential students contact the training provider directly for further information. Qualification and registration in dental nursing cannot be achieved without demonstrating work-based competence, whether the chosen route is the NEBDN National Certificate for Dental Nurses or the Advanced Apprenticeship in Dental Nursing (NVQ route).
British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN)
The British Association of Dental nurses is the central body which looks after the interests of dental nurses and they can be contacted in many ways.
British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN)
PO Box 4 Room 200
Hillhouse International Business Centre
Thornton-Cleveleys
FY5 4QD
Tel: 01253 338360
Web: http://www.badn.org.uk/
E-mail: admin@badn.org.uk (for general enquires)
membership@badn.org.uk (for membership enquiries)
editor@badn.org.uk (for information on writing for, or advertising in, the British Dental Nurses Journal)