Dental Nursing (Dental Nurses)

Member Name: Rach18

Product:	Dental Nurses
Date:	13/08/02 (8487 review reads)
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Hello there! Yes I am the girl you often see when you go to the dentist! You know the one who writes all the notes, mixes up fillings and sucks all that yucky stuff out of your mouth!! Yes I am a dental nurse!!

I started this job about 2 years ago when I left college. I had been studying Health and Social Care and did originally plan to become a nurse, however I was a bit bored of studying and tried to find something where I didn't have to do another full time course....so here I am!

I left college with a merit and applied to several places asking for a job, several places offered me one so I took one of them.

I have learnt a great deal since I started and thouroughly enjoy my job.

Dental nursing is a good job for those who want a job in the healthcare profession but don't necessarily want to study full time and want to start when they leave school/college. Most dentists will take people from the age of 16, of course this means that they can get away with paying the minimum wage and all that....and yes believe me they do.

If you are thinking about dental nursing don't be fooled into thinking that you earn loads of money cos you don't! Most of the dentists I know are tight arses, althought there are a few out there who pay considerably better than others. I will just mention also that you have to work very hard at times for what seems like peanuts!

You don't need any formal qualifications to do the job, just be ablr to speak english and be able to do basic maths and in some practices work a computer.

Surprising as it may seem, dental nurses do not have to be qualified to work. There is talk about making it law that all dental nurses are qualified which I think is a very good idea when you think about what the job can involve e.g. making sure the correct anaesthtic is available. Most of the training you will recieve is done on the job. I have just passed my Dental Nurse NVQ
level 3 and yes it was hard work as we only had half a day a week to attend lectures and the rest of the work had to be done in your own time, which I'm sure you will agree you don't always have much of when you're also working full time aswell. It was worth it in the end though as I have a certificate and yes even a badge!! Of course the best bit is you get to have a pay rise!

So...What does the job entail?.....

Well basically your job is to assist the dentist. This includes cross infection control, mixing filling and impression materials, charting teeth and making notes, assisting during fillings extractions - well everything basically, giving oral hygiene instruction and suction of yucky mouth stuff...yes this does include blood! It's also good to have a bit of first aid knowledge although most employers will send you on this as you often have patients who faint, possibly some who have fits so it's always good to know how to deal with this. And yes you always have one darling patient who is sick every time they come!

Working with the general public, you get to meet a lot of people, some you will like and others you will hate! It's good to use a bit of sympathy and empathy now and again especially when you have someone who is scared stiff.

This also will make you vulnerable to colds and viruses and any other illnesses people like to pass on to you. Of course you have to be very careful when changing used needles etc as you don't want to put yourself at risk of catching HIV, Hepititis B or any other nasties which people don't always tell you they have.

Some practices require you to also do reception work, I only have to do this once a week, thankfully....I hate to say it but if you work on reception you can take a lot of abuse and stuff from patients, I have even had someone draw a knife on me because we had no appointments!!

Obviously reasonably good communication skills a
re a bonus, both written and verbal, and you must always maintain the patients confidentiality at all times.

You do need quite a lot of patients to do the job and try to remain calm in stressful situations, but the job does offer a lot of job satisfaction.

I do thouroughly enjoy my job and no two days are the same. It's very interesting most of the time and it's not always to do with teeth....you have to know also about x-rays, gums, the skull and tongue and plenty of other stuff you don't always associate with the dentist. I also get on brilliantly with the dentist I work with which I think helps a lot. We have a great laugh too. Another advantage is you get a sexy uniform - well sometimes anyway!

So.....once you are qualified you may want to further your career...options after dental nursing are....radiography course, dental hygienist, practice manager, dental therapist and if you want to go the whole way...then become a dentist.

I would recommend this job to anyone who wants to meet different people, make new friends and enjoys learning lots of new things and having no two days that are the same, however I would steer clear of it if you are even the slightest bit squeamish as there can be lots of blood when pulling teeth out and even sometimes just on cleaning them and people with the most appauling oral hygiene you have ever seen, believe me it's not a pretty sight! but then every now and again you get a really nice patient, clean, takes notice of what you advise them and realise why your job is worth while.

I hope I have given you a little insight into my job and you have found it interesting, I won't waffle on any more but if you do want any extra info then please feel free to email me.

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