after qualifying?

Hiya,

If you are interested in studying Hyg then I would recommend you do A levels (including Bio). If you already have these then the OHE/radiography courses would be good for you Lots of Unis are swaying towards A levels rather than post certificates these days, you could always do them all at the same time Good luck with your goal!

OHE course you can do online with the BDA but its very pricey and a lot of work, you need to see 10 different people from different categories and for 30 mins each on at least 2 occasions, you need to make sure your practice will allow this. and you have to make a stand and it has to be for a specific audiance like children or sensitivity etc. and you have to do 2 essays before you can even sit the exam which is extra money again ont top of the fees to do the course.

i started the OHE course but never completed it as my practice would not allow me 30 mins with the patients so i had no way of completing it to get my record of experience.

the xray course is a good way to go? its very hard but you can do it whilst working as you do essays and take xrays which every practice does on a daily basis? again its very pricey and make sure your practice will allow you to take the xrays and again there is an exam fee on top.

i have been nursing 7 years and have only got the national certificate in dental nursing, im starting the radiography course in march, sedation in june. i would like to be a hygienist / therapist but to get into most college/unis you need A levels lots of experience and extra qualifications to stand out from the other candidates. get as many qualifications as you can whilst getting more experience then that will set you in a good posistion

i live in glasgow and also thought about this a few weeks ago to get into the hygenist part of things instead of just a dental nurse cause ive always thought it would be embarasing to be 40 and a dental nurse and be a nurse for a 25 year old dentist ( im 20 but alot of the nurses in my work, nurse for 25-30 year old dentists im just lucky im slightly younger than the dentists lol )


glasgow uni do a 3 year dental hygeinst course
3 highers and 5 standard grades are needed. no dental nurse previous skills and no oral health skills needed


so get some highers and go straight into it if thats what you want to do.

im doing my highers at night time now to try build my way up to doing it ( need to afford a car at the same time so i cant quit my job yet haha )


hope this helps

Get qualified then when that's all done with find out where you can do the oral health education certificate. You'll probably find a local college does it as an evening course.

I would advice you to get more experience before you go and do hygiene, but definitely go and do the OHE course.
One thing to say is that getting onto a hygiene course is difficult there is a lot of competition for not a lot of places, you will need to either stand out from the other nurses applying or be able to sell yourself really well in the interview.

Hope this is of some help to you

<sup>Hey!
I am currently a trainee dental nurse in east sussex and am working full time. I know that when I qualify in august that I would like to somehow move onto oral health education courses and make my way up. in the end my main goal is to find a hygienist course! im just so confused at the moment and have no idea where to start! i'm only 16 at the moment and failing this nursing course is not an option for me!

would appreciate any advice. thank-you x</sup>