By Lucy Parr

Many people are not aware of what is involved with being a dental nurse. To many we are the ‘person’ who calls the patient into the surgery, sits next to the dentist, passes stuff and holds the sucker thing at all times attempting to ensure they drown on their own saliva. It is time for this to change!

Dental Nursing - Kimberley Secker

Back in the summer of 2007, unsure of what I wanted to do after I graduated, a little lost in the job market, and in need of some money, I took on a temporary position as a dental nurse in a local practice. Oblivious to what the job actually entailed I had envisioned a leisurely few months reclined by a computer, occasionally pouring mouthwash and arranging some toothbrushes in a lovely mint-smelling environment.

There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power

Alan Cohen.

Dental Nursing is in an exciting metamorphosis of change, I know that when you head for work through rain and nightmare journeys by tube and train it does not always feel that way, but it is a fact that changes are afoot.

Dental nurses are often involved in many aspects of running a practice, whether it is on the frontline assisting dentists, maintaining patient records, ordering stock, costing, and developing rapport with patients. These strong organisational skills make dental nurses a strong candidate to open and run their own practices. Have you ever thought to yourself?-'I could run this practice on my own!' Well since GDC registration was introduced this has certainly made it possible for dental nurses.