Becoming a dental nurse is a great job, especially for those who want to get a foot in the door of the dentistry profession and who also want to learn everything from an amazing dentist. If you are thinking about becoming a dental nurse, but you don’t know if you want to pull the trigger on the job yet, then here’s everything you need to know about the dental nursing profession.
What Does A Dental Nurse Do?
A dental nurse is basically the sidekick of the dentist (you even have the dental nursing uniform to go with it!) What this means is that they support the dentist in every aspect of caring for the patient, from start to finish. Being a dental nurse requires you to be a jack of all trades and it can be a fun and varied job.
You will be responsible for all the records of the patient, preparing the instruments for use with the patient and preparing everything for the dental procedures, and doing some of the basic tasks before the dentist comes in and takes a look. If the dentist has a request or needs something, then you will be there to fulfill it.
Qualifications For Being A Dental Nurse
Most dental nurses start out as trainee dental nurses, which requires no formal qualifications or specialized training. You can work as a trainee dental nurse under a dentist for a long time, and many nurses do. However, if you want to earn more money and carry out more specific dental procedures, then you will need to qualify as a dental nurse.
This requires studying and an apprenticeship under a qualified dentist, or you can take a dental nurse course to get a General Dental Council (GDC) approved qualification. Check with the course provider and see what qualifications need to be completed before you can sign up for and complete the courses.
Most of the time these courses can be done in person or online, and you can complete the studying while you work as many dental courses will want at least some years of experience as well.
Key Skills And Key Roles
Once you get all the training done, you will need to have some key skills in order to do your best job as a dental nurse. For example, one of those skills is going to be communication because you will be working with patients the majority of the time. Being able to talk and listen to them, as well as communicate about any dental problems that they might have is going to require some skills. Additionally, you should be able to work well under pressure and be able to multitask as there will be busy days at the office where you need to work with several patients at once.
Additionally, computer literacy is going to be very helpful too, because you will be interacting with the internet to access patient records and x-ray images. Dentist offices possess a lot of technology, and you need to be well versed in all of it to help out the dentist.
Finally, you need to have good management skills. Whether you are managing the dentist’s timetable or keeping track of instruments and inventory, you will be responsible for keeping a lot of things on track.
What Is The Future Like For A Dental Nurse?
If you are looking towards the future whenever it comes to your dental nursing work, then you’ve got a bright one. For example, you can become a dentist because you are already experiencing 90% of the work that a traditional dentist does each day. Or you can use your dental nursing experience to eventually open and run your own dental office, where you can hire nurses yourself instead of being one.
But the education and the life experience required to become a dental nurse means that you will have a lot of career options open to you as you start your dental career, especially for well experienced dental nurses because offices are always looking for those!
Get Started Becoming A Dental Nurse
Whether you choose to learn from a dentist on the job or you decide to take education and learn that way, you will be able to become a dental nurse in short order. It is a fun and interesting job where no two days are alike, and you can easily use your dental nurse experiences to grow and advance your career in the dental industry.