We are celebrating National Dental Nurses Day on 22 November, a day to say thanks to all the dental nurses at {my}dentist for their work-ethic, commitment, passion and care they give to our patients every day. Dental nurses play a critical role as part of the practice team especially in their partnership with clinicians. Dental Nurses Day was kicked off by the Society of British Dental Nurses (SBDN) in 2017 to celebrate the first examination of UK dental nurses in 1943.
{my}dentist employs nearly 2500 dental nurses and almost 1500 student dental nurses, who are paramount to the care we provide to our patients. In the past twelve months, our dental nurses have resumed hosting kids’ clubs since the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching children all about good oral hygiene; they’ve saved lives when out with friends and even on holiday; our dental nurses have been recognised and shortlisted for awards; they have been celebrated at the Dental Industry Awards and one of our nurses celebrated a huge {my}dentist milestone as 50 years as a dental nurse.
Rachael Smalley, Dental Nurse at {my}dentist Oswaldtwistle says becoming a dental nurse is the best decision she’s ever made;
“After working in retail for 18 years I suddenly found myself redundant and panicked thinking what do I do now. I saw a job advert for a receptionist at {my}dentist and thought I’d give it a go. I joined the practice as a receptionist in March 2019 and soon learnt a new
way of life and had found a job that I loved, helping patients each day with appointments and advising them with general questions.
“A vacancy for a student dental nurse became available and I put myself forward. When I was told that I’d got the role, I was nervous but so happy to be given the opportunity to learn something new. I started my nursing in late July 2019 and things was going great but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and had an impact on our working and studying.
“I passed my exams first time and qualified as a dental nurse in January 2021. I love being in surgery and for me, the patient journey is so important. It makes me happy knowing that my patients leave our practice happy with their treatment. “I then became a mentor to a student nurse who I loved teaching and guiding into shaping their nursing career, I found teaching others was something I enjoyed so I now have three more students who have all just sat their exams. I received a promotion to Advanced Dental Nurse in June 2022 and have now taken on a little more responsibility around the practice.
“My advice to anyone thinking about studying to become a dental nurse would be to go for it! You won’t look back and when you see the difference you can make to a person’s dental journey, it’s such a good feeling knowing you’ve helped make someone happy.”
Nyree Whitley, Chief Clinical Officer, said;
“The role of our dental nurses is crucial in delivering effective patient care. Without our dental nurses, we would not be able to care for the four million patients who rely on {my}dentist for their treatment. Our nurses are at the forefront of the care we provide and should be recognised for the professionalism, hard work and expertise they show. I want to say a huge thank you to every single dental nurse who works at {my}dentist for what you do every day but especially on National Dental Nurse Day.”
Happy National Dental Nurse Day to all our dental nurses!
Refer a friend to work at {my}dentist
We want to help more patients than ever get access to the affordable care they need. To do that, we need more like-minded people to join us. If you know a nurse, a hygienist, a therapist or dentist who could be a success at one of our practices, recommend them to us and you’ll receive up to £1,000 for each dental nurse referral, as well as helping us raise money for charity.
Do you know a #DentalHero? Our Dental Nurse Hero recognition scheme has been a huge success and we've had hundreds of nominations since we launched. And now, based on feedback from practice colleagues, we are extending the scheme to all practice and field-based colleagues. This is your chance to nominate your colleagues and tell us what they do that makes them a #DentalHero.