mydentist honours Armed Forces Day 2026

At mydentist, we recognise the value that armed forces experience brings to our practice teams. Across the business, colleagues with backgrounds in the RAF, Army and Royal Navy bring strengths such as teamwork, communication, adaptability, discipline and leadership. These qualities continue to support strong practice teams and consistent, compassionate care for patients.

This Armed Forces Day, we’re celebrating colleagues and clinicians whose careers have been shaped by the British armed forces, from those who served to those who trained alongside military teams, and the skills they continue to bring to patient care.

A different route to dentistry

For some clinicians, the armed forces provided a clear and structured route into dentistry.

Sarah “Bobby” Keeling, Dental Hygienist at mydentist Oakham, served in the Royal Air Force from 1984 to 1995, where she trained first as a dental surgery assistant and then as a dental hygienist at RAF Halton.

“I was trained first as a dental surgery assistant, then as a dental hygienist at the Institute of Dental Hygiene and Training at RAF Halton,” she commented. “We were privileged to have the best equipment, techniques and tutors.”

Bobby’s interest in dental hygiene was also shaped by a personal experience. After her mother, who was phobic about dental visits, was supported by an ex-Navy hygiene therapist, Bobby saw first-hand how much dental care could change someone’s life.

“My mother was phobic about dental visits and had been advised in her thirties she would lose all her teeth,” she commented. “She was referred to an ex-Navy hygiene therapist who honestly saved her dentition. This inspired me to look at a route into dental hygiene.”

Victoria Hunt, Dental Hygienist at mydentist South Brent, also began her career in the RAF.

“I joined the RAF as a dental nurse at 18,” she commented. “I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. Dental nursing sounded like the nicest option.”

She later retrained as a hygienist, building a career in dentistry that has now spanned more than two decades.

For Lynne Hyndman, Dental Hygienist at mydentist Exmouth, dentistry has been a lifelong career shaped by service, training and leadership. Lynne has worked in dentistry for 42 years, including 23 years in the Royal Navy, and has been with mydentist for 14 years.

“My first experience of dentistry was at the age of 18, when I went on a Youth Training Scheme earning £25 a week in a dental practice,” Lynne commented. “I started on reception and then decided I wanted to become a dental nurse.” 

“I did not join up as a dental nurse as there was no availability, but I managed to revert after about four months while I was in training,” Lynne commented. “I began training at the dental school at HMS Nelson, where the training was approximately three months of classroom and vocational learning.” 

For Nichola Atkins-Heed, Dental Hygienist at mydentist Alresford, the connection comes through training in a military setting. She trained with the Royal Army Dental Corps alongside personnel from across the services.

“I trained as a hygienist at HQ & Central Group, working alongside teams from the Royal Navy and Army,” she commented. “For that year I lived, worked and studied in a military establishment alongside enlisted personnel.”

Training, structure and teamwork

It's clear, when talking to Bobby, Victoria, Lynne or Nichola, that there are consistent themes across their stories. Structure, discipline and high standards embedded in military training environments.

Nichola describes a highly standardised clinical approach that still shapes how she works today.

“We were very regimented, all chairs had to be at the same working height and operating lights at the same angle,” she commented. “A lot of time was spent on posture. I’m sure that’s why I’m still practising after 32 years.”

For Bobby, military service gave her experience across a wide range of settings, including 11 different units and overseas detachments. This included a three-year posting at a military hospital in Germany.

Victoria also credits her RAF training with giving her a strong foundation early in her career.

“I had a fantastic experience,” she commented. “I had excellent training to a high level and my confidence has grown now that I’ve had so much experience in my career.”

Lynne’s experience highlights the importance of strong training, supported teams and clear ways of working. Having held roles across dental nursing, dental hygiene, practice management, regional management and military training, she has seen first-hand how structure can support both patients and colleagues.

“Well-trained, supported staff are the backbone of any practice and are the difference between stressful chaos and a well-oiled machine with a happy working life,” she commented.

Moving into civilian practice

Moving from military to civilian dentistry brought new challenges, particularly when it came to caring for a wider range of patients.

“Working in the RAF you generally work on fit and healthy male patients,” Victoria commented. “The biggest change was the age range and diversity of patients.”

That shift required adaptation, but also created new opportunities.

“I love the diversity of patients in practice,” she commented. “Over the years I’ve met some wonderful patients with interesting life stories.”

Bobby described a similar experience, she commented: “On leaving the military I found more challenges in civilian practice, my patient demographics changed, but my passion for oral health continued to grow."

For Nichola, the pace of practice life was too one of the biggest adjustments.

“Appointments were very long with little in the way of time constraints,” she commented of her training environment. “So, working in practice was quite difficult to get used to.”

Supporting patients with confidence and care

Bobby, Victoria, Lynne and Nichola share skills gained through military experience that continue to shape how they support patients today.

Bobby has continued to build on her clinical experience by developing skills in psychology, counselling and hypnotherapy, with a particular focus on supporting anxious patients.

“I am particularly attached to coaching patients with anxiety into better access and agency in their own healthcare provision,” she commented.

Nichola’s focus remains on consistency, preparation and patient respect.

“I treat each patient with respect,” she commented. “I also try to listen. Every patient has the right to feel respected, cared for and listened to.”

Victoria also highlights the confidence that her RAF career gave her, particularly when having honest conversations with patients about their oral health.

“I’m very confident which stems from my RAF career,” she commented. “I’m not afraid to tell my patients things they don’t want to hear, while still being kind.”

Across their different experiences, Bobby, Victoria, Nichola and Lynne show how the skills developed through armed forces service and training can translate directly into patient care, from clear communication and confidence to empathy, preparation and teamwork.

Recognising Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day provides an opportunity to recognise those who have served, as well as the wider military community that continues to influence careers across healthcare.

For Bobby, the day remains both personal and reflective.

“It is important to remember Armed Forces Day celebrates all of those in the military community,” she commented. “My plans for Armed Forces Day will always be focused on remembering friends and families in service and those lost. But mostly it will be a celebration of being part of an amazing organisation that has shaped my life.”

Victoria continues to mark the day in her local community.

“I go to Armed Forces Day on the Hoe in Plymouth every year to support our current serving and veteran comrades,” she commented.

For Nichola, it is also a time to show appreciation.

“I often do a run each year for Armed Forces Day,” she commented. “It’s so important to remember and be thankful to those who serve their country in whatever role they have.”

Considering a career in dentistry after the Armed Forces