To infinity and beyond…

‘We are intelligent, compassionate, multi-skilled people who can do a lot more than type notes and hold a suction tube’

My career as a dental nurse has so far spanned 14 years. I have been very fortunate to work with some amazing colleagues and peers over this time. Many of the dentists I have worked with have had special interest qualifications, including endodontics, periodontics, hygiene therapy and orthodontics. I have always worked within the NHS and in secondary dental care. Like many, I fell into dentistry. My background was in adult general nursing. I had studied at St Bartholomew's School of Nursing and Midwifery attached to the City of London University. Circumstances dictated I had to leave the course after two years due to an unplanned pregnancy and divorce. Initially, I took a position of trainee dental nurse as the hours allowed me to work while my son went to nursery. At the time, working families tax credits provided approximately 70% of the fees. I was earning minimum wage. The practice itself was a six-surgery NHS general dental practice, with out-posts in a well-known bank's head office and a boarding school. Once a month, we had a visiting oral surgeon. The area the practice is situated in is very ethnically and socially diverse.