Dental nurse to student dentist

Originally from Romania, locum dental nurse Sara Revelo-Saltos arrived in England with minimal spoken English. Having navigated her way through an alien education system and often beset by several hurdles, she is now studying to become a dentist at the University of Dundee.

Her work is flexible which means she isable to give her availability to her manager and organise shifts in advance, often working weekends. Here, she shares her impressive career path.

Why did you choose dentistry as a career?

Dentistry combines my favourite things in a job – helping people, health sciences, fixing things using my hands and continuous learning. I can vividly remember at the beginning of my dental nursing training helping a terrified patient come into the surgery. By speaking to her and offering reassurance, I was able to encourage her to at least have a chat with the dentist. Seeing her so happy at the end of the appointment was an amazing feeling – and this has remained with me. Since then I have continued to help patients wherever I can in the dental practice, as well during my placements in the community, or whilst volunteering. There is something special about hearing patients say: “You were so caring!”, “This has been the nicest dental visit I’ve had in my life” or “Thank you for having so much patience with me!’’ Feedback like that makes it all worth it and motivates me to help others feel comfortable, too.