New president of the association

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the UK’s professional association for dental nurses, the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN), held on November 22, 2022, at the Naval and Military Club, London and via Zoom, Debra Worthington took over the role of president from Jacqui Elsden.

Debra has been a dental nurse for 43 years; working in General Dental Practice, Community Dental Service and Secondary Care. Debra holds post-registration qualifications in conscious sedation, radiography, oral health and orthodontics. She also has qualifications in leadership and management and recently completed the NHS senior leadership qualification.

She joined Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in March 2021, and is the head of dental service for the North East sector of Greater Manchester. Debra has eighty staff working across Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, providing paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, general anaesthesia, treatment with inhalation sedation and oral health promotion. Debra is a member of the Managed Clinical Networks in Greater Manchester, for both paediatric and special care dentistry.