What lies ahead? ‘Potential wave’ of dental nurse job losses or upcoming recruitment challenges?

But elsewhere in the profession, the view is that there is likely to be a shortage of dental nurses in the near future.

Professor Phil Taylor, Dean of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd)’s Faculty of Dental Surgery, has warned that many dental practices may be forced to cut jobs due to current restrictions imposed on them as a result of the pandemic.

This, he says, is particularly relevant due to enforced fallow time limiting the number of patients.

Based on feedback, he says this ‘is anecdotal from speaking with others in the profession and bodies like British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN), which has been liaising with dental nurses throughout the pandemic’. He adds that his concern ‘applies to all four nations and all types of practices’.