Workplace abuse effects over half of dental nurses, association reveals

In August 2024, the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN) conducted an online survey of UK dental nurses, asking them whether they had experienced workplace abuse in the last five years.

Of those that took part, 98 per cent of respondents were registered dental nurses and two per cent were student dental nurses.

The survey found that 61 per cent of respondents had been verbally abused by a colleague or by a patient in the workplace during the last five years. Furthermore, nine per cent had been physically abused or assaulted by a colleague and eight per cent by a patient.

The survey showed that 37 per cent of respondents who had experienced abuse were working in mixed general dental practice when the abuse took place, followed by private general dental practice (22 per cent) and NHS general dental practice (21 per cent).