A dental nurse by any other name

Helen Needham is a dental nurse in Kent, assisting in general dentistry, paediatrics, periodontal care and orthodontics. She works at Atkinson Brignall Caring Dentistry in Sevenoaks, Kent, and qualified five years ago.

She helps with additional office duties to support management and, occasionally, supports with reception duties when they arise. The practice has a separate decontamination room with an appointed assistant, but all dental nurses help daily within this area.

Helen started her dental nurse training on leaving school in 2004. Unfortunately, she did not complete this and perused a range of different careers in between, even completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Years. She says: ‘I then decided to re-train as a dental nurse. I worked as a trainee dental assistant in a local dental practice while attending evening classes to achieve my National Diploma in Dental Nursing. I like the variety dental nursing offers and the range of professionals I assist. I’ve been fortunate to assist some really fantastic dentists and have built up such good relationships with each of them.