Dental nurse to dental clinician

Joanne Bowles is a dental therapist and the BSc Dental Therapy Programme Director and year one lead for the fully integrated and innovative BDS/BSc curriculum at the University of Liverpool, School of Dentistry. She is also part of the admissions team.

Here, she shares some information about the ‘Foundation’ pathway into undergraduate dentistry programmes at the University of Liverpool.

What often makes a dental nurse opt to train as a dental clinician?

From experience, dental nurses who have made the decision to apply to become a dental clinician have often done so because they have seen how dental hygienists, dental therapists and dentists work. They have realised for themselves that they want to do more for the patients and they want to make a difference to people’s lives. They want to enhance their skills and knowledge to develop and progress further within the career of dentistry. This will not be for everyone but for those that feel they fall into this category it is definitely worth researching further.