Dentistry is a wonderful dance

Dentistry is a wonderful dance that the clinician and the dental nurse do together. If you work in close proximity with somebody all the time, you're going to learn each other's idiosyncrasies and this is helpful in creating a good relationship and coherent teamwork.

As a hygienist, I only have dental nurse support, which means I have one of four dental nurses assisting and this can be difficult because they're often jumping around with different clinicians. At the Neem Tree, dental nurses are assigned to certain dentists and the teamwork works beautifully. But, for me, they're popping in to help. Ultimately, the team has got to be me, the dentist, the dental nurse, and the receptionist and that flow needs to be there with all team members – for an implant, for a check-up and for a hygiene appointment. So, we all sit in each other's chairs and have treatment with each other and this helps us understand each other’s role. It also underpins a shared ethos, which is important. I carry out hygiene treatment on the dental nurses so they can see how what I do is different from the dentists and it helps them understand why I sometimes run late and why I need support.