Dos and don'ts of returning to work after a career break

According to the Centre for Workforce Intelligence, the demand for dental nurses is expected to rise and exceed supply. If, by 2025, dental nurses were to carry out 25% of all direct patient care (as estimated) – in addition to their role as support to dentists – up to 48,000 more FTE dental nurses would be needed.

The horizon-scanning report also notes that dental nurses play a huge role in contributing to prevention programmes, with a ‘significant range of preventive procedures within their scope of practice’. Stakeholders, it goes on to say, believe there may also be greater opportunities for dental nurses to contribute to ‘both practice-based oral health promotion initiatives and more community-based initiatives, e.g. working in residential care and nursing homes in collaboration with other members of the dental team’.