From dental nurse to dentist

Qualifying as a dentist didn’t come easily to Jaye, who left school at 16 and moved away from home in search of work. She remembers: ‘When I moved to Birmingham, my employment options were really limited as I left school without GCSEs. Luckily, I got a job as a trainee dental nurse and was well supported. After work, I went to evening classes to study for GCSEs and then moved to a larger practice and eventually onto freelance dental nursing. By this time, I really had my sights set on becoming a dentist.’

However, the path to qualification was a tough one for Jaye and, after two failed attempts at gaining the A-level grades required, she embarked on an alternative course with a view to moving to dentistry after the first year. This turned out to be a 'terrible decision' and it wasn’t long before she quit the course and returned to nursing. She remembers: ‘Fortunately, I was persuaded to go back onto the hygienist course instead. I said to myself that, if I was still keen to be a dentist at the end, I would ask for a place on the dentistry course. I was hugely relieved and delighted to be accepted and finally, five years later at the age of 38, I qualified as a dentist.’