Operation: oral health enhancement

The introduction of dental nurse registration marked a milestone in the training and professionalism skills of dental nurses. The introduction of the curricular Framework allowed new Scope of Practice guidance to open up training and qualifications to enable dental nurses to gain the clinical skills, confidence and competence to perform specified extended duties, for the benefit of patients.

Although embedding extended dental nursing duties into the normal run of the average general dental practice has been predictably slow to take root, there are a number of places, especially within in the dental public health sector. In general dental practices, projects to enhance the oral health in deprived areas of the UK have been highly effective. Here, dental nurses have played a defined role as part of the professional team and their work has contributed to the overall objectives of projects, such as the Childsmile Project.