Taking it to the next level

Orthodontics is sometimes referred to as the ‘clean’ side of dentistry. While some dental nurses might choose to specialise in orthodontic dental nursing because it is minimally invasive and we rarely see blood and fluid spillages, I chose to specialise in orthodontic dental nursing because of the patients.

I find dental nursing in general to be very rewarding. Orthodontic dental nursing takes this to the next level. In general practice, the dental nursing team will come across numerous patients who would rather be anywhere else than seeing the dentist. A patient may be attending a dental appointment because they are in pain, or require intervention to prevent pain. The patient will usually expect to have some level of discomfort from local anaesthetic delivery, ultrasonic scaling or handpiece usage – to name just a few.