How do I become a Dental Nurse

Dental Nurses provide chairside support to Dentists across the full range of treatment provision. They play a key role in the patient support aspects of the job and have responsibility for infection control and health and safety in the workplace. 

To be a Dental Nurse you will need to have excellent communication skills, a caring nature and be highly organised. Dental Nurses need to be friendly and approachable, reliable, calm, and be flexible enough to respond to unexpected situations as they arise.

NEBDN offer two types of qualifications that lead to General Dental Council registration; the Apprenticeship as one product and the National Diploma as the other. Through government Apprenticeship funding, Learners can do a fee-free Apprenticeship removing the need for trainees to financially contribute to their course, or as an alternative, the National Diploma for trainee Dental Nurses with flexible study/work hours. For more information, click here.

Routes to training 

There are three main routes to becoming a Dental Nurse; (a) finding employment (or a placement) and a Provider, (b) finding a Provider who arranges placements for you or (c) applying for a full-time course at a dental teaching hospital. 

a.  The majority of qualified Dental Nurses will have come through this route. You will need to find employment (or a placement) as a trainee Dental Nurse in a dental practice. Once you have employment you can start to look for a training place with a Provider. In most cases your Employer will be able to recommend a Provider as they may have used them before. Don’t worry if the course does not start for a few months, you can keep your employment as a trainee for up to two years.
b.  All Learners must be either in employment or in a clinical environment prior to starting the NEBDN programme. Any Learner who is not in employment or in a clinical environment will not be considered an NEBDN Learner and cannot access the NEBDN National Diploma qualification through our Providers. Search one of our accredited Providers.

If you wish to sit the NEBDN National Diploma in Dental Nursing at the end of your training then you must ensure your Provider is on our accredited list.

c.    Dental teaching hospitals provide all the training and clinical experience in one place but full-time places are limited. Check that the teaching hospital you have selected is one of our accredited Providers and contact them regarding their application process.

 To apply as a Dental Nurse, there is a minimum age requirement of 16 years old.