How To Become A Dental Nurse

Hi, I'm Brian Halvorsen and I'm a dentist. I've been in practice for over thirty five years and I have written a book about my principles on holistic dentistry. The book is called "Great Teeth for life".

This video is about the dental team: hygienist, dental therapist and dental nurse who also can be called dental assistant. Modern dentistry is about teamwork and the dental nurse/assistant actually has a very important role to play in the smooth running and care of our patients. They start by joining a dental practice and the training is actually in-house so they learn as they go, often under the supervision of a senior dental nurse.

In the UK now, nurses do have to be registered with a general dental council and also have to take examinations and so are now very carefully monitored so, in terms of, I suppose, professional quality control. This is a fairly recent development but it's aimed to actually provide a much higher level of expertise. Most dental, experienced dental nurses, do actually help the dentist, not just by handing them instruments and a bit of material but by often knowing the procedures and often helping in discuss and formulate the part that the patient doesn't see in getting the right materials, impressions, and so, become a very very important asset to the dentist.

I hope this explains the teamwork in dentistry and if you are interested, please apply initially to your dentist for advice. .