Abbey Dental Practice

Careers in Dentistry

Dental health care is one of the essential services for a society. Dentistry has now evolved and it is showing improvement in the area of cosmetic dentistry. More and more people are sorting cosmetic dentistry to correct the faults on their teeth. Popular cosmetic treatments are teeth whitening, dental veneers and dental crown fixing. To deliver all your dental health care needs there is a dedicated team of professionals and this page would provide you a brief insight on what qualifications they need to possess and the role in their respective job.

• Dentist
• Dental Nurse
• Hygienist
• Practice Manager
• Technician
• Therapist
• Receptionist
• Trade

Listed above are the careers in the field of Dental health care. Listed beneath are the qualifications that you should obtain to enter the required job in dentistry.

Dentist

You need to obtain upper grades in your advanced level examinations for the subjects such as Chemistry, Physics, Zoology or Biology and Mathematics. A pre-dental year is offered in some dental schools for those without the science based entry requirements.

Your role: - You are responsible of attending to the dental healthcare of the patients. You should have an outgoing personality; who enjoys interacting with people whilst taking care of their dental health. Should be able to manage a team with good leadership qualities and possess business skills to run a successful business.

Dental Nurse

You would need to sit for the National certificate. In order for you to obtain the certificate you will have to pass the examination and should have gained 2 years experience in full time surgery.

Your role: - You are responsible of preparing the surgery before the patient arrives; collect clinical notes and arrange the necessary instruments. During the treatment you will assist the dentist by passing the instruments, mixing dental solutions and taking notes dictated by the dentist. You need to make sure that the patient is comfortable and assist them to relax during dental operations. At the end of every appointment you will tide up the surgery and sterilise the instruments to receive the next patient. From

time to time you would have to attend to the reception to ; make appointments, take payments, deal with paperwork and most of all meet and reassure patients.

Hygienist

Minimum requirement to enter training is five GSCE’s within the grades A-C including English and a science subject and either the dental nursing qualification which is nationally recognised or 2 Advance levels.

Your role: - your role requires you to treat patients and educate them on how to maintain their oral health. Apart from providing advice of keeping the teeth clean, healthy diet and reducing smoking habits you will have to remove deposits from the tooth surface preventing plaque to accumulate and reduce the risk of gum disease. You will use a hand scaler or an Ultrasonic scaler to remove tartar (Calculus). You will have to administer local analgesia on patients who are sensitive to scaling, to make the process more comfortable. To help prevent decay particularly on children’s teeth you may apply fluoride directly on the teeth and the fissure sealants.

Practice Manager

You would need to possess a management qualification e.g. BDPMA Cert. DPM or an NVQ in Management.

Your role: - you should possess skills such as administration, marketing, presentation, personnel and financial management within a dental practice and implement the policy laid down by the owners of the practice and to ensure that these policies are carried out consistently and efficiently. You will have to manage the finances by keeping up to date records on the bank accounts, control debts, wages and PAYE, petty cash, stock control and purchasing necessities. You will also be responsible for managing the contracts of employment and maintaining holiday and sickness records of the employees. You should be an outgoing personality possessing sound communication skills to have a health relationship with the dentists, staff and patients. You will also have to oversee the management of the appointment book and check whether patient records are accurate to minimise any complaints.

Technician

To become a Dental Technician you should have 4 GCSE passes of grading C and above from which 2 subjects should be in science; or a BTEC first certificate in science or an equivalent.

Your role: - you will be working under a dental surgeon and would manufacture dentures, crowns, bridges, Orthodontic appliances and related tasks. Should you be working with an Oral/ Maxilo facial Surgeon you would manufacture prosthetic appliances to replace lost tissues or organs such as eyes. Your dentists rely on you heavily, as they would not be able to provide a full range of service without your assistance. Since you work to a written prescription by the dentist you will rarely meet the patient.

Therapist

To be trained as a Dental Therapist you need to have five GCSE’s and either 2 Advance levels or a dental nursing qualification which is nationally recognised. Also you would need to obtain the Certificate in Oral Health Education as part of their Continuing Professional Development.

Your role: - you will educate patients on how to maintain their oral health and would have to deal with children, expectant mothers and patients with special needs. From time to time you will be required to deliver speeches at schools and groups to spread the message of good oral hygiene. You work for the prescription of the dentists. Therefore you would meet a patient several times during the treatment period.

Receptionist

You can choose to work part time as a receptionist and there is no formal qualification required. However you should possess the knowledge in organisational and administering skills as well as being an excellent communicator.

Your role: - apart from the reception duties as attending to the practice telephone you will be expected to keep account of financial transactions while the dental treatments are in progress and entering them in patient’s records.

Trade

There are few roles as a Tradesman. You can choose to be a Sales Representative, Telesales Personnel or a Service Engineer. You will be required to obtain the certificate in British Dental Trade Association – Part I (Introduction). It is a self-learning course in dentistry and is considered the benchmark of the industry.

Your role: - You will be supplying the necessary products and services to the dental clinics and laboratories. You have to make sure that you keep up with the demand of the industry. You also need to have a clear understanding of what makes up the industry.