Dental Nurse Apprentice - Northampton

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

• Provide efficient and reliable chair-side support to the dental surgery

The day-to-day duties of a dental nurse can span across all areas of the practice and can include:

• Reception, including answering the phone and greeting patients
• Dealing with patient queries
• Taking payments
• Booking appointments and follow-ups
• Sterilising and preparing equipment for dentists
• Recording and dealing with patient records
• Supporting patients' wellbeing and dental experience
• Cleaning dental areas, including chairs
• Managing stock of equipment and supplies
• Any other duties to support the dentists and senior team to provide effective patient care

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. Off-the-job training will follow the time allocations outlined in the Occupational Standard.

After the apprenticeship

• Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship
• With experience, you may be able to move into jobs like team manager, team leader or dental practice manager
• With further training, you could become a dental therapist, helping a dentist carry out the more routine dentistry work
• You could also become a dental hygienist, helping people to look after their teeth and gums
• You might decide to train as an orthodontic therapist, helping dentists to improve the look and position of a patient's teeth

For more information on Dental Careers, please visit: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/

Things to consider

• Passing a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• To get a Hepatitis B vaccine