Dental Nurse Level 3 Apprenticeship

Course overview

This apprenticeship is suitable if you would like a career as a Dental Nurse. A Dental Nurse provides ‘chair-side support’ for the dental team, which includes dentists, dental therapists, hygienists and technicians. Dental Nurses may work in a variety of clinical environments and the apprenticeship reflects all aspects of clinical responsibilities and duties of a Dental Nurse’s role and will provide the apprentice with the relevant qualification to apply to the General Dental Council (GDC) for professional registration as a Dental Nurse.

Click here for further information regarding the Standard Apprenticeship.

Course content

You will study:

• Dental and regional anatomy, plus oral anatomy and physiology.
• Respiratory and circulatory systems and how to recognise the range and functions of normal human structures.
• Health promotion and disease prevention and the basic principles of a population health care approach, including oral and general health care.
• Factors that can affect oral and general health care and the transmission of infectious diseases and their prevention.
• Mechanisms for the prevention of infection, plus the scientific principles of decontamination and disinfection and relevance to health and safety and current best practice guidelines.
• The dental team and GDC guidelines including roles and responsibilities of the Dental Nurse and other Dental Care Professionals involved in patient management.

Your own Clinical skills will be developed as you will need to demonstrate how you:

• Prepare and maintain the clinical environment before, during and after dental procedures.
• Prepare records, equipment and resources for all stages of treatment including dental radiography.
• Work in a safe and efficient manner.
• Undertake audits, testing and maintenance of equipment and maintain appropriate records to reflect this.
• Manage and perform effective decontamination and infection control procedures complying with legislative, local and current best practice guidelines.
• Provide chair-side support to the operator during clinical dental procedures.
• Prepare, mix and handle dental materials in correct manner whilst ensuring manufacturers’ requirements for storage, usage and disposal are facilitated.
• Record dental charting and oral tissue assessment carried out by other registrants.