UK - reasonable salary for dropout dental student

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roger.valentine@yahoo.com - 09 Sep 2006 18:43 GMT

If I dropped out of dental school after 3 years, got straight As in all
my procedures/labs .. fillings (e.g. Class 2s) fissure sealants, etc.
etc. did IDBs really well.. but dropped out ..basically cos hated
learning all the boring stuff and paperwork.. and uni was getting too
expensive..

well I loved the patient contact... saw an ad in the paper for a dental
nurse to help out on reception..

so I hear NHS dental 'therapists' can do some procedures if it has been
prescribed by a dentist..

Well.. I'm interested... not for the money.. but cos I enjoy patient
contact. Was thinking of doing it on saturdays...

What wage should I expect? (Say if I was doing scale & polishes.. etc.)
... same as a dental nurse (i.e. a girl who has just left school .. and
instead of doing alevels she shadows the dentist going really simple
stuff.. like mixing amalgam)

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George - 11 Sep 2006 00:21 GMT

You have to go back to the uni if you want to do stuff inside a
patient's mouth, even something as simple as a scale & polish.
Hygienist and therapist courses are 2-3 years studying.
If you want to limit yourself to the duties of a dental nurse (eg
aspiration, mixing stugg, infection control etc) you will have to hold
a registrable qualification. The easiest to do will probably be to pass
the national certificate for dental nursing - contact the national
examining board for dental nursing.
Dental nursing salaries are traditionally poor, like most nursing jobs.
Depending on the practice, you can expect anything from basic wage to
maybe 21,000 a year. Hygienists and therapists command higher salaries,
maybe as much as 30,000 to 40,000 a year.

Regards,
George

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