What is a Dental Nurse?
The dental nurse works within the dental team to provide oral health care for a patient. As a dental nurse, you will come into close contact with patients of all ages who may be anxious and in need of support and reassurance. Good communication skills and a friendly and compassionate manner are essential.
You are expected to assist the dentist in all aspects of patient care. This will include
- sterilising and preparing instruments
- preparing and mixing materials
- looking after the comfort of the patient
- assisting the dentist with various procedures such as fillings, minor oral surgery and extractions.
Dental Nursing is a statutory registered profession. The regulatory body for the dental profession is the General Dental Council. Upon completion of your studies you will have to apply to the General Dental Council to be entered on the register. You will be assisted in this by the staff within the School.
Apprentices work at our outreach facilities and the Dental Institute for 4 days per week, for one half day in the classroom with the School of Dental Nursing and one half day guided study.
What will I study?
The course aims to provide a structured curriculum of study covering the knowledge and competence set down in the Dental Nursing Occupational Standards and those required to achieve the Apprenticeship Standard.
The Apprentice Standard includes the following components:
Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing
Level 2 Functional/Key Skills in Maths and English
Dental Nursing End Point Assessment

Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the entry requirements for the programme?
Applicants must be at least 16 years of age and have a minimum of 4 GCSEs (grade C or above) or equivalent with English Language and Maths being essential and a Science subject being desirable.
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Where would I be working?
Your main base will be the School of Dental Nursing located on level 6 of Leeds Dental Institute, close to the city centre of Leeds.
Dental Nurse Apprentices work on a rotational basis at our outreach clinics in Besston, Bradford and Hull and within the clinical departments of Leeds Dental Institute. Apprentices travel to and from Hull by minibus.
Apprentices work at our outreach facilities and the Dental Institute for 4 days per week, for one half day in the classroom with the School of Dental Nursing and one half day guided study.
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Who will I be working with?
You will be working, in the main, with Undergraduate Dental Students but will come into contact with the whole Dental Team including Dentists, Dental Hygiene/Therapists, Dental Technicians and Dental Nurses.
You will be allocated to one of our Trainer/Assessors who will teach, assess and support you throughout your Apprenticeship.
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Where will the programme be held?
All classroom/study work is delivered in the School of Dental Nursing within Leeds Dental Institute. We have dedicated classroom facilities and access to the Leeds University Medical and Dental Library as well as access to IT facilities. Functional Skills are delivered in partnership with Bradford City Training.
Clinical teaching and assessment are undertaken during clinical rotations.
You will have to undertake six rotations of one month duration to Hull outreach during your training. During these rotations you will have to arrive at the Dental Institute at 7.45am to ensure you catch the minibus transport to Hull.
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What does the course cover?
Each week time is spent in the classroom with trainers to gain underpinning knowledge and work on portfolio building.
Clinical topics covered within the course include:
- Health & Safety
- First Aid
- Principles of infection control/decontamination
- Delivering oral health information
- Assessment of oral health and treatment planning
- Dental radiography
- Scientific principles in the management of oral health diseases
- Clinical materials and procedures
You will be expected to achieve clinical competency in all elements of Dental Nursing and you will collect evidence of your clinical abilities throughout your training through witness statements and by direct observations recorded by your trainer/assessor.
You will be expected to complete work packs to evidence your underpinning knowledge of the academic content of the course.
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What opportunities are there once I have completed the programme?
You will be eligible to apply for any vacancies for Dental Nurse within the Dental Institute.
Towards the end of the programme you will be given the opportunity to undertake work placement in General Dental Practices in your local area. This will give you a chance to gain contact with employers in your local area which will help you to gain employment once you have completed the programme.
Dental nurses can work within dental hospitals, in community clinics, in the Armed Forces, in the NHS and in private general dental practices. Once qualified, you may choose to undertake post qualification courses which cover different specialties within dental nursing such as Oral Health Education, Sedation, Orthodontics and Special Care.
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How do I apply?
We regularly recruit groups of apprentice dental nurses.
Vacancies are advertised approx. every six months through the NHS Jobs website, www.jobs.nhs.uk