Poor pay

I think in an ideal world the DDPRB should annually consider ALL registered healthcare professionals' pay.
At the moment we are viewed as expenses (ie something to be kept down).
I would like us ALL to be encouraged and uplifted (financially and professionally).
If our pay was considered annually by an outside body it would re-introduce the concept that we NEED an annual raise in order to keep pace with inflation. It would remove the angst of us individually trying to grab a moment of the boss's time to beg for a raise. They never seem to have the time for a conversation which will hurt their wallet. (That's if you're fortunate enough to have an employer who is personally accessible to you.) This situation favours the assertive over the shy. As dental nursing is a job which suits a quiet, sensitive, helpful personality I think pay has suffered over the years due to a widespread lack of assertiveness towards our bosses.

I totally agree with you, we do not get paid enough and pay across the board is so irregular! I have had to fight to get my pay increases over the 10 years I have worked in the same (private) practice. when I qualified I was put on such a low wage, I was so disappointed but still I stayed quiet for 2 years until I couldn't stay quiet anymore. I called a meeting with the owner and gained myself a small rise. I have continued to do this every 2 or 3 years, called meetings and gained small rises each time. In the meetings I really have to prove my worth! ie Never sick, always here early, always staying late (don't we all) always go above and beyond, I do the social media too,OHE qualified. Thankfully he agrees I'm a good member of staff or my rises would not happen. He certainly wouldn't give me one off his own back! Now I'm happy with my wage (£13ph), I wont ever get anymore now. If I hadn't fought like this though I'd very likely still be on around £8ph. He does pay my indemnity. I pay for my own GDC and CPD.

I don't know what the answer is for those who's bosses aren't so amenable. I don't understand how the NHS system works. Nurses should go on strike or something! The truth is no one could work without us!

I completely agree with you and feel it's an area that needs major acknowledgement from employer's. Where I am in the North East of Scotland there are a few practices that do pay well. I'm currently on £10.20 an hour but it's not unusual for my peers in the local area to be on minimum wage or barely £8 an hour. As a career it doesn't make sense and sadly I'm now in a position that I'm not qualified for anything else as I've done this for 22yrs. I would never recommend anyone to train as a dental nurse if they wanted to be financially stable.

2.5% uplift applies to NHS not private.

Yes - the more the staff are paid the less the business owner retains. Despite this tension we work together very closely to provide a good service for our patients (which means a profitable business).

The Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body's 2019 report has been released. Recommending a 2.5% increase, backdated to April 2019.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governm...t_Web_Accessible.pdf

Nurses, hygenists, cleaners, managers, technicians etc are referred to as 'staff expenses'.
Everything that report says about years of pay restraint, motivation, goodwill, inflation and recruitment difficulties apply to every member of staff just as much as the dentists and doctors. The Ds & Ds are very fortunate that the government commissions a team of seven people to carefully consider their annual 'uplift' (payrise).

Here's a suggestion: the nhs dental practice 'expenses' need to insist our raise is the same as the provider/performer's (business owner's). (Teamwork).

Well done on becoming a hygienist!
Yes - 8.20/hour good for an apprentice but pay hardly goes up over the years as duties steadily increase. I think this mostly happens due to inertia rather than any bad intention.

I am with you 100% on the frustration regarding poor pay for qualified dental nurses.
You work incredibly hard and with many stresses and time constraints,
I’m a hygienist but I was a nurse for 8 years and my daughter is currently doing a dental nurse apprenticeship she is payed £.8.20 an hour which at 17 she’s happy with but I know it will not rise to much more after qualification and luckily her company pay GDC registration
There are cleaners and checkout staff who are payed more an hour
It is down to the practice owner to pay their nurses better but they choose not to
The practice could not run without the nurses and 90% of the responsibilities, preparation and organization is down to the nurses
I will be trying to encourage my daughter to go on to do hygiene therapy as I despair at the poor pay for nurses
There are some practice owners who pay better but we are talking about £12 an hour after 20+ years!
I hope you campaign and object and get some fair pay but it’s a profession where the top are greedy and that’s the general management of a practice sad but true!

Misleading you in some way about your pay is a sign of a BAD BOSS
Asking employees to pay for their own uniform, GDC, indemnity or compulsory CPD is a sign of a BAD BOSS. They can reclaim business expenses before paying tax (Dentists and hygenists if self-employed will pay their own).

Ask for these things to be corrected now, not in six months. If no joy, just look for another job.
Do the next nurse a favour and inform your employer of your reasons as you depart.
I am assuming you are a good nurse (they'll want to keep you).

By the way, the GDC is not there to help us but to police us if we do something wrong.

Hello,
I qualified as a dental nurse in 2016 when I was in my mid thirties thinking I would be creating a better life for myself regarding profession and pay.

Now three years later I can't help but think I have made a terrible mistake. I work for an independent practice in the east midlands and I 'm paid £8.75ph.

I was recently led to believe that all nurses pay at the practice would be a flat rate of £9.10ph and any post qualification completed would get you an extra 50p (this seems unlikely after getting 1 - 2 post qualifications). I asked today when the flat pay rate would start and was told in 6 months when I get an appraisal I may or may not get a pay rise of 20 - 25 pence per hour. I am sick to death of working hard like all of us dental nurses do but struggle to get paid which reflects this hard work.

I do not know of any other occupation where we nurses who are described by the GDC as 'Dental professionals' earn under £9.00 ph.....I do not know of any other 'professional' in whatever industry who earn less than £9.00ph.

I am resentful of the GDC who squeeze £116 out of me yearly without fail but seem to do little for me. I also resent paying the indemnity insurance this year of £61. Even the British Association of Dental Nurses charge a small fortune so I am unable to join them and I'm not even sure what they could do regarding fighting for better wages for nurses and why aren't they!?!

I am not motivated to do post qualifications as theres no incentive, I may only be paid a pound or two extra.......I'm worried 5 or 10 years from now I'm only going to be £1 per hour(£2 if I'm lucky) better off.

I'm not just talking about my own practice but so many other practices pay poorly regardless of whether they are corporate or independent, and the actual realisation is dental practices NEED dental nurses for the smooth running of the business, we are an essential element.

I don't want to be a manager or therapist / hygienist. Hospital jobs are the best but they are few and far between and so are OHE jobs.

I often wonder as dental nurses what can we do?......besides change careers altogether. Why aren't the BADN rallying us and fighting with us for better pay or why can't the GDC?....because I'm not being treated as a 'professional'.

Today has left me feeling resentful of dentistry and the dental nurse profession, I feel I'm having to beg and scrabble for a decent wage!

The most frustrating thing is I don't know how to make a difference on my own or how we can work together to make a change.....we're all so resigned to this.

Rant. Over.