I just wanted to take the time out of my day to personally thank all the dental teams out there for their hard work over the past year during this pandemic. It’s amazing how everyone has adapted to the changes within the industry. I sometimes think nurses can be forgotten, but without all your hard work and perseverance, we wouldn’t have been able to continue to see patients for treatments as we have.

So many articles have been written about dental nurses, their career journeys, their further education and their professional achievements. They are all very inspiring and we do need that.

I left school at eighteen, not knowing which career path to take. All I knew was that I wanted to go into a field that involved working with people. I took a receptionist job at a local dental practice, and it was then that I realised I wanted to pursue a career in dentistry. I enjoyed the patient interaction and seeing how dentistry can have a huge impact on people’s lives. After a couple of years of working on reception, I was given the opportunity to begin a dental nursing course and take a more hands-on approach. 

When did you start working as an orthodontic nurse?

In the year 2000!

National Smile Month is a long-running campaign organised by the Oral Health Foundation (a UK-based charity) with the aim of promoting good oral health worldwide. This year’s campaign is approaching quickly – it runs from 17th May to 17th June 2021.