In the weeks running up to the summer holiday period you may have had patients come in to enquire about getting passport photographs signed. A person with the status of ‘dental surgeon’ is an obvious choice, alongside GPs, bank officials and teachers.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) ‘is an executive, non-departmental public body of the Department of Health’ which ‘was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England’ (Wikipedia, 2015).

Dental nurses have the ability to push their careers as far as they want to go. Those who develop good knowledge and understanding of their career are the ones that have the power to go beyond dental nursing duties alone. As dental nurses, we have many opportunities to develop our skills and knowledge. We can take on additional responsibility, gain promotions in the workplace, and study for further qualifications. Keeping an open mind and thinking outside of the box is the key to pushing yourself forward in your career.

In a world where social media is an intergenerational phenomenon, it seems that to find someone who does not upload their lives online is a rarity. There is a whole generation referred to as ‘digital natives’ who have come of age in a time when internet use is prevalent in everyday life. For many, life before social media is unimaginable!

Introduction

Are changes in infection control procedures in dentistry governed by fact or fiction? In this article I will be looking at key changes in infection control over the last decade and what led to them.