6143- DENTAL NURSES

Job Title: 

DENTAL NURSES

Alternate Titles: 

Dental assistant,Dental nurse,Dental nurse-receptionist,Dental surgery assistant

Job Description: 

Dental nurses prepare patients for, and assist with, dental examinations, prepare and sterilise instruments and maintain case records.

Education: 

Entry is most common with GCSEs/S grades. Training is available both off- and on-the-job. Most entrants work towards the National Certificate for Dental Nurses.
Refer The S/NVQ framework for more details

NS-SEC: 

The simplified NS-SEC analytic class for this code is 6
The simplified NS-SEC operational category for this code is 12.2
Refer The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification for more details

Tasks: 


  • prepares patient for examination;
  • prepares and sterilises instruments and follows guidelines to maintain sterile conditions within the surgery;
  • hands required equipment and medication to dentist during examination;
  • assists with minor treatment, such as preparing materials for fillings;
  • removes water and saliva from patient?s mouth during treatment;
  • maintains records, processes and mounts x-ray films and undertakes reception duties.
International Careers(ISCO): 
Similar O*NET Careers (USA) : 
Source Of Info: 

Office of National Statistics UK