National Diploma in Dental Nursing

Course review:

You have to be working as a dental nurse to do this course. If not, you would have to find a job as a trainee.

This is the basic dental nursing course which leads to the National Examining Boards ‘National Diploma in Dental Nursing’. On completion of this course and successful completion of the exam you will be able to register with the GDC as a Dental Care Professional. Courses begin mid May & November. 14 month duration – fully supported.

You will sit the examination at a centre near to you. This is normally a major city or at a dental hospital. The examination board designate the centres.

The course is the same as that of an evening college. You are expected to sit down for approx 3hrs a week to do that weeks work. The module you get is dated so you know what work to do when. If you get stuck or don’t understand anything then you ring your tutor.

The practical side of the course is carried out at work, and you complete a Record of Experience towards your exam. This would also be the same as an evening course.

The course follows the syllabus set out by the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses.

The course will give you the necessary knowledge and expertise to enter for the National Diploma for Dental Nurses Exam.

The theory is set out in a module file & is available in paper or CD format. You cover one module per month. At the end of each module you will sit a mock exam and forward it to your tutor. The mock exams prepare you for the final exam. These consist of multiple choice, extended matching questions & OSCE’s.

You will be assigned a tutor whom you can contact each day up to 9 o’clock if you get stuck or need further clarification on a subject. You can also email your tutor.

You will send work to your tutor at regular intervals so your tutor can feedback to you on any revision needed. Tutors are usually on hand outside normal working hours and at weekend.

Our tutors are there for the student benefit but will not put students under any pressure.

As with any course, completion of the course does not guarantee success in the exam although Dentrain does gain consecutively high pass rates.

Courses are run twice a year beginning in May & November and last for 14 months.

The course covers the following subject areas

• Health and Safety and Infection Control in the Workplace
• Emergencies in the Clinical Environment
• Legal and Ethical Issues in the Provision of Dental Care
• Anatomical Structures and Systems Relative to Dental Care
• Oral Disease and Pathology
• Patient Care and Management
• Assessing Patients’ Oral Health Needs and Treatment Planning
• Oral Health Promotion and Preventive Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry
• Oral Surgery
• Orthodontic Procedures
• Dental Drugs, Materials, Instruments and Equipment
• Pain and Anxiety Control in Dentistry
• Radiography
• Communication