Dental Nurse Or Technician? It's Not Just What You Call Yourself, What You Do Counts As Well, GDC Confirms

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 23 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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If you're working as a dental nurse or technician, you have to be registered or in training - whatever your job title, the General Dental Council (UK) confirms. And experience is no longer enough.

The titles "dental nurse", "dental surgery assistant", "dental technician" and "dental technologist" are protected by law. So if you're not registered with the GDC and you use one of these titles, or any other title which misleadingly implies that you are, you risk prosecution in a criminal court.

But that doesn't mean that an unregistered person can just use a different job title and continue to do the work of a dental nurse or dental technician - at least, not without risking the registration of whoever is employing them.

Unregistered dental nurses and dental technicians are effectively outlawed by GDC standards which make it clear that registrants - professionals who are literally signed up to the high standards set in the UK for their profession - must employ and work with appropriately registered people.

If a registered dentist or dental technician employs someone to work as a dental nurse or dental technician they have a duty to ensure that that person is registered or in training. If they don't, they risk losing their own registration.

An unregistered dental nurse or dental technician is therefore a contradiction in terms. If they do find someone who is prepared to employ them as a dental nurse or dental technician, that person could in turn find their own livelihood at risk as a result of GDC fitness to practise proceedings. The bottom line is, dental nurses and dental technicians need to be registered or in training.

Transitional arrangements that were in place for two years - allowing existing dental nurses and dental technicians to register on the basis of experience - are now closed, so that persons working as dental nurses and dental technicians can no longer apply for registration on that basis.

"You have to be registered, or in training, to work as a dental nurse or dental technician," said GDC Director of Operations Edward Bannatyne. "If you don't call yourself a dental nurse or dental technician, but you do the work of a dental nurse or dental technician, then whoever employs you risks a GDC fitness to practise investigation and is putting their own registration at risk.

"The time to register under transitional arrangements that recognised existing experience is over. To be a dental nurse or dental technician, you must register or be in training. It's as simple as that."

1. For information on registering as a dental nurse or dental technician, visit http://www.gdc-uk.org, email GDCregistration@gdc-uk.org or call 0845 300 7794.

2. Definition of 'in training':

Dental nurses and dental technicians are in training if they are studying for a registrable qualification in their field.

Student dental nurses

The Council has agreed, as a result of the Scope of Practice consultation undertaken in early 2008 (and final guidance will be published later this year to this effect), that student dental nurses are those that:

1. Are employed by a practice and enrolled on a training course but waiting for the course to start; or 2. Are employed by a practice and waiting for enrolment for a training programme to open; or 3. Have passed the examination for the National Certificate but are still completing the 24 months' chairside experience needed to get their certificate.

In all the above cases:

a. Before the student dental nurse undertakes any duties in the practice he or she must receive an appropriate induction, which must include confidentiality and health and safety in the practice;
b. The student dental nurse must keep a log book of the training they receive in the practice;
c. The student dental nurse must not undertake exposure prone procedures, including cleaning instruments, until they have received their appropriate vaccinations as required in the area where they practice.

A named supervising registrant must take responsibility for supervising a dental nurse in training. By undertaking this responsibility, the supervising registrant agrees to be accountable for the work of the student dental nurse.

Student dental technicians

Student dental technicians who are employed by a laboratory or practice and enrolled on training course leading to registration which has yet to start can be defined as 'in training'.

Technicians who are employed by a laboratory or practice with a view to enrolling on a training course for which enrolment has not yet opened can also be defined as 'in training'.

In both these cases:
a. Before the student dental technician undertakes any duties in the laboratory or practice he or she must receive an appropriate induction, which must include confidentiality and health and safety in the practice and immunisation (if appropriate, e.g. in a clinical setting);
b. The student dental technician must keep a log book of the training they receive in the laboratory practice.

A named supervising registrant must take responsibility for supervising a student dental technician. By undertaking this responsibility, the supervising registrant agrees to be accountable for the work of the student dental technician.

General Dental Council