Dental Nurse

Job overview

The Community Dental Service is seeking a motivated and compassionate Dental Nurse (Band 4) to join our team on a fixed term basis (12-month Maternity cover) part time basis.

The post holder will provide high quality clinical and administrative support to dentists delivering care to patients who are unable to access general dental services due to disability, medical complexity or the need for specialist care.

You will assist in a wide range of dental procedures, ensuring the smooth running of clinics, maintaining high standards of infection prevention and control, and delivering safe, patient centred care always. The role involves supporting patients of all ages, many of whom may require additional reassurance, empathy and communication support.

The post is based at West Berkshire Community Dental Clinic with regular travel to various clinics and sites across Berkshire, therefore flexibility and the ability to travel are essential. The position is office and clinic based.

This role is part time, 30 hours per week, worked over 4 days, 08:30 – 17:00, and is ideal for a Dental Nurse who enjoys working as part of a multidisciplinary team in a community setting. You will be professionally accountable to the Head of Service and line managed by the Community Dental Service Manager / Operations Manager.

Opportunities for development and training are actively supported within the service.

Main duties of the job

• To provide comprehensive support to clinicians, throughout a wide range of different types of clinical treatments.  • To provide clinical support as described above within a wide range of settings - including fixed sites and clinics, and other environments which include patients’ homes, residential care and nursing homes, hospices and hospitals.  • To provide clinical support to sedation clinics - additional training will be provided if necessary.  • To provide clinical support at general anaesthetic sessions - additional training will be provided if necessary.  • To provide support to dental trainees and students working within the service.
• To set up and prepare the dental surgery or theatre for use at the beginning of the session and ensure that it is left as defined by the control of infection guidelines at the end of the day. • To ensure that the correct clean instruments and equipment, x-rays, record card and electronic records are available to the clinician prior to treatment. • To prepare and monitor patients for and during their dental treatment providing pre- and post-operative instruction where needed.  • To ensure the laboratory is contacted and all relevant work is present when patient arrives.  • To assist with dental radiography under the supervision of an operator, process dental x-rays following the Quality Assurance Policy.  • To ensure that emergency medical drugs and equipment are available, in full working order and not expired. To fulfil mandatory CPR.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The “must haves” for this role:

• National Certificate for Dental Nurses or NVQ Level 3 in Oral Healthcare  •    Current registration with the General Dental Council (GDC)  •    Experience working as part of a dental team providing chairside support in a dental setting (general practice, hospital, CDS or PDS)

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.   We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Meenu Gopakumar, meenu.gopakumar@berkshire.nhs.uk, Telephone no: 07800 917960 who’ll be delighted to help

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.