Annual Salary
£20,329 to £31,533
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Social care or Therapy or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Social care or Therapy or go back to all job sectors
Dental nurses help dentists to treat their patients and do reception work and other tasks in the practice.
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; on a rota
There will be
8% more Dental nurse jobs in 2026.
In your local area
In this role you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing and a uniform.
You could work at a dental practice, at a health centre or in an NHS or private hospital.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a course at college that would give you skills and knowledge for this role.
Courses include:
Courses will combine full-time study with work experience in a dental surgery.
You'll usually need:
You can take an advanced apprenticeship in dental nursing.
You'll need to be working in a dental surgery to do an apprenticeship.
You could also do this role in the armed forces.
You'll usually need:
A common route is to start with a dental practice as a trainee and study for a dental nursing qualification on the job.
You'll need to:
You can join The British Association of Dental Nurses for professional development training.
You can get more details about dental nursing from Health Careers.
With experience you may be able to move into jobs like team manager, team leader or dental practice manager.
You could serve in the armed forces as a dental nurse.
With further training you could become a dental therapist, helping a dentist carry out the more routine dentistry work. You could also become a dental hygienist, helping people to look after their teeth and gums.
You might decide to train as an orthodontic therapist helping dentists to improve the look and position of a patient's teeth.
Health Careers has information on careers in all areas of the dental team.
You can get more details about dental nursing from Health Careers.
You'll need: