Dental Nurse Advanced Apprenticeship – P0212

The dental nurse role complements the role of other dental professionals. One of the primary roles is to provide chair side support to dental professionals and deliver a high level of patient care. Dental nurses may work in a variety of clinical environments and the apprenticeship reflects all aspects of the clinical responsibilities and duties of a dental nurse’s role and will provide the apprentice with the relevant qualification to apply to the General Dental Council (GDC) for professional registration as a dental nurse.

An apprenticeship is a job with training. You will be employed at least 30 hours a week, with 80% of your working hours in your day-to-day role, and the remaining 20% of your time engaged in training or study.

By enquiring about this apprenticeship you are not applying for a specific apprenticeship role. For current vacancies please take a look at the apprenticeship vacancies page.

Year 1

The Dental Nurse Apprenticeship program will require you to develop your skills, knowledge and behaviours in a professional environment and achieve a series of standards to prove your competence and skill:

Oral anatomy and physiology, respiratory and circulatory systems. How infectious diseases are transmitted and prevented. Dental materials, equipment and resources. How to deal with medical emergencies. Legislative compliance and regulatory requirements. Clinical skills and health promotion, patient care and management.

Year 2

Prepare and maintain the clinical environment before, during and after dental procedures. Prepare records, equipment and resources for all stages of treatment including dental radiography. Work in a safe and efficient manner. Undertake audits, testing and maintenance of equipment and maintain appropriate records to reflect this. Manage and perform effective decontamination and infection control procedures complying with legislative, local and current best practice guidelines. Provide chair side support to the operator during clinical dental procedures. Prepare, mix and handle dental materials in the correct manner whilst ensuring manufacturers requirements for storage, usage and disposal are facilitated.

Record dental charting and oral tissue assessment carried out by other Registrants. Recognise and comply with systems and processes to support safe patient care. Recognise and take into account the needs of different patients throughout the patient care process. Contribute to obtaining and recording patient clinical history Monitor, support and reassure patients throughout all aspects and processes. Give appropriate patient advice in relation to their needs and treatment plan.

Level 2 English and maths (equivalent to GCSEs at grades A* to C or 4-9).

On-programme is the learning phase for apprentices to pick up the skills, knowledge and behaviours set in each standard. Apprentices need to complete 20% off-the-job training during the on-programme phase of their apprenticeship. You can track and monitor the 20% through our e-portfolio.

On program assessment includes:
– Regular assessment (involving employer and training provider)
– Development of a portfolio demonstrating learning and development activities with their application in the workplace.
– Apprentices must achieve a GDC approved Licence to Practice qualification in Dental Nursing before being entered for the end-point assessment.

End-Point Assessment
End-point assessment (EPA) is the final stage that an apprentice goes through to complete their apprenticeship. The apprentice must show their learning to an independent end-point assessor and the grades available are distinction, pass or fail.

The Final Assessment will contain 2 components – both components must be passed for the apprentice to be deemed competent;
1. Synoptic project: The focus of the synoptic project is on the apprentice being able to prove their competence in the role of a Dental Nurse through the work they have done. This entails demonstrating competence in defined learning outcomes derived from the
competencies set out in the standard; The project will be completed in the final three months of the apprenticeship.
2. Interview: The interview is a structured discussion between the apprentice and the independent assessor, focusing on the project results and how they have performed during the apprenticeship. It covers both what the apprentice has done, the standard of their work, and also how they have approached their work.

Tuition fees

Additional Costs

You may be subject to additional costs of the endpoint assessment if the apprentice fails with an agreement with the employer the first time round.

Disclaimer

If the course is longer than one year the total fees are for the first year only and further fees may apply in future years. All fees are based on a ‘home’ learner status. Please contact us for information on overseas fees.

For more information, please see our course fee disclaimers page.

Learn more about fees

Once you have successfully completed and passed your apprenticeship in dental nursing you can progress into other career pathways such as dental therapists and hygienists, oral health promotion, dental practice management or related healthcare roles, such as nursing and radiography. You call our team at Leicester College to discuss this further on 0116 2242240.

You can express your interest in this apprenticeship by completing an application form or alternatively you can apply for one of our live apprenticeship vacancies via the College website. Our apprenticeships can also be found on the government’s apprenticeship site, gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship. As with any other job application, if you are shortlisted then you will be invited for an interview at the employer’s premises. You can apply for as many apprenticeship vacancies as you want.