Dental Nurses Require Clinical Training
Of all the nursing professions, dental nurses make a relatively small percentage of registered nurses. There are many vacancies for nurses in this field because many people do not enter this field of nursing. Let's face it. The majority of people do not like to visit the dentist, yet alone work in a dentist office setting. Dental nurses work under the direct supervision of a dentist or denturist.
When you visit a dental office, you will have a lot of contact with the dental assistants. Dental assistants do not have to meet all the rigid requirements, educational training and certifications that are required of registered nurses. For this reason, many dentists are turning to registered nurses for certain types of assistance such as surgical procedures.
In a surgical setting, a dental may perform blood pressure checks, and assist with local injections, taking tissue samples, or disposing of dental waste. One of the most important tasks for dental nurses is assisting with anaesthesia and its possible complications. In the event there is a problem a nurse must be there to help solve any problems. Traditional dental assistants do not have the type of training and certifications that are needed to assist with anaesthesia.
Depending on the size of the dental practice, many dental nurses also perform the secretarial, front office and dental assistant duties for the dentist. Being a dental nurse does not automatically mean that you will be doing nothing but surgical procedures. There is a lot of variety on a day to day basis in the position and the tasks vary from office to office. Dental nurses may also perform teeth cleaning, with the assistance of the dental hygienist, along with taking x-rays and making dental moulds for such things as bite plates, dentures and bridges. Dental nurses are required to complete a clinical training sessions as part of obtaining their degrees. The majority of the nurses complete their clinical rotation in dentist and dental surgeon offices. Many of the clinical rotation positions end up becoming full time jobs because there are so many vacancies for nurses in this speciality. Dental nurses are listed as staff RNs and usually paid along the same type of salary pay scale of around $55,000 to $60,000 annual salary. Dental nurses have undergone the same training as any other registered nurse with a minimum of an associate degree or two years of college followed by certification by a State authority. This certification licenses them as a general Registered Nurse or RN. During their medical training in college, dental nurses will learn relevant medical terminology specializing in teeth, mouth and gum areas of the body. They also learn the other important medical terminology as well but there is more focus on the dental area for these nurses. As you can see there is a great need for dental nurses to assist dentists. The job has a lot of variety and there are many vacancies to fill. Any registered nurse wanting a position in this speciality should not have any difficulty finding suitable work in their area.
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