Levison's Textbook for Dental Nurses

Carole Hollins

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781119401322
• Edition: 12
• Topic: Medizin
• Subtopic: Zahnmedizin

A fully updated edition of the best-selling textbook for students studying for their dental nurse qualification

Levison's Textbook for Dental Nurses continues to be an indispensable resource written specifically for those undertaking the NEBDN National Diploma in Dental Nursing. This new edition provides in-depth coverage in many areas, such as the structure of the dental profession; an update of the current, available NHS dental services; information on extended duties for dental nurses; legal and ethical issues; health and safety including COSHH and waste disposal legislation updates; general anatomy and physiology; and medical emergencies.

• New edition of a classic textbook, fully in line with the most recent developments in dental nursing practice and education
• Caters especially for the NEBDN National Diploma in Dental Nursing
• Outlines the latest GDC standards for dental nurses
• Key Learning Points in every chapter to help readers master essential information

Packed with illustrations and diagrams to assist with aiding comprehension, this student-friendly text is ideal for dental nurses studying for the NEBDN National Diploma in Dental Nursing. It will also be of great benefit to dental nurses studying for the City & Guilds Diploma in Dental Nursing, Level 3.

1
Structure of the Dental Profession

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Key learning points

A factual knowledge of

• the various members that make up the dental team

An overview of

• the key roles of each member as well as the dental nurse
• the National Health Service and its current involvement with the provision of dental care

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The dental team is now made up of dentists and six categories of registered dental care professionals (DCPs), all of whom work together to provide oral healthcare for their patients. In hospital and clinic environments, some of the dentists may have gone on to become specialists in various fields of dentistry, while dental nurses are now able to train and become competent in various post‐registration qualifications as well as in several tasks referred to as ‘extended duties’. Although a new system of contracting and commissioning primary and secondary care dentistry to manage the National Health Service (NHS) provision in England was introduced in April 2013, it is still in a state of flux as the final contract details have yet to be decided. However, it is clear that whatever the final version there will be much more delegation and reliance on the use of DCPs in the workplace to assist in delivering dental treatment and preventive advice to patients. Consequently, there has never been a more exciting time for dental nurses to push the boundaries of their profession and become recognised as vital members of every dental team, in every dental workplace.

This chapter provides an overview of the roles of the various registrants, while that of the dental nurse is covered in detail in Chapter 2.

The dentist

Dentists undergo 5 years of undergraduate training at a university dental school. On passing their final examinations, students are awarded the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), but they cannot use the title of dentist or practise the profession until their names have been entered onto the Dentists Register. In addition, dentists who have qualified in member states of the European Union may currently also join the Register, although they must have an adequate level of written and spoken English. Dentists from non‐European Union countries must have their skills and knowledge assessed for equivalence with that required for UK dentists before they may work here. Following the UK referendum in 2016 which resulted in a majority desire to leave the European Union (‘Brexit’), these enhanced entry requirements may eventually apply to European dentists also.

The Register is kept by the General Dental Council and contains the name and qualification(s) of every person legally entitled to practise dentistry in the UK, but the decision was made in 2016 to end the need for registrants’ addresses to also be included. Registrants may describe themselves as dentist, dental surgeon or dental practitioner – there is no difference between these titles. Dentists may also use the courtesy title of Doctor but must not imply that they are anything other than dentists. Following qualification, all dentists are legally required to continue their professional education until their retirement from practice, in order to maintain and update their skills.

Registered dentists have a wide choice of opportunities within the profession:

• General practice.
• Community dental service.
• Hospital service.
• University teaching and research.
• Industrial dental service.
• The armed forces.

They may also take additional higher qualifications and become specialists in a particular branch of dentistry. Some examples of such qualifications are as follows:

• Fellowship in Dental Surgery (FDS).
• Master of Science (MSc) in a specialty.
• Membership in the Joint Dental Faculties (MJDF).
• Membership in Paediatric Dentistry (M Paed Dent).
• Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS).
• Diploma in Dental Public Health (DDPH).
• Diploma in Dental Radiology (DDR).
• Diploma in General Dental Practice (DGDP).
• Diploma in Orthodontics (DOrth).

These qualifications are provided by the joint dental faculties of the Royal Colleges of Surgery.

Having obtained the relevant higher qualifications, dentists may then join the Specialist List of the Register for their particular specialty, which includes the following areas:

• Oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• Surgical dentistry.
• Dental and maxillofacial radiology.
• Dental public health.
• Oral medicine.
• Oral microbiology.
• Oral pathology.
• Orthodontics.
• Periodontics.
• Prosthodontics.
• Restorative dentistry.

The General Dental Council

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the regulatory body of the dental profession (dentists and all DCPs) and its duties are set out in legislation. The GDC’s role is to protect patients from harm and maintain public confidence in all members of the dental profession, by ensuring their adequate regulation. In the UK this regulation is achieved by the GDC carrying out the following:

• Quality‐assuring education programmes for dental professionals: to ensure that the education and training delivered is sufficient to cover all the necessary learning outcomes for each category of dental professional.
• Registering dental professionals so that they may work in the UK: to ensure that only those with suitable dental qualifications are providing care to patients.
• Setting standards that all dental professionals must meet: to ensure that all dental professionals work at or above a defined level of professionalism at all times.
• Requiring all dental professionals to maintain and update their skills through continuing professional development (CPD): to ensure that all dental professionals are up to date with the latest knowledge and skills throughout their working career.

In addition, the GDC has a legal obligation to investigate serious allegations of a dental professional’s fitness to practise, where their behaviour or their conduct has been called into question. To be determined as being ‘fit to practise’, the GDC considers that the dental professional has the appropriate hands‐on skills, educational knowledge, good character and good health (both mental and physical) to practice their profession safely and effectively.

The GDC is also empowered to remove or suspend from the Register any dentist or DCP who has been convicted of a criminal offence or is guilty of serious professional misconduct. These issues are di...