At Smile Together, we’re proud to support and develop the next generation of dental nurses through our successful apprenticeship programme.
In 2025, we were delighted to welcome our latest apprentice dental nurses – Emily and Teagan, who are based in our Truro practice, and Jess in Bodmin, who has progressed into this role having previously worked as a receptionist there.
This marks the fourth year Smile Together has welcomed apprentice dental nurses — a programme that continues to go from strength to strength.
Our previous apprentices, Karn Percival and Katie Putt, both recently qualified as dental nurses and are now valuable members of our clinical team. Karn is based in Newquay and has also been elected to our Shareholder Impact Board, playing a key role in representing colleagues across our organisation. Katie continues her career with us in Bodmin, where she trained and qualified.
We’re also proud of Corey Wedlake, who joined us as an apprentice dental nurse in 2021. Based predominantly in Penzance, Corey was shortlisted for the Cornwall Apprenticeship Awards 2021 in the Community Champion category and attended the celebration that November.
Our very first apprentice dental nurse, Thai Batchelor, joined Smile Together back in 2017 and continues her successful career with us. Thai works alongside our dentists and dental therapists, supporting new trainees and taking on additional responsibilities, including managing our oral health recycling initiative. Our Harleigh Road Dental Centre remains a registered Phillips TerraCycle location where patients and the wider community can deposit oral care products for recycling.
Thai reflects on her apprenticeship experience:
“I was so inspired by the Smile Together team that when I saw their apprenticeship opportunities being promoted I leapt at the chance to apply and was thrilled to be offered one of the two posts. I started in December 2017, gaining knowledge in all areas of dentistry from the unscheduled dental care service through to routine private care. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially the in-house mentoring that I received from the dental nurses and dentists who were so supportive. It really is a great place to both start and develop your dental nursing career.”
Our apprenticeships are more than just a training opportunity — they are a proven route to building confident, capable dental professionals who thrive within our team and contribute to our wider community impact.
