Since joining Smile Together in 2021 I have worked in urgent and emergency care, community and special care dentistry and routine private care. I feel such fulfilment and job satisfaction at the end of every day and can’t begin to describe how rewarding it is, knowing we’ve helped so many people with such different dental needs. You most definitely get a sense of achievement from the work you’re able to do here at Smile Together. There are excellent training and development opportunities here. I am a Tier 2 dental nurse and have most recently completed Smile Together’s Royal College of Surgeons accredited course in Inhalation Sedation for Dental Nurses which entitles me to support other clinical colleagues providing this form of care for patients.
My working week (and sometimes day) is extremely varied which I absolutely love! I can be supporting a dentist with patients who do not access regular dental care and need our help to get them out of pain, or working in community dentistry which in some cases has seen us doing a check-up in the car park because a patient is too anxious to attend the surgery. It is especially rewarding to develop a bond over time with patients who often have complex health conditions or phobias and see them become more comfortable and accepting of certain treatments that you know will make their lives better. I find it much the same when supporting the dentist in routine private dentistry appointments.
The team here is wonderful and I love dental nursing alongside a range of dentists and therapists who are all so appreciative of my contribution and encouraging of any ideas I might have to improve patient care and service provision as well as develop my career.
It’s fun knowing that each day will be different and will bring new challenges to your door. One of the biggest challenges we faced were all the changes required due to Covid-19 but together we’ve found new ways to adapt to a new ‘normal’ and continued to provide the patient care we’re so passionate about, whilst keeping everyone safe.
I always wanted a career where I could help people and make communities healthier. Dental nursing was appealing as not only can you continue to develop but there are many different progression paths you can take, from private care and orthodontics to community and special care dentistry, which I am very much enjoying here at Smile Together. Prior to joining I worked in general practice for a number of years seeing both adults and children for general routine dental care and this builds well on that experience.
To someone considering working for Smile Together I would say that it is truly a great place to work where everyone is willing to help one another and you do make some great friendships. Alongside the excellent training and development opportunities there are progression routes available to you plus the chance to make a difference in your local community. It’s an inspirational environment and I feel very lucky to have secured a dental nursing role with the company and love knowing that at the end of each day I have worked to the best of my ability and helped make a difference to the patients we’ve seen.
Outside of work I can be found riding around beautiful Cornwall on my horse or walking my dogs, and I also love to read a good book or watch a TV series.