Sarah Briggs is training to be a dental nurse with the help of SpaDental Plymouth. Here’s what she told us about her career choices:
“I changed my career to become a dental nurse,” says Sarah Briggs
‘After returning from working abroad as a professional dancer in 2014, I became a fitness instructor. I loved teaching Pilates, aqua aerobics and solo salsa fitness. But there just weren’t enough hours in the week to earn enough money!
So after a year and a half, I decided I wanted to change my career path. I knew I could keep up my Pilates and salsa classes. They could be more of a hobby on the side. I decided to follow up my keen interest in dentistry and become a dental nurse.
An apprenticeship training programme with Progress to Excellence was just the course I needed. It has the right balance of theory and practice. Now I’ve been working at SpaDental Plymouth since April last year, and I’m really happy with my decision.
I love being part of the SpaDental team and get a lot of support from everyone working here.
The chairside training I do is really interesting. I particularly enjoy assisting the dentist with dental implants and working on Invisalign treatments. It’s great to see the results, which are as rewarding for us as for the patients!
In the future, once I have qualified and I’ve had a few more years experience, I would like to learn more about the orthodontic side of dentistry.’
Supporting professional development
SpaDental believes that mentoring talent is important. We are pleased to work with Progress to Excellence to help future nurses like Sarah Briggs, Charlotte Murie, and Maria Shrigley realise their ambition to work in the dental profession. We enjoy the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the practice, and we all benefit from sharing professional knowledge and learning.
Our trainees follow a rigorous, supervised programme of practical learning and assessment. After successfully completing the 18 month training programme, the new nurses can apply to register with the GDC.
Related reading:
- Becoming a Dental Nurse
- The Plymouth Team
- External link to PDF details of the course: Diploma in Dental Nursing