Chapter 25

Certificate in Orthodontic Nursing and extended duties

In addition to the initial National Certificate and NVQ Course and Examination, a variety of post-registration qualifications are available. Additional qualifications are currently being developed to meet the needs of the profession and career pathways for dental nurses. Nurses who work in the field of orthodontics are very fortunate to have a post-registration qualification in their specialty and the orthodontic profession was very supportive of its development.

WHAT IS IT?

The Certificate in Orthodontic Nursing was introduced in 2001 and is now well established as a popular post-registration qualification, with the National Examination Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN) as its awarding body. Responsibility for registering students for this award lies with the training centres.

WHO QUALIFIES TO GO ON THE COURSE?

It is a course intended for dental nurses who work within orthodontics. Nurses who want to go on to gain this Certificate must:

• be registered with the General Dental Council
• have the support of their employer

THE FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE COURSE

The cost of the course varies between training centres. There is a registration and examination fee payable to NEBDN.

Up-to-the-minute information on this, and where the training centres are located, is available either by contacting the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN) or by looking on the internet.

WHAT DOES THE COURSE CONTAIN?

Once on the course, nurses will need to attend lectures and instruction on the theoretical aspect of the qualification. For this there is a comprehensive syllabus.

They also need to show that they can apply this knowledge in a practical setting. For this they need to compile a Record of Experience which records their competencies.

The written Examination Paper consists of two parts:

• Paper A, which is made up of multiple choice questions
• Paper B, which consists of short answers to structured questions

The examination is taken at the nurses’ own training centre and is independently assessed by NEBDN examiners.

The Record of Experience has three parts.

Part 1: Log Sheets

Students must record their involvement in the treating of at least 50 cases. Of these:

• 10 must be in removable appliance therapy, including 5 patients with functional appliances
• 10 patients in fixed appliance therapy

Part 2: Case Studies

The student must produce two detailed case studies. These must be:

• to advise a patient on oral hygiene and instruction on how to look after their orthodontic appliance
• to follow a patient whose orthodontic treatment was part of an interdisciplinary interface

Part 3: Evidence of Competence

The student will be expected to demonstrate competence in relation to:

• taking of clinical photographs/slides
• completion of cephalometric tracing, digitisation and measurement
• assisting with the taking and handling of impressions
• casting of study models
• contributing to the fitting and adjustment of orthodontic appliances

THE SYLLABUS FOR THE CERTIFICATE IN ORTHODONTIC NURSING

SECTION ONE ANATOMICAL STRUCTURES RELATIVE TO ORTHODONTICS

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