Diploma in Dental Nursing

100% pass rate for our Diploma in Dental Nursing (RQF)! 🌟

A huge congratulations to all our graduates — your determination and resilience have made this possible.

Key Information

Duration: 1 Year

Date: January, April, July, October

Hours: 6 hours fortnightly (10am – 4pm)

Study Location: London (Acton)

Awarding Body: National Examination Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN)

Academic Level: Level 3

Fees: £1790.00 payable by monthly instalments

Deposit: £390.00 (The deposit is non-refundable and is included in the total fee, securing a place on the course.)

Examination Fee: £545.00

Who it’s for: Adult Learners 18+

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Overview
Learning and Skills
Entry Requirement

Diploma in Dental Nursing (Face-to-face)

Is Dental Nursing the Right Path for You?

Dental nursing is one of those careers where the work actually means something. You’re not processing paperwork in the background — you’re in the room with patients, often on the worst day of their dental lives, helping to keep things calm, running smoothly and professionally. For people who find that kind of work genuinely satisfying, it’s a career that tends to stick.

The NEBDN Diploma in Dental Nursing (Face-to-Face) is built for people who are serious about entering the profession and prefer the structure and pace of classroom-based learning. Maybe you’re already working as a trainee dental nurse and want a recognised qualification to formalise what you’ve been doing. Maybe you’re switching careers and need a structured, credible route in. Whatever your situation, this diploma gives you the knowledge, the practical foundation and the nationally recognised qualification you need to apply for GDC registration and build a career in dentistry that lasts.

The qualification is accredited by NEBDN, fully regulated by Ofqual in England and CCEA in Northern Ireland, and meets every requirement of the GDC Safe Practitioner Framework. It also carries UCAS points — useful if higher education is part of your longer-term thinking.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must be aged 18 or over, have a good standard of written and spoken English, and be employed or placed in a dental practice for the duration of their training. No formal dental qualification is required to apply.

What You Will Learn

The course combines face-to-face classroom sessions with workplace-based training — and that combination is what makes it genuinely useful, rather than just a qualification on paper.

Through the classroom sessions, held two days per month at the School’s training centre in Acton, West London, you’ll build solid clinical knowledge across the full scope of dental nursing: patient care and chairside support, infection prevention and control, dental radiography principles, medical emergencies, and the professional responsibilities that come with working in a regulated healthcare setting. Alongside the clinical content, you’ll develop the communication and teamwork skills that make a real difference in a patient-facing role.

Your workplace training is where that knowledge gets tested in practice. The two elements reinforce each other, and by the time you qualify you’ll have both the theoretical understanding and the hands-on experience that employers actually look for.

Why Study With the School of Dental Nursing?

NEBDN Accredited — The diploma is nationally recognised and meets the requirements of the GDC Safe Practitioner Framework. It’s the real qualification, not a stepping stone to one.

Face-to-Face Teaching — Two classroom days per month at the School’s West London training centre, with experienced tutors who know the profession from the inside. Structured learning that fits around full-time employment.

Dedicated Learner Support — Tutor guidance, mock examinations, learning resources, Record of Experience support and help finding suitable dental practice employment if you need it. You’re not left to figure things out alone.

Where Can This Take You?

For many dental nurses, qualifying is the beginning rather than the destination. Once you’re GDC registered, the profession opens up considerably. With experience and further training, you can move into:

Senior Dental Nurse
Dental Radiographer
Orthodontic Nurse
Oral Health Educator
Practice Manager
Tutor or Assessor
Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist

Senior Dental Nurse
Dental Radiographer
Orthodontic Nurse
Oral Health Educator
Practice Manager
Tutor or Assessor
Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist

Dentistry rewards people who keep developing. The post-registration qualifications are accessible, the progression routes are clear and the profession has a genuine culture of continuing development. If you want to build something over the long term, there’s real scope to do that.

How You Will Be Assessed

To complete the diploma, you’ll need to pass two assessments:

NEBDN Written Examination — a combination of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) testing your theoretical knowledge across the curriculum. Part 1 must be passed before sitting Part 2, professional Discussion (PD).
NEBDN Professional Discussion (PD)— a series of objective structured clinical examinations, each testing a specific skill or area of knowledge in a realistic clinical scenario. It’s the practical proof that you can do the job, not just describe it.

You’ll have full access to revision materials, mock examinations and tutor guidance well in advance of each stage. By the time exam day comes, you’ll know exactly what to expect — which makes a bigger difference to your result than most people realise.

Ready to Apply?

We welcome applications throughout the year, with course intakes taking place in January, April, July, and October. As places are limited, applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis, and we recommend applying early to secure your preferred start date. If you’re ready to begin your journey into dental nursing, you can apply online today. A recognised qualification, valuable workplace experience, and a rewarding career in healthcare could be closer than you think.

Got questions first? Call 0208 993 4500 or email dental@schoolofdentalnursing.com — the team knows the course inside out and is happy to talk things through before you commit to anything.

Related Course: Diploma in Dental Nursing Online

The course covers the NEBDN syllabus and includes those areas of knowledge and understanding which a dental nurse needs to develop in order to be able to practice competently. These include:

Module 1: Professionalism and the Role of the Dental Nurse
Module 2: Health and Safety
Module 3: Dealing with Medical Emergencies
Module 4: General, Dental and Regional Anatomy
Module 5: Oral Disease
Module 6: Prevention of Oral Disease
Module 7: Assessment
Module 8: Restorative Dentistry
Module 9: Child Dental Health
Module 10: Minor Oral Surgery
Module 11: Pain and Anxiety Control

The course also provides extensive preparation for the practical part of the new exam (OSCE), and support with preparing the required Record of Experience.

There are no formal entry qualifications, but students are expected to be sufficiently fluent in both written and spoken English to communicate effectively with patients, their relatives, the dental team, and other healthcare professionals in the UK. Additionally, learners must meet the following requirements:

Be UK residents
Be eligible to work in the UK as Trainee Dental Nurses
Be aged 16 and above for online delivery and 18 for face-to-face (on-campus) courses.

Frequently Asked Questions About Diploma in Dental Nursing (Face-to-Face)

The Diploma in Dental Nursing is the nationally recognised qualification you need to become a qualified dental nurse in the UK. It’s accredited by the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN) and covers everything from clinical knowledge and practical skills to the workplace experience required to sit your exams and register with the GDC. It’s the starting point for a career in dental nursing — and for many people, a genuine route into a stable, rewarding healthcare profession.

Yes. The NEBDN Diploma is recognised by the General Dental Council and meets the educational requirements for dental nurse registration in the UK. Once you’ve completed the qualification and passed your examinations, you can apply to join the GDC register and work as a qualified dental nurse.

Classes take place at the School of Dental Nursing’s training centre in Acton, West London — well positioned for learners travelling from across London and the surrounding areas.

Just two days per month. It’s a schedule that’s been deliberately designed to work around employment — you’re not expected to give up work to study, and most learners hold down a trainee dental nurse position throughout their course.

It suits a wide range of people — school leavers taking their first steps into a career, those switching from another field entirely, healthcare workers who want to move into dentistry, and anyone who simply learns better in a classroom environment than studying alone online. No dental background is needed to start.

Yes, absolutely. The course is designed to take you from the beginning — you don’t need prior clinical experience or a dental qualification to enrol. What matters more is commitment and the ability to secure suitable employment in a dental practice once you’re underway.

You’ll need to be working in a dental practice to complete the practical workplace requirements of the qualification, but you don’t necessarily need to have that position locked in before you enrol. The School provides real, practical support with finding a trainee dental nurse role — including CV preparation, interview coaching, job search guidance and vacancy referrals where available. Many learners secure a position during the early stages of their studies.

The course covers the full breadth of dental nursing, giving you a solid grounding in everything you’ll encounter in practice:

Infection prevention and control
Dental anatomy and physiology
Oral disease and prevention
Chairside support
Patient care and communication
Dental radiography principles
Medical emergencies
Professional responsibilities

By the time you qualify, you won’t just have passed exams — you’ll have real clinical experience to draw on.

The Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) is a workplace portfolio you build up during your time in practice. It documents your competence across the range of duties a dental nurse carries out and forms an essential part of the qualification. It’s not something you can complete in a classroom — it has to be done in a real dental environment, which is one of the reasons workplace employment is so important to the programme.

You’ll normally need to work a minimum of 15 hours per week across at least three days. This ensures you’re getting enough exposure to the variety of clinical situations and procedures required to build a complete and credible Record of Experience.

There are two assessments to pass:

The NEBDN written examination — testing your theoretical knowledge across the dental nursing curriculum
The NEBDN Professional Discussion (PD)— a practical assessment where you demonstrate your skills in realistic clinical scenarios

Both are externally set and marked by NEBDN. Your course prepares you thoroughly for both, including mock examinations in the lead-up to the real thing.

The PD is a structured practical exam made up of a series of clinical stations, each designed to test a specific skill or area of knowledge in a realistic setting. It’s the part of the assessment that demonstrates you can actually do the job — not just answer questions about it. Most learners find it more straightforward than they expect once they’ve had proper preparation.

To enrol on the face-to-face programme, you’ll need to:

Be at least 18 years old
Have a good standard of written and spoken English
Be eligible to live and work in the UK
Be committed to securing and maintaining employment in a dental practice

No prior dental qualification is needed.

Applicants need the legal right to live and work in the UK and must be able to complete the workplace requirements in a UK dental practice. If that applies to you, the course is open to you.

Most learners qualify within 12 to 18 months. The exact timeline depends on how quickly you progress through the course content, how your workplace experience builds up and when your examinations are scheduled.

Quite a lot, in practice. Alongside the face-to-face teaching sessions, you’ll have access to online learning resources, mock examinations, Record of Experience guidance, exam preparation support and administrative help throughout. The tutors are experienced dental nursing professionals, not just educators — they know the realities of clinical practice and can prepare you for them.

Yes. Flexible monthly payment options are available to spread the cost, making the course more manageable alongside the financial realities of starting out as a trainee.

The current course fee is £1,790, payable through an instalment plan if needed. NEBDN examination fees are charged separately. It’s worth checking the latest fee schedule before you apply, as these can change.

You apply for GDC registration and begin working as a qualified dental nurse. From there, the profession offers a real range of directions — you can stay in general practice, move into a specialist field, take on additional responsibilities or work towards more senior roles over time.

Further than many people expect when they start out. Qualified dental nurses can develop into specialist areas including Dental Radiography, Oral Health Education, Fluoride Varnish Application, Orthodontic Nursing, Sedation Nursing and Special Care Dental Nursing — or move into practice management, dental nursing education or training roles. The initial qualification is the foundation; what you build on top of it is largely up to you.

That depends on what you’re looking for, but for people who want a genuine healthcare career with stable employment, real clinical responsibility and the opportunity to make a difference to patients, it’s a strong choice. The profession is well regarded, the skills are transferable and there’s a clear pathway for development if you want to progress. It’s not just a job people fall into and stay in by default — many dental nurses choose it deliberately and build long, satisfying careers within it.

The qualification, examinations and outcome are identical — both lead to the NEBDN Diploma in Dental Nursing and GDC registration. The difference is purely in how you study. Face-to-face learners attend classroom sessions in West London; online learners study through the eTrain platform at their own pace. The right choice depends on how you learn best and what fits your circumstances.

The school has been training dental nurses since 2006, which is a meaningful track record in a fairly specialised field. They’ve supported thousands of learners through the qualification — from complete beginners to career changers — and the infrastructure around the course reflects that experience. Flexible study, strong tutor support, practical exam preparation and genuine help with finding employment all come as part of the package. If you’re serious about becoming a dental nurse, it’s a well-established place to do it.

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