45 years of dentistry

To celebrate International Nurses Day, we spoke to Michele Charlston, dental nurse at our Hailsham practice. Michele told us how her role and the dental industry has changed since she started 45 years ago.

“I was 20 when I spotted an ad for trainee dental nurses, applied and haven’t looked back since – and that was 45 years ago. Things have really changed for us over the past year with all the enhanced PPE we have to wear, which at first was a struggle, but it’s definitely an improvement on when I first started my career and we weren’t asked to wear any protective equipment at all.

“Thankfully things have improved significantly since then. No more taking notes with pen on paper! Putting everything on computers makes my life so much easier. It means I can spend more time focusing on patients, rather than admin. I’ve seen some of the dental technology that is being developed to take things even further and I’m excited for what the future holds.

Join Michele and over 3,000 other dental nurses and apprentices at Bupa

Search our latest dental nurse vacancies from across the UK & Ireland

Search
Michele, Bupa Dental Care Dental Nurse

Michele, Dental Nurse at Bupa Dental Care Hailsham


“I was 20 when I spotted an ad for trainee dental nurses, applied and haven’t looked back since – and that was 45 years ago.”"

Michele, Bupa Dental Care Dental Nurse

“I was 20 when I spotted an ad for trainee dental nurses, applied and haven’t looked back since – and that was 45 years ago. Things have really changed for us over the past year, but it’s definitely an improvement on when I first started my career”

“I absolutely love my job for a variety of reasons. Firstly, being a dental nurse is never dull. No patient is the same so no two days in practice are the same. And as science and technology continue to develop at such a rapid pace, there is always something new to learn!

“But beyond that, I know that as a dental nurse I’m always needed – by my patients, my dentists, my hygienists, and my colleagues. And that’s a really lovely feeling. To know that what I’m doing really adds value to people’s life makes everything worthwhile.”


Our practice culture


Our culture is centered around going above and beyond for patients. Whether you’re working with patients directly or indirectly, you’ll be based within an empowering environment to give your all to create positive experiences and broad smiles.

Our caring approach extends to our employees too. It’s why we’re so big on training, development, and progression. It’s also why our practices are such friendly, collaborative places – people quickly become friends as well as colleagues.

Newly qualified dentist examination

Why we're different


As the only corporate dental provider in the UK not backed by private equity, we’re in a unique position. We’re committed to the UK dental industry for the long-term – both private and NHS – and are ready to treat not just today’s patients, but generations to come.

Furthermore, Bupa has no shareholders, so we’re able to focus 100% on delivering the best service for customers. We are run commercially to ensure we remain competitive, but we reinvest 100% of our profits to help provide better care for patients across the world.

Why not join us today? You can find our latest vacancies here.

dentist and patient smiling into a mirror

Register for job alerts

Want to keep updated with the latest roles at Bupa Dental Care?

Register for job alerts