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Dental school is not for the faint hearted!
By Kate Quinlan1
Not content with being a dental nurse then a dental hygienist and therapist, Carolyn Renton is now a fully-fledged undergraduate dental student.
Dental nursing
Dental nursing was my rst job when I was 17. I worked as a dental nurse in Nottingham, Kent and London and completed every post-qualication course available: dental radiography, dental sedation, oral health education, orthodontics and implantology. When I had gone as far as I could, I decided to further develop my career. I realised that I had an incessant thirst to learn and I was fortunate enough to be oered a place to study dental hygiene and therapy by three institutions on my rst application attempt.
Hygiene and therapy
Graduating with a Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Therapy from Sheffield in 2006 took me to the next level in dentistry. FinallyI was working directly, with my own list of patients and my own room. I loved that career progression.
I worked for two years as a dental hygienist and therapist before the rst degree arosefor dental care professionals (DCPs): the BSc (Hons) Primary Dental Care at the University of Kent. I undertook two years of the three-year course before I decided it wasnt for me as there was no concentration on the clinical aspects of dentistry, where ultimately my heart lies. The course was good and I learnt many academic developmental skills that I am still using every day. It was classed as a full-time degree, but attendance was for three full days over the weekend for every module. I was able to carry on working almost full-time but there was a lot self-study to be done during...