Dental by Design

What are the actual differences in a dentist and a dental nurse/assistant?

I've been to the dentists a few times lately and well my dentist has got her head srewed on but the nurses although nice people seem well no where near as on the ball! I just wondered what the difference was in level of education and pay?? and anything else? Thanks The happy murcia!! Thanks mate exactly as I thought!! just wondered if the nurses had any qaulifications!

Public Comments

1. Years of studying!!!!!
2. Are you serious???
3. Dentists are dentists, and nurses are nurses.
4. Have you had a bad experience with a dental nurse?! How strange, they just hand the dentist stuff and hold that sucky thing in your mouth to suck up the saliva - did she stick it up your nose by accident? Yep, training.
5. A dentist is a highly trained and very well paid member of the medical profession,,he/she will be on a comparable wage to a doctor and is capable of administering anaesthetics,,,a dental nurse is an untrained and unqualified person on a low wage,,probably lower than 15K
6. One hell of a lot. I could apply to be trained as a dentel nurse. Dentists go to uni for years and get qualified. Are you really that daft?
7. A Nurse is a poor underpaid lackey. A Dentist is a man with a license to print money
8. A dental assistant is a helper, but not a practitioner. It is said that the dentist should not be in a room without some observation because , well;There are those moments when even the most educated person will do a stupid thing on their patients, and instead of keeping it a secret, it can now be avoided. based on a recent story about a dentist gone naughty on his female patients.
9. Dentists just take your teeth out nurses and assistants just hand them the hammer and chisel. Dentists are very well paid. Nurses and assistants are very poorly paid
10. one fixes your teeth,the other mixes the stuff to do it. Builder/labourer kinda thing. xxxxxxxx and that was my intelligent answer ha ha ha ha lol xx
11. They are not near the ball. Nurses are qualified and trained to carry out the work of assisting the dentist and do a good job. However, initially the dentists has to be qualified to degree level and have the trained for years in his/her chosen field. What you are doing is sort of comparing a paralegal with a lawyer.