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Dental Nursing (5234)

Last Updated: 10 Jun 2021
This qualification will close for registrations on 31 July 2021 and has now been replaced by 4238.

The Diploma in Dental Nursing gives learners the knowledge and skills in dental nursing both in direct chairside work and providing support in a range of dental treatments. Learners will learn about various aspects of dental nursing including:
  • First aid essentials.
  • Providing chairside support to patients for a number of procedures.
  • Contributing to the production of dental images.
This qualification will enable candidates to register with the GDC as a dental nurse.
Dental nurses working in an oral healthcare setting. It is appropriate for learners aged 16 and over.
Available to deliver in the following:
  • England
  • Wales – please check for available funding
  • Northern Ireland

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form. 

General Information

What Is Involved In Studying This Course?
You'll cover things like:
• Emergency first aid
• Preparing and maintaining environments, instruments, and equipment for clinical dental procedures
• Providing chairside support to patients for a number of procedures
• Management of oral health diseases.

You will learn on the job in the work environment.

Some assessment will take place in the workplace and will include a portfolio of evidence to meet the competence units in the qualification. There are also four knowledge units that are assessed by individual online tests.
What Careers Can This Lead To?
This qualification can help you to progress in, or to, a number of roles such as:
• Dental hygienist
• Dental nurse
• Dental technician
• Dental therapist.
What Is Involved With Delivering This Course?
To deliver these qualifications you will need qualified assessors - you can train internal members of staff or recruit specially.
You will also need suitable facilities to carry out the required training to enable learners to achieve industry standards.
To find all the requirements for assessment and delivery, download the qualification handbook from the Centre Documents section above.
No previous experience or qualifications are required other than to be working in an oral healthcare setting.

Level 3

This qualification will suit you if you are working in an oral health environment and have considerable knowledge and skills in relation to dental equipment, instruments and materials. You are able to work under minimum supervision as a key member of the oral healthcare team.  For a full list of units, download the qualification handbook from the centre documents section.

Sample onscreen Dental Nursing assessment
There is a sample assessment is provided for practice/demonstration purposes only. This enables candidates to get a feel of the assessment before accessing the live tests.

Please note the latest version of  is required to view these assessments. To view in full screen, press F11 once the page has loaded.

Click for the sample Dental Nursing test.
What Careers Can This Lead To?
This qualification can help you to progress in, or to, a number of roles such as:
• Dental hygienist
• Dental nurse
• Dental technician
• Dental therapist.
Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing (5234-01)
Last Registration Date: 31 Jul 2021

Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing

  • Accreditation No: 601/2434/9 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
  • Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
  • Credits: 48 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
  • Guided Learning Hours: 292 - 292 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
  • Total Qualification Time: 480 The total time for the qualification
  • Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
  • Last Certification: 31/07/2024 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
  • Qualification fees in the UK: TBC, please speak to your Account Manager for further information Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Here you can find all documents related to this suite of qualifications.

By clicking on the section headings below, you can access a variety of documents such as the qualification handbooks and assessment materials, Statements of Purpose, and recognition letters from industry and employers.

Some documents may be password protected. Passwords can be retrieved by logging in to  and visiting the Administration section of the relevant qualification catalogue page.

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form. 

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> (4238) Dental Nursing

> (5238) Diploma for Dental Nursing Practitioners (England)