Clementine Rees Brown speaks with Rochelle Fisher about her journey from NHS dental nurse, to a fully-fledged entrepreneur in Australia.

How did your career in dental nursing begin?

I was 16 and knew that I wanted to be a nurse – but the careers advisor we had actively discouraged me and said that I was not ‘brainy enough’, which came as a shock! After that one of my friends told me that she was planning to go and be a dental nurse, which sounded like it could be a great fit for me as well. Honestly, the profession has always been a joy for me, I was never a ‘bookworm’ type of student and have always preferred looking after people and working in a hands-on way, so it is in many ways my perfect job!

My initial role when I was in surgery was more theatre-based. I worked in general practice for eight years in the NHS, and what I’ve always liked most is the hands-on nature of the work, and being the person who guarantees that a patient has a genuinely positive experience at the dentist. We’ve all heard stories about people who had a bad experience and never wanted to go back, so I have always believed it is the responsibility of the dental nurse as much as anyone to have that softer touch and make sure the patient is feeling at ease. I think I have always excelled at making sure people are being treated like actual human beings in the practice, and it isn’t just a case of ‘drill ‘em and fill ‘em!’.

Do you think that social media and the advertisement through it for cosmetic procedures and the ‘perfect smile’ has added to the shift towards cosmetics?

I think like everything in life there is good and bad. One aspect of social media is that it has shown that going to the dentist can be a pleasant experience and hopefully will help the more dental-phobic out there.

The downside with social media is that it shows this instant kind of lifestyle that doesn't always give us the full picture of the education that we need to make a well-informed decision.

Yes, cosmetic dentistry has its place but I think the real issue is informed consent. In my personal experience, I had a server cross bite and it was affecting my dental health. One dentist said we could

'fix this with veneers' which wasn't ever going to fix my cross bit, but just give me an ‘instant perfect smile’. Luckily, having the knowledge and education I knew there were other options. Yes, surgery and orthodontic treatment were going to take longer but that also meant keeping my sound teeth intact and not having to replace veneers in later years. I just think other people don't get this amount of information given and there is a massive drive for profit over proper patient care, in some cases.

When you first started as a dental nurse, what were your expectations for your career?

I was very fortunate that in my first proper job, the dentist really took the time to educate me from day one. She took the time to nurture me and made me treat it as a serious career and not just a stepping stone! Once I started in an implant clinic in 2005, I realised how much I loved being in surgery.

How did the opportunity to work abroad come about?

I had visited Australia previously when on holiday, and one particularly gloomy Wednesday afternoon at work I realised it had been days since I’d felt like I had seen daylight. The thought suddenly struck me out of the blue: why not apply for a working holiday visa? My journey to Australia has always felt rather like jumping in a car, knowing I was on a journey, and every set of lights I went past was green even when I wasn’t quite sure of the direction. The working holiday visa came through quickly, and when I then messaged my friend who lived over in Australia to tell her I was coming, she told me her practice was looking for six months of maternity cover! I did a quick Skype interview and it seemed like it would work out perfectly for everyone. The job went well and when my six-month Visa was almost over, the practice offered to sponsor me if I could find sponsorship - which was few and far between for dental nurses at the time. I ended up getting sponsored as their office manager instead which was great because I got to learn more about the financial/ payment side of things.

What are the major differences in dental practices between the UK and Australia?

The major differences are that dental assistants in Australia do not have to do any formal training, there is no registration or CPD. Which I think is one of the key factors that there is a massive national shortage of dental assistants. The UK definitely got it right when they changed the laws in England to make it mandatory that every dental nurse had to have formal training and be registered. Hopefully, we will have this in Australia one day. So at the end of last year, I launched a 12-month surgical support program (Dental Assisting & Beyond) where I would go out to the practices, and then every month I would do an online webinar as well. The problem was that people wanted to join the program at different points throughout the year, so last month I ended up launching it online to make access far easier. I still do a live Q&A every month, but now all the other information is available via the online platform, which is downloadable via an app or website!

What area were you working in back in the UK before your big move abroad, and what about in Australia?

In England I was purely NHS for eight years, partially I confess because I felt like I had a duty to the NHS, after all, they gave me all my training for free so it felt right that I contributed back. I really do think that time in the NHS helped mould me professionally, so I do recommend other dental nurses work there first. I then moved into private practice in a lovely rural area and as I stated before, the dentist there was so supportive and paid me so much care and attention to help me learn. In Australia, the practices I worked in during my time in Sydney have all been of an incredibly high standard, and I would say is of a very similar quality to private practices in the UK.

Is there any difference culturally in terms of attitudes within practice towards dental nurses?

I think the attitude towards dental nurses varies greatly from city to city or state to state, same as in the UK. For example, the way dental nurses are treated in Sydney or⇐ ⇔Melbourne can be vastly different to how they are treated in more run-down or rural areas. Something interesting I found is just how valuable British dental nurses are in Australian cities, they want to employ you as soon as they know you are here! I think it is mainly because of the higher level of training British dental nurses have.

Is CPD very similar in Australia to the UK?

They don't have an equivalent over here. There is an option to do your Certificate Three in dental assisting, which (I hope) all practices insist on a dental assistant having before they join (unfortunately not all do). You can do it fully online and not have to do much if any dental work in person which I find slightly concerning. However, most training companies go out to the dental practice and asses the dental assistants. It is nowhere near as in-depth as my UK training. Like I said before there is no requirement, no registration and therefore no CPD required. Every other dental professional in Australia has to be registered and do CPD every year, so it amazes me dental assistants don't have to be! I can see the excitement when I come into a practice because dental assistants are so hungry for the training, and dental assistants out here would feel a lot more valued and would look at our profession more as a career if there was a similar type of registration/ CPD set up here as in the UK.

What are the main goals of Dental Assisting & Beyond?

For me, it has always been about the team approach. When I go into clinics to train I always try and get the dentist involved as well, as having a solid team approach engrained within a practice is vital to everyone performing as well as they can. I really wanted dental assistants and all the support staff within a practice to feel valued, and part of that was passing on the knowledge I have accumulated during my years of work. I think the example that was shown to me by the dentists I worked with early in my career is something I have tried to emulate ever since: to make new young dental professionals feel cared for and invested in. I don’t know if it is the same in the UK as it is here at the moment, but there is a clear dental nursing crisis going on. I think here, dentists are scared to invest monetarily in their team’s support and training for fear that the dental assistant might leave, but as I have tried to reiterate to many dentists, they will not leave if they feel truly valued within the practice! It is so vital to build each other up for success, we know we have to deal with a stressful environment and handle anxious patients day to day, so the more we can all be there to calm, support and elevate each other with education, the better.

Are you combining Dental Assisting & Beyond with dental nursing or are you solely focused on that now?

I am now solely focused on the business. My goal in life is to try and inspire young girls and boys to see that working within dentistry and working as a dental assistant/ dental nurse can be a great career and to embrace it with the ‘go get’ attitude that will inevitably open doors for them.

Straight after a pandemic might not seem the best time to launch a company given the impact it had on the economy, how did you know it was the right time?

I was working in the hospital in Melbourne throughout and each time we thought we were coming out of the curfews etc. we went back into them. When it was all finally lifted in October, they decided to stop all the operations (the elective surgery) because they knew they would have a huge influx of people coming to the hospital for it. It therefore wasn’t until 2022 that my business really took off, at which time I was still working with the maxillofacial team, then decided to take the plunge. However, I would like to highlight that I don’t think I would have done so without the support of my wonderful husband who is ever-encouraging, as well as the small team of creatives and friends behind me who help with all creative and structural aspects of the business - so even though I was a first-time entrepreneur at a slightly mad time to begin a business, I felt like I had the strength of so many fabulous people behind me!

You have also recently done some lecturing, how did you get into that, and do you have any tips for dental nurses who want to move into more public speaking roles?

With my background as a yoga teacher, I found myself slipping quite easily into the role, after all when you’ve been doing a headstand and needing to talk a classful of people through what you are doing and monitor their safety, standing behind a podium is a relatively simple feat! For those looking to get into public speaking, I would say there’s nothing better that you can do than reach out to others that you know who do it, ask how they got into it and approach dental companies who you know are interested in having people speak about the subjects that you are passionate about! Just don’t give up on it, if your dream is to be a speaker you will need to move past the first few inevitable rejections that might come up and wait for the right opportunity for you.

As a last word, what would you say to any other dental nurse in the UK who is thinking of making a move to practice abroad?

Well, they can contact me for a start! I am more than happy to answer any questions others might have, but something I always think when someone tells me they want to do something similar and aren’t sure is: what’s the worst that could happen? Do you want to make the leap and pursue your dreams, or risk sitting in a nursing home when you are 90 and thinking, ‘I wonder what would have happened if…’

Just go for it! Life is too short not to take the chance, and honestly, there is such a big market out here in Australia for dental nurses so you would be welcomed with open arms! I remember when I first arrived here my friend greeted me with, “Welcome to the land of lucky!”. I answered her, “It’s not the land of lucky, it’s the land of opportunity.” I still the same today as I did then, it’s a land of opportunity just waiting for you!

Author: Clementine Rees Brown