​In modern dentistry, dental nurses have the opportunity to explore so many different routes within their role, and this was one of the core themes that resonated throughout the lectures given in the Dental Nurses’ Forum at last week's dental conference.

The Forum covered a hugely diverse range of topics including the generational gap in dentistry, photography skills for dental nurses, charity events and implant dentistry.

Lectures were presented by renowned speakers from across the country and beyond. Each of them brought their specialist knowledge on their subject, helping delegates to learn, be inspired and go forth with new information and ideas.

Beginning the programme on Friday morning was Diane Rochford with a session entitled 'Dental photography for dental nurses'. She explained to delegates the finer points of in-practice photography and how to use different types of cameras in order to achieve the best images.

As well as detailing how to capture the best shot in terms of angle and lighting, she also stressed how important it was to ensure patient comfort and consent for dental photography, and how these photos can also be used as fantastic marketing tools across various platforms.

Dawn Crompton, a dental nurse, said of the session: 'It was really good! We have a dentist at our practice who is interested in getting the dental nurses involved with dental photography and this session was really helpful – especially the parts about patient positioning.'

Aside from encouraging dental nurses to pick up the camera, the Forum also helped inspire delegates to look to charitable causes with its next session, a retrospective focus on the 'All I Want For Christmas' Dental Day that took place in Blackpool in November 2017.

Led by Carole Houston who works with the charity HORIZON, this emotional session detailed the successes of the day and the positive impact it had on the local community.

Helping Carole give a moving presentation to the crowd were two recovering addicts who had assisted on the charity day and in various other HORIZON projects. These brave gentlemen told their own stories of addiction and rehabilitation and how transformative HORIZON had been for them.

Finishing off the first day of lectures was a session by Deborah Lyle called 'Is there a generational gap in dentistry? How to treat patients from 8 to 98'. A thoroughly interesting talk that stated the differences in mind-sets, attitudes and values that different age groups have, the lecture also explored how to treat these individuals and how it’s important that professionals don’t assume things about the patient based solely on their age and appearance.

The second day of the show started strong with a highly informative lecture to a packed theatre courtesy of Isis Buffonge. In her talk entitled 'Tips on how to be an effective dental implant nurse' she explored the importance of preparation, patient care, the aseptic technique and why communication is the most important aspect of all when it comes to dental implant surgery.

A fun and energetic presentation, the talk also focused on what dental nurses can do to better prepare for implant procedures and how they can prepare for the best results.

Finishing this year’s diverse schedule was Deborah Lyle, who returned for her second lecture entitled 'That’s not what I learned at university – what successful practitioners do differently'. An engaging mixture of pertinent information and enjoyable jokes, this fun session stressed the need for professionals to build on their knowledge outside of university and to keep up to date with new developments in order to provide the best patient care.

Deborah also urged delegates to explore different aspects of themselves and see if they have any talents they want to develop, as well as making it clear that the best way to enjoy professional work life is to avoid things like office politics and other negative influences.

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