Dental Nurse CV Example

Dental nurses assist dentists with treatment procedures and provide excellent service to patients. Read on for some key CV writing tips on how to write a winning dental nursing CV and capture an employer’s attention.

1. Write an effective dental nurse personal statement

Writing an attention-grabbing CV personal statement for your dental nurse CV introduces the employer to your professional goals and dental nurse qualifications — and makes them interested in reading the rest of your CV.

Your CV personal statement sits underneath your CV header and consists of a 2–4 sentence summary of your:

• relevant work experience
• transferable skills
• educational background
• reasons for applying to a company

Listing your relevant dental nursing experience clearly in your CV personal statement communicates that you have the appropriate credentials to work in a dental setting and provide health-related advice to patients.

Here’s an example of an entry-level dental nurse’s CV personal statement:

Passionate dental nurse with 1.5 years of experience in providing empathic and detail-oriented dental care for patients of all ages. Graduated with distinction in my class. Registered with the General Dental Council. Possess NEBDN certificates in oral health care education, dental sedation, and fluoride varnish application. Seeking to leverage my dental knowledge and skills to provide excellent customer service at All Smiles Dental Healthcare.

Have a look at this example of a CV personal statement for an experienced dental nurse:

Dental nurse with 7+ years of diverse experience in different care settings. Registered with the General Dental Council. Certified as an oral health educator and practice manager with NEBDN. Served in a community health care setting for 3 years overseeing the practice management. Assisted in maintaining exceptional ratings for the practice with superb patient service. Seeking to bring skills that will be an asset to the practice.

2. Describe your dental nurse responsibilities using hard numbers and specific details

Remember that a dental nurse CV with a vague CV statement or work experience descriptions risks being tossed out.

Instead, list your past dental responsibilities and accomplishments using hard numbers and concise details. Besides providing helpful context for employers, hard numbers show you’re a top dental nurse applicant and can include these details:

• percentages
• number of patients you treated
• time worked
• amount of sales or pounds made

So try using hard numbers as well as detailed descriptions that showcase your abilities.

Here are a few examples to help you stand out as a dental nursing job candidate:

1. If you’re a recently graduated dental nurse trainee, your dental nurse CV should emphasise your education and relevant internships to compensate for your lack of experience, like in this example:

Work experience section for an entry-level dental nurse CV

• Served in a busy general health dental practice during my internship by assisting 10+ paediatric patients daily
• Drove up customer satisfaction reviews to an A rating from 90% of patients with follow-up care and service
• Conducted swift patient follow-up to ensure satisfaction and resolved 100% of complaints

2. For a dental nurse with a few years of experience in one or two work settings, specify your duties using key details throughout your work experience section:

Work experience section for an experienced dental nurse CV

• Supervise 3+ junior dental nurses in a fast-paced dental clinic by efficiently delegating surgery preparation tasks and administrative functions
• Manage the dentist diary by updating and maintaining 250+ patient record logs per week
• Complete 50+ patient X-rays a day to diagnose a patient’s dental condition with 100% accuracy

3. Tailor your dental nurse CV to the job advert using relevant hard and soft skills

Your dental nurse CV should contain relevant information for the role you’re applying for, so don’t forget to read each job description carefully before sending out your dental nursing CV.

For instance, match any relevant keywords that an employer uses in their job advert to increase your chances of moving past their applicant tracking software (ATS) — software that filters through CVs and finds the applicants with the most relevant keywords.

An effective method to finding the appropriate keywords is to look for a job advert’s skill-related criteria.  So after studying the job advert, make sure to match your key CV skills with their requirements throughout your dental nursing CV.

Hard skills are learnt from training, educational, or practical experience. Dental nurses are trained professionals, so make sure you include relevant hard skills that a dental surgery is looking for. Here are some examples of hard skills for a dental nursing CV:

By contrast, soft skills show how you relate to patients and your dental colleagues in a professional setting. For instance, dental nurses should be organised and have excellent time management skills when working with several patients and dentists throughout the day.

The soft skills for a dental nursing CV include: