The Report of the Dental Nurse Recruitment and Retention Survey undertaken by Dr Debbie Reed and supported by the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN) is now available for download via ResearchGate.1

Dr Reed, a Registered Dental Nurse, former BADN Chairman, and Chair of the College of General Dentistry's (CGDent's) Dental Nursing and Orthodontic Therapy Faculty Board said: ‘It has been a pleasure to work with the UK's RDNs and BADN to produce the DN UK Retention Survey 2023 Report. The document presents the findings from the survey carried out between January and March 2023. The survey is believed to be the first comprehensive survey solely focused on DN retention in the UK. The report has been made freely available for those who wish to draw upon the data. It is hoped the report will make a significant contribution to the discourse related to dental nurse (and other dental professional) workforce retention.'

Over 3,000 RDNs responded to the survey. Almost half of the respondents said they were planning to stay in dental nursing, and 34% said they were not certain. Over 70% of respondents earned between £10 and £15 per hour. Over 46% said they strongly agreed when asked if they enjoyed working as a dental nurse and that they highly valued being a registered dental professional. Over 45% said that they enjoyed being recognised by patients for their contribution to their oral health. Results in relation to satisfaction with pay rates were more mixed.

For the full results, readers can access the full survey report1 which was also introduced in BDJ Team by Dr Reed in October.2

The results will be followed with a number of academic papers delivered at conferences and published over the course of the next year or so.

Current BADN Chair Joan Hatchard said: ‘Finally, we have reliable data on this issue obtained through an ethically approved, methodologically sound research approach which can be used to inform decisions relevant to the dental nurse workforce.'