Dental Hygienist

Fast track role A high priority role with an accelerated joining process.
Service:Surface Fleet
Branch:Medical
Level:Rating,Apprenticeship
Healthcare
Adventure
Humanitarian aid
Medical
Sciences
Medical
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The role at a glance

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£34,000

The minimum amount you'll earn after training

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6 weeks

Of paid holiday every year

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NVQs

Get funding for additional qualifications

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Free

Medical and dental care

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Travel

Take your skills around the world

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Sports

Access to excellent gym and sporting facilities as well as adventurous training

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Time

To provide high quality dental treatment

What you’ll do

As a Dental Hygienist in the Royal Navy you’ll be an integral part of a professional Dental Centre, working from a shore side establishment in the UK, or in challenging conditions on board one of our Ships at sea. This could be on an assault ship or state-of-the-art Aircraft carrier in a fully fitted dental surgery, or on board a frigate or Type 45 destroyer, utilising a portable dental unit in the medical centre. 

You’ll work as part of the dental team, under the guidance of the Senior Dental Officer. Your role will be to deliver effective military oral health care and advice to personnel from the Surface Fleet, Submarines, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines to ensure that they remain operationally deployable.

If you have questions, talk to us

call us 0345 607 55 55

Your role

  • Providing dental hygiene care within your scope of practice
  • Helping patients maintain their oral health by preventing and treating periodontal disease
  • Educating patients and promoting good oral health practices
  • Providing preventative care and advice to patients
  • Organising and participating in unit health fairs and national oral health campaigns
  • Delivering oral health presentations to new entry recruits and officer cadets (in training establishments)
     

What you’ll get

Skills for life

Qualifications you'll gain

  • Funding opportunities to continue personnel development and professional education
  • Gain specialist vocational qualifications as your career progresses
  • Leadership and management skills

Skills you'll develop

  • The discipline and organisational skills needed to be part of a professional dental practice
  • Experience dealing with patients from all backgrounds

Career progression

Day one

Meet the team in your Royal Navy Dental Centre

Year one

Attend the Leading Rates Leadership Course

Year two

Complete a sea survival course ready for deployment

First promotion

Pass courses to be made a confirmed Leading Hand

Second promotion

Become a Petty Officer and take on more managerial responsibility

What you'll need

Eligibility

  • You’ll need to be aged between 18 to 39
  • You will need one of the following: Diploma or BSc in Dental Hygiene, Diploma or BSc in Dental Therapy, Diploma or BSc in Dental Hygiene and Therapy, BSc in Oral health Science (Hygiene and Therapy)
  • You can apply to join whilst still studying, but you will need to be qualified and registered with the General Dental Council before you start basic training
  • If already qualified, you must be registered with the General Dental Council and provide evidence of Continuing Professional Development 
  • You must be a British or Irish national, a Commonwealth citizen, or a Dual National 
  • A Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 28 (between 17 and 27 if under 18)

Skills and interests

  • A passion for helping people
  • Great team players who thrive on working with others
  • Enthusiasm for working in highly challenging environments
  • A real sense of adventure
Check Eligibility

Starting your career

Joining process

Once you’ve confirmed your eligibility, the joining process is as follows:

  • Submit an application

    Once you’ve registered your interest and have satisfied the basic eligibility criteria, you will be sent an online application form

  • Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA)

    You’ll be tested on: Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Work Rate, Spatial Reasoning, Electrical Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension.
    To prepare, you can practise the DAA

  • Interview

    A formal interview to talk through your suitability for the role. This is normally conducted using your own device over the Shine video platform 

  • Candidate Preparation Course (CPC)

    This is a four-day induction to life in the Royal Navy, which is a pass or fail course. This will include:  

    -Pre-Joining fitness test  
    -Swimming test  
    -Medical test  

  • Start training

    Once you’ve passed a Security Check, you’ll be offered a place at HMS Raleigh

more about the joining process

Find out more

Initial training

Your Royal Navy career begins with 10 weeks’ basic training at HMS Raleigh, a shore base in Torpoint, Cornwall. The discipline, teamwork, organisational, firefighting and weapon handling skills you learn here will stay with you right through your career.

Aim to get yourself as fit as possible before you arrive. You’ll be doing a lot of physical exercise, and you’ll find it much easier if you’re already in shape.

There's also a swimming test, so if you can't swim, make sure you learn by the time you join us.

More about initial training

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Professional training

Following basic traning you will join a dental team in one of the Naval bases.  Here you will put into practice all you have previously learnt.  You will work autonomously in your practice, with your own practice list.  You will also learn skills that will help you practice dental hygine at sea or alongside the Royal Marines.

more about professional training

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