Why do you never see any middle-aged dental nurses?

[HollowTalk]

I went to the dental hygienist today and once again noticed that I never ever see middle-aged dental hygienists or dental nurses. What happens to them? Is there a different career path that they go onto take?

I went to a small private practice and they all were young. Our normal NHS practice has 2 or 3 , the hygienist is about 55.

I go to a private practice but have been going for more than 20 years when it was still NHS and have only seen one dental nurse who was in her 50s and she went to work in reception, the rest have all been late teens or early 20s.

I agree with you. The ones at my dentist surgery are usually 20s, maybe early 30s at a push!

It's just that a small sample is unrepresentative of the dental nurse population as a whole.

Through my work I know about lots of dental nurses and they're all ages.

But what interests me more is why they're almost all women. Dental nursing has to be one of the most sex skewed professions there is. I'd say over 95% of dental nurses are female and a significant percentage of male registered dental nurses are actually overseas qualified dentists who are in the process of studying to qualify to practice dentistry in the UK.

Of all hundreds of not thousands of dental nurses I've come across, there were only two men.

lots of carpal tunnel, wrist issues and back as per my hygienist.

There are chances for career progression at dental hospitals doing less checkups and fillings and more complicated extractions and surgical dentistry.

They train on and become hygienists or practice managers

They're hidden behind masks and visors so look 25 when actually they're 45.

I'm with you OP they are young at my dental practice.

Perhaps we are getting old? I think the same about GPS not that I don't see them but some of them look so young!

Ha ha an acquaintance of mine was a dental nurse. She married the dentist and never had to work again

I've seen two.