Senior Dental Officer

Transformationunitgm; Wolverhampton; On-site; GBP 81,000 - GBP 96,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Wolverhampton is seeking a motivated Senior Dental Officer for a maternity cover position to provide high-quality dental care to Special Care Dental patients. The role requires expertise in community dentistry, a valid BDS or equivalent, and GDC registration. The position is part-time (22.5 hours per week) with a salary range of £81,716 - £95,579. The ideal candidate will work closely with a diverse team to enhance dental health in the community, particularly for frail and elderly patients.

Benefits

Supportive working environment

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Must be a graduate in dentistry and hold current GDC registration.
• Experience of teaching or mentoring is preferred.
• Evidence of high-quality dentistry for special needs patients.

Responsibilities

• Provide maternity cover and improve dental health for special care patients.
• Deliver comprehensive dental care under General Anaesthesia.
• Manage and supervise junior staff and other team members.

Skills

Clinical governance

Experience in community dentistry

Communication skills

Sedation experience

Education

BDS or equivalent

GDC Registration

Job description

Main area Community Dental Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Salaried Dentist - B Contract 12 months (Fixed Term) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 225-DIV1-7686671

Employer The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Employer type NHS
Site Pendeford Health Centre
Town Wolverhampton
Salary £81,716 - £95,579 Per annum (pro rata)
Salary period Yearly
Closing 20/02/2026 23:59

Senior Dental Officer (Maternity Cover)

Job overview

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated and experienced senior clinician to join our team on a 12-month fixed term maternity cover basis. Wolverhampton Special Care Dental Service provides high-quality care for a wide range of patients who are unable to access treatment in a General Dental Practice. Services are delivered from three community clinics and a dental mobile unit.

We pride ourselves on being an outward-looking, progressive service with strong links to Learning Disability, Mental Health and other specialist teams enabling the effective delivery of Special Care Dentistry.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide maternity cover and work to improve the dental health of Special Care Dental patients in Wolverhampton, alongside other members of the dental team. This is primarily a clinical role within the community. The post holder will work closely with frail and elderly patients as well as other core patients.

• To provide maternity cover and work to improve the dental health of Special Care Dental patients in Wolverhampton, alongside other members of the dental team.
• This is primarily a clinical role within the community.
• The post holder will work closely with frail and elderly patients as well as other core patients.

Applicants must be graduates in dentistry and hold current full registration with the General Dental Council. Applicants must also be flexible, as deployment across multiple sites will be required, with travel around Wolverhampton to reach the communities we serve.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve the quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We’re passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.

We are delighted that we have been rated as “Good” by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.

The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Care

· To contribute to all aspects of care provided by Wolverhampton Special care Dental Service as specified in the service level agreement

· To provide high quality clinical care for patients in special care groups specifically but not restricted to the following groups of patients:

v Learning Disability adults

v Sedation

• To undertake high quality clinical workload within the service appropriate to the nature of patient care the service has agreed to provide.

· To work with the senior dental nurse and statutory and voluntary organisations to identify special care patients services for the provision of treatment for these patients.

· To participate in the development of care pathway for the provision of treatment under General Anaesthesia and the development of services for special needs patients in the appropriate setting

· To participate in the delivery of Comprehensive Dental Care under General Anaesthetic at New Cross Hospital for Special Care patients

· To take referrals and provide advice to clinicians particularly for, but not restricted to special care adults and anxious patients when necessary.

· To accept direct referrals of Special Needs patients from General Dental Practitioners and NHS staff and those from other agencies

· Treatment will be undertaken at fixed and mobile clinics or hospital dental departments located in any part of Wolverhampton together with any related domiciliary care, as determined by the Clinical Director

· To provide emergency domiciliary care as required

· May be required to undertake the duties at New Cross hospital (dependent upon experience) as specified in the Service Level Agreement and as directed by the consultants in maxilofacial surgery. This may also include the general anaesthetic paediatric exodontia sessions.

· To contribute to the Oral Health Promotion programme.

· To ensure that the correct Oral Health Promotion principals in line with Delivering Better Oral Health (DH 2009), are adopted for individual patients in the prevention of dental disease

Management and Leadership

· To contribute to the management and development of the dental services in Wolverhampton and the business planning process as part of the senior clinical team.

· To contribute to the implementation of a strategy for improving the dental health of special care patients in Wolverhampton.

· To contribute to the implementation of a strategy for dental care for young adults with special needs leaving school

· To lead on the development of the anxious patient pathway and sedation services for special needs patients

· To develop further protocols together with senior nursing colleagues as the need arises.

· To ensure that clinical and other workload is scheduled and completed on time

· To ensure that proper standards appropriate to a clinical area, including control of infection procedures are maintained

· To ensure the efficient and effective use of resources

· To participate in the development and training of other grades of staff, in use of inhalation sedation, intravenous sedation & intranasal sedation

· To assist in identifying and meeting staff training needs through the individual review process

· To contribute to the day to day management of the clinical Special Care Dental Service, in particular sickness monitoring.

Communication

· Communicate with a range of patients and families on complex clinical issue and/or in difficult situations

· Communicate with the clinical team and peers in a range of clinical and/or leadership situations in a professional and appropriate manner

· Communicate with other health and social care professionals on a range of issues relating to oral health and oral health care

· To liaise with other health and social care professionals who care for the patients in the above groups to provide a service appropriate to their needs. This will include communication with the carers about the care provided and recording this in the patients clinical and dental notes.

· To liaise with members of the dental profession and other professionals within and outside the Trust to promote:

v The dental and general health of individual patients

v The provision of dental services to particular care groups within the population as part of the overall provision of health care to those groups

Professionalism

· To contribute to the professional clinical improvement groups and participate in clinical governance activities within the dental service to improve the quality of care for patients of the service

· To participate in a system of appraisals and such continuing education as may be considered necessary for personal development or to meet the organisational needs identified in the business plan

· To minimise the risks by following and developing systems of safe working within the dental service

· To ensure the maintenance of confidentiality of personal health data, including patient records, in accordance with established procedures

· To ensure the maintenance of high standards of conduct in relation to patients and the general public

· To ensure that agreed operational procedures within the Trust are followed

Training

· To provide training and development opportunities for clinicians and dental nurses in the care of special care dental patients.

· To provide training for Dental Foundation Trainees when required.

· To provide supervision and training for students (dental, therapist and hygienists)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

· To follow GDC and other professional guidelines.

· To follow Health and Safety instructions in accordance with Trust procedures within the place of work and to be responsible for your own health and safety within the workplace.

· To undertake other duties to meet the changing needs and priorities of the Trust, as required.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

· The dentist will be accountable to the Clinical Lead of Special Care Dental Service.

· The dentist will provide advice and training to other members of the dental team in their area of their expertise

· The dentist will manage more junior dentists and therapists as required

· The dentist will supervise and direct work of any dental surgery assistant(s) working with them liaising with the Senior Nurse who has first line management responsibility for dental nurses.

· The dentist will supervise and monitor dental therapists.

· The dentist will liaise and collaborate as necessary with other members of the dental profession and with other health service and local authority staff.

· The post holder will be asked to work within other localities depending on the needs of the service.

The above principal duties represent the main activities of the post as envisaged at the time of writing. There are many minor duties implicit in these main duties and the nature of the job could change according to the development of dental services. Any significant changes in the duties and responsibilities will be agreed with the post holder.

Person specification

Qualifications

• BDS or equivalent
• GDC Registration
• Experience of teaching or mentoring
• Experience of a clinical governance role

Experience

• Evidence of high quality dentistry for all types of patients who have additional needs (e.g., learning disabilities, complex medical conditions, anxiety)
• Evidence of commitment to continuous professional development
• Experience of community dentistry
• Experience providing conscious sedation

Flexible Working - As a major employer in the Black Country and West Birmingham region we are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance. We want the Black Country and West Birmingham region to be the best place to work and as such will consider all requests to work flexibly taking into account personal and individual circumstances alongside the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the Recruiting Manager as part of the on-boarding process.

Qualifications - Please be advised that if the post that you are applying for requires any level of qualification (e.g. A-Levels, Degree etc) or Professional Registration (e.g. Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Medical Council etc) you will be required to provide proof as part of the pre-employment process. By submitting your application you are giving the Trust permission to check the qualification certificates provided back to the source provider. Please note that a sample of all applicant’s qualifications will be checked with the educational institution or provider. Furthermore, a sample of all applicants’ qualifications will be checked back to the educational institution or provider to interview letters to further deter fraud.

Visa/Sponsorship Information

The Trust welcomes suitably qualified applicants including those who may require a Trust issued Certificate of Sponsorship. However, not all our roles are eligible for visa sponsorship. If you require sponsorship, we recommend applicants check whether the role is eligibility prior to applying. More information can be found on the UKVI website:Health and Care Worker Visa orSkilled Worker Visa.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Elaine Forbes
Job title Clinical Lead
Email address [e-mail]
Telephone number 01902 446681

Additional information

Alternative contact Emily Day, Special Care Dental Support Manager 01902 446681 / [e-mail]