The National Dental Nurse Training Programme of Ireland is a joint initiative between the Dublin Dental University Hospital and Cork University Dental School & Hospital.
This is a 16 month, part-time programme for trainee dental nurses who are working in dental practices.
The programme starts at the end of August each year.
Lectures take place online, on Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm – 9.30pm.
During the programme there are some in-person teaching and assessment sessions in the Dublin Dental University Hospital.
The course fee for 2025/26 is €3,000.
For information about the course, please visit the School of Dental Science website.
Requirements:
All of the following 3 requirements are necessary for entry into the programme:
1. Candidates must be employed full-time as a trainee Dental Nurse at time of application and throughout the duration of their study. If for any reason employment ceases, the student must inform their Tutor and will be given a time period appropriate to the situation to resume employment.
2. Have completed a Leaving Certificate with a minimum of a grade O6 in five subjects.
OR
Be over the age of 23 years. Such students may be interviewed at the discretion of the Dental Schools. Students with other qualifications (e.g. qualifications from outside Ireland) will be considered on an individual basis and may be interviewed.
3. Candidates are required to provide Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C documentation (after Hep B vaccination). **Please note that one of the blood test results below relates to Hepatitis B Titre levels, following the completion of a full course of Hepatitis B vaccinations**.
All candidates must provide all of the following three blood test results (laboratory results) as part of the application:
- Proof of non-infection with Hepatitis B. This must be dated within six months of applying for the programme. Candidates should ask their GP to carry out the following tests: HBsAg and HBcAb. The result should be negative. (In the presence of positive HBsAg or positive HBcAb, a negative HBeAg and negative HBV-DNA viral load result will be required).
- Proof of non-infection with Hepatitis C. This must be dated within six months of applying for the programme. Candidates should ask their GP to carry out the following tests: Hepatitis C antibody test. The result should be negative. (In the presence of a positive Hepatitis C antibody test result, a negative PCR test for hepatitis C RNA will be required).
- Proof of Hepatitis B immunity. This must be dated within six months of applying for the programme. Candidates should ask their GP to carry out the following test: anti-HBs. The result should be greater than 10mIU/mL. (If the result is less than 10mIU/mL, please contact your GP to discuss a Hepatitis B Booster vaccination). **Please note that this blood test result relates to Hepatitis B Titre levels, following the completion of a full course of Hepatitis B vaccinations**
Hepatitis B Vaccinations:
A course of Hepatitis B vaccination may take 6 -12 months to complete. The vaccine is given in 3 doses.
The second dose is given 1 month after the first dose, followed by a third dose 6 months after the second dose. Hep B Titre (antibodies) levels are tested 6-8 weeks after the third vaccine has been administered.
For further information please see: https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/pubinfo/adult/hepb/
Those considering applying to the programme should begin the course of Hepatitis B vaccinations before applying to the programme.
Candidates should print and/or show the above requirements to their GP to ensure that all three blood tests are carried out. Failure to provide any of the above will result in the application being rejected.
For further information about these requirements for healthcare providers, candidates should consult the following:
Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland 2015: Chapter 9: Immunisation and Health Information for Health Care Workers and Others in ‘At Risk’ Occupations: https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/guidelines/chapter9.pdf
The Prevention of Transmission of Blood-Borne Diseases in the Health-Care Setting (Department of Health and Children 2006) https://www.hpsc.ie/A-Z/Hepatitis/BloodborneVirus/File,4352,en.pdf
Students of the programme will be required to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider Course accredited by the Irish Heart Foundation during the programme as per the curriculum of the American Heart Association (2020 guidelines).
Applications
Applications are now closed for the programme starting at end of August 2025.
If you wish have your name and email address added to the Mailing List for the programme starting in August 2026, please email: DentalNurseTutor@dental.tcd.ie.
Contact Details:
For more information, please email: DentalNurseTutor@dental.tcd.ie.
Phone: (01) 612 7340