History of the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses

Foundation

The British Dental Nurses and Assistants Examining Board was founded in 1943, but it was in 1936 that Mr Philip Grundy, a general practitioner from Leyland in Lancashire, first envisaged a qualifying examination for dental surgery assistants. He consulted various well known people in the dental profession to see if any organisation was interested in setting up an examining board. He travelled widely, speaking to officials of the British Dental Association, Incorporated Dental Society (IDS), the Public Dental Services Association (PDSA) and the Deans of Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle Dental Hospitals. Finally, in 1942, Colonel J Hawkins, Dean of Birmingham Dental School, agreed to assist Mr Grundy in forming a Board of Examiners for Dental Nurses and Assistants. The Board was duly constituted and consisted of:

Colonel J Hawkins: Dean of Birmingham Dental Hospital; Examiner for the
Royal College of Surgeons; BDA member;

Mr P E Grundy:President British Nurses and Assistants Society;
BDA member; Secretary of the Examining Board

Mr L C Atkins:Senior Dental Surgeon Royal Northern Hospital,
London; Secretary of the PDSA

Mr T Dykes:Orthodontic Surgeon, Manchester Dental Hospital;
Past President of PDSA ; member of the Central Committee of the PDSA

Mr F J Ballard: Past President of the IDS; member of the Central
Committee of the PDSA; member of the Interdepartmental Committee on Dentistry

Mr J F Henderson: Past President of the IDS; member of the
Interdepartmental Committee on Dentistry

Conduct

Having finally instituted an Examining Board which was reasonably representative of the three dental organisations of that time, the next concern was the conduct of the examination. Discussions were held with the Inspectors of the Ministry of Education, who gave invaluable help and advice on the methods of balancing examinations and the pitfalls to avoid. Colonel Hawkins, with his great experience, gave invaluable advice on the conduct of oral examinations. Two examiners have always been present at each examination centre and, in the early years, it was arranged for each examiner to have a session in company with Colonel Hawkins in order to benefit from his experience.

First Examination

The first examination was held in 1943 and has been held each year since, with the exception of the years 1947 and 1948 when the Committee of Inquiry into the Training, Wages and Conditions, Service and Title of Women assisting Dentists in Public and Private Dental Service was collecting evidence. The Board gave evidence to this Committee of Inquiry on which three of the Board members, Mr Ballard and Mr Henderson with Mr Atkins as chairman, sat. The Committee report was published in 1948.

Standards

In order to ensure that there would be complete uniformity in every detail in the method of conducting the examination in future years, the 1950 examination was held at the Birmingham centre only. When the full-time course of training for Dental Surgery Assistants was instituted at the Eastman Dental Hospital, under the direction of Mr R Stephens, the Board felt that a very valuable addition would be made by inviting Mr Stephens to become a member of the Board, which he accepted, being elected in 1951. The syllabus of the Board was adopted by the dental hospitals setting up full-time courses for training dental surgery assistants.

Format

During the years 1943 to 1951, the examination consisted of a three hour written paper and a ten minute oral examination for each candidate. The first three hour paper, held on Thursday 25 November 1943 from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm consisted of 8 questions. The candidates were required to answer questions 1 & 2 with a choice of 4 from the remaining 6 questions. In 1952, in addition to the written paper and oral, a 15-minute practical test was included.

The entrance fee in 1943 was one guinea. 135 candidates were successful, with a prize of £10.00 given for the highest marks in the country. The Dental Nurses Society sent out notes to help DSAs with their studies and study groups were formed in the large towns and cities, meeting in the waiting rooms of interested members of the dental profession who also helped by giving talks. Several textbooks and handbooks eventually appeared, the best known written by Mr Henry Levison, currently an Emeritus Examiner. The text for the first edition was prepared during a winter spent in the North Isles of Shetland with the School Health Services.

October 1951 saw the issue of the first badge awarded for success in the National Certificate and the design was in red enamel with the outlines and wording in gilt. This was changed in 1967 to the silver oxidised badge we know today and in 1970 was also incorporated into a buckle to be worn with a yellow petersham belt.

Title and Charity Status

The title of the Organisation was changed in 1964 from the British Dental Nurses and Assistants Examining Board to the Examining Board for Dental Surgery Assistants, subsequently in 1987 to the National Examining Board for Dental Surgery Assistants and in 1995 to the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses. In 1984 the Examining Board became registered with the Charity Commissioners as an unincorporated educational charity.

This status changed when the organisation became a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 30 September 2005 and registered as a charity on 29 November 2005. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which defines the objects and powers of the charitable company, and is governed under its Articles of Association.

Head Office

The location of the Board in Lancashire is largely historical as the founder Philip Grundy was Leyland based. The offices were in Leyland until the early 1960s, shared jointly with the Association of British Dental Surgery Assistants. These original premises were eventually outgrown and both organisations moved nearer to the then Secretary’s home on the Fylde Coast in Poulton le Fylde. A further expansion in activities led to a move to Fleetwood, firstly in 1978 to leased offices over the Royal Bank of Scotland and in 1994 to the Board’s own premises at 108-110 London Street where we are today.