Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

Band 4 Dental Nurse

The closing date is 06 January 2026

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a motivated, adaptable, and hardworking individual with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills to join our dedicated and encouraging team within the Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) HMS Nelson.

Are you confident, reliable, and resourceful? Do you have a phenomenal work ethic, excellent communication skills and you always want to deliver the best clinical care and education to your patients?

Are you looking for a captivating role, working alongside the military, one that offers numerous benefits and opportunities for career development in a welcoming team?

If so, then we would love to hear from you!

This post will be 37.5 hours a week and requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs.

You will feel valued as a Dental Nurse within DPHC, receiving access to outstanding rewards and employee benefits including:

Paid holiday entitlement (plus Bank and Public Holidays)
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training supplied
On site Free parking
Access to gym at a reduced rate
General Dental Council (GDC) Annual Retention Fee (ARF) reimbursed
On-call allowance, if applicable
Inclusive working environment
Learning and development opportunities

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Main duties of the job

As the successful candidate, you will beresponsible for providing clinical and administrative support for the provision of dental care in Defence Primary Healthcare (Dental) dental centres, to enhance force generation and operational capability and minimise dental morbidity on operations.

About us

Our success depends on our people, our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver for us.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision-making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 different roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay.

In return, you can expect a department that helps you learn and develop that recognises your expertise and contribution, both as an individual and part of a team.

If you've ever wanted to do more, see more, go further or be better, we have roles in more professions and vocations than ever before. Let's see where your future will take you, together.

Date posted

09 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year plus RRA £1500 (pro rata for part-time).

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share

Reference number

K0003-25-0538

Job locations

H M S Nelson

Queen Street

Portsmouth

PO1 3HH

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties will include, but are not limited to:

Ensuring their surgeries are prepared appropriately for the days patients in accordance with current regulations.
Preparing, mixing and handling dental materials in accordance with manufacturers instructions; adhering to Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations and Safety Data sheets.
Providing chairside support to the operator for all operative procedures.
Meeting the needs of the patients by supervising, supporting and reassuring each individual according to their specific needs, providing appropriate advice when required.
Work collaboratively with professional colleagues and in the best interests of patients.

Please read the attached job description and person specification prior to applying to fully understand all the duties required.

Selection Process:

At application stage you will be assessed on your CV:

Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it, making sure that any reference to your personal details have been removed from your CV prior to submitting your application.
Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.

At interview, you will be tested against the following Technical Skills:

NHS Core NHSC1 Communication
NHS Core NHSC2 Personal & People Development
NHS Core NHSC3 Health, Safety & Security
NHS Core NHSC4 Service Improvement
NHS Core NHSC5 Quality
NHS Core NHSC6 Equality and Diversity

The interview may consist of a mix of direct questions and clinical situation-based scenarios.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified(presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs.

Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken.

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

Access to the NHS pension scheme is available to the successful candidate.

If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

Candidates who hold the qualifications but are not yet registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) are eligible to apply for this vacancy. However, if found successful it is a requirement that you are registered with the GDC prior to starting in the post.

There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home.

This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

This vacancy is part of the AGreat Place to Work for Veterans initiative.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contactdbscivpers-sgdmsresourcingteam@mod.gov.uk.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.