At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the UK’s professional association for dental nurses, the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN), held on Tuesday 22 November 2022 at the Naval & Military Club, London and via Zoom, Debra Worthington took over the role of President from Jacqui Elsden.

Debra has been a dental nurse for 43 years; working in General Dental Practice, Community Dental Service and Secondary Care.  Debra holds post registration qualifications in Conscious Sedation, Radiography, Oral Health and Orthodontics.  She also has qualifications in Leadership and Management and recently completed the NHS Senior Leadership qualification. 

She joined Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in March 2021, and is the Head of Dental Service for the North East sector of Greater Manchester.  Debra has eighty staff working across Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, providing paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, general anaesthesia, treatment with inhalation sedation and oral health promotion. Debra is a member of the Managed Clinical Networks in Greater Manchester, for both paediatric and special care dentistry. 

Prior to this she was the Maxillofacial Unit Manager at Salford Royal Hospital; a busy unit comprising of maxillofacial surgery, oral surgery, orthodontics and community dentistry.  She successfully implemented the Mouth Care Matters programme within the acute trust and was successful in acquiring transformation funding to implement the programme in the care homes in Salford.

Debra has been a member of the Orthodontic National Group (ONG) since its inception in 1994 and has been a committee member for 21 years; serving as a Chairman for nine years and president for three years, a term which ended in 2021. Debra was an active member of the working group which saw the introduction of orthodontic therapists, work which included writing the syllabus for course and working with the GDC to write and implement the Scope of Practice; she is a past examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons (Edin) for the orthodontic therapy examination.   Prior to GDC registration Debra was part of the working party which implemented the first Scope of Practice for dental nurses and has been involved in the last two reviews.

Debra has recently been a member of the Advancing Dental Care review group, a three-year review looking at dental education and the training infrastructure to best support patient and population needs. Debra has received two national awards; one presented by the British Orthodontic Society and one by the British Dental Association, for Outstanding Contribution to Dentistry and Orthodontics.