Locum Dental Nurse vs Permanent Dental Nurse: Which Is Right for Your Practice?

Dental staff shortages can disrupt appointments, increase pressure on your team and slow down the practice. This guide explains the quickest practical ways to secure

Jamie

When your dental practice needs another nurse, one of the first decisions is whether the role should be filled permanently or whether flexible locum cover would be more practical.

There is no single answer that suits every practice. A permanent dental nurse can provide long-term continuity and become deeply familiar with your team and systems, while a locum dental nurse can provide flexible support when demand is temporary, uncertain or urgent.

This guide compares the two staffing models from a practice perspective so you can decide which option better fits the gap you are trying to solve.

Quick answer

Choose a permanent dental nurse when you have an ongoing role and want long-term continuity. Choose locum cover when the staffing need is temporary, urgent, seasonal or uncertain. Many practices use both: permanent staff for the core team and trusted locums to cover sickness, holidays, recruitment gaps and peaks in demand.

What Is a Locum Dental Nurse?

A locum dental nurse provides temporary cover to a dental practice. Placements may range from an individual shift to a block of dates or a longer temporary assignment.

Practices commonly use locum nurses for sickness, annual leave, maternity cover, recruitment gaps, busy periods or when additional short-term capacity is needed.

For registered dental professionals, current GDC registration and appropriate indemnity or insurance arrangements are fundamental requirements before practising in the UK.

What Does a Permanent Dental Nurse Offer?

A permanent dental nurse joins the practice as part of the ongoing team. Over time, they can build detailed knowledge of the clinicians, patients, workflows, software and day-to-day expectations of the practice.

For a genuine long-term vacancy, permanent recruitment is usually the most appropriate way to create stability and continuity.

Flexibility: Locum Cover Has the Advantage

The biggest practical advantage of locum staffing is flexibility. You can request cover for the period you actually need rather than creating a permanent role to solve a temporary problem.

One-off sickness cover
Known annual leave dates
Maternity or longer-term absence
Recruitment gaps
Temporary increases in patient demand
Additional support during practice growth

This can be especially useful when you do not yet know how long the staffing gap will last.

Continuity: Permanent Staff Usually Have the Advantage

A permanent nurse has more opportunity to become embedded in your practice and build consistent working relationships with clinicians and the wider team.

That continuity can reduce repeated onboarding and help the nurse become highly familiar with the practice’s preferences and routines.

Locum continuity can still improve when a practice builds a relationship with a staffing agency and requests the same successful locum again where availability allows.

Recruitment Speed: Locum Cover Can Bridge the Gap

Permanent recruitment takes time. Advertising, reviewing applications, interviewing and onboarding should not be rushed simply because the practice needs immediate cover.

Locum staffing can provide a bridge while you continue the permanent recruitment process, helping you avoid choosing a long-term employee simply because the diary is under pressure today.

If your practice is already short-staffed, see our guide on how to cover a dental staff shortage .

Cost: Compare the Whole Staffing Need, Not Just the Hourly Rate

Cost comparisons are not useful if they look only at one hourly figure. Permanent recruitment and locum cover have different cost structures, commitments and practical benefits.

The better question is: what is the total cost and operational impact of solving this particular staffing gap?

For a long-term core role, permanent recruitment may make sense. For a short absence or uncertain gap, creating a permanent role simply to avoid temporary staffing may not.

When using an agency, ask for clear pricing, cancellation terms and booking conditions before confirming cover.

The Best Model for Many Practices Is Both

Locum and permanent staffing do not need to compete with each other. They solve different problems.

A strong permanent team can provide the day-to-day foundation of the practice, while reliable locum support gives you resilience when normal staffing levels change.

That combination can help a practice manage planned leave, unexpected absence and recruitment periods without constantly overloading the core team.

Locum vs Permanent Dental Nurse: Quick Comparison

Factor	Locum Dental Nurse	Permanent Dental Nurse
Best suited to	Temporary, urgent or changing needs	Ongoing core staffing needs
Flexibility	High	Lower once the role is established
Continuity	Can vary by booking	Typically stronger over time
Recruitment lead time	Can be quicker where suitable availability exists	Usually requires a full recruitment process
Useful for absence cover	Yes	Not usually the purpose of the role
Useful for a permanent vacancy	As temporary cover while recruiting	Yes

Which Option Is Right for Your Dental Practice?

Start with the problem rather than the staffing model.

If you have a genuine long-term vacancy, permanent recruitment is likely to be central to the solution. If the need is short-term, urgent or uncertain, locum cover may give you the flexibility to keep the practice running without making a long-term decision under pressure.

If you decide temporary cover is appropriate, choose an agency that can clearly explain its compliance checks, booking process, pricing and support. Read our guide on how to choose the right locum dental nurse agency .

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a locum dental nurse better than a permanent dental nurse?

Neither is universally better. Permanent nurses are well suited to ongoing roles and continuity, while locum nurses are particularly useful for temporary, urgent or uncertain staffing needs.

Can a locum dental nurse cover while we recruit permanently?

Yes, subject to suitable availability. Practices often use locum cover to bridge a vacancy while continuing a permanent recruitment process.

Can we request the same locum dental nurse again?

Where the nurse is available, repeat bookings can improve continuity because the locum already knows the practice, team and workflow.

What should we check before booking a locum dental nurse?

Check suitability for the role and confirm that relevant registration, identity, right-to-work, indemnity and other compliance requirements have been addressed. Ask the agency what it verifies and confirm any additional requirements your practice has.