General nurse students will commence placements within the Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Dental Directorate from October 2011. This is the first time general nurse students have been placed in a dental care setting within the Trust.

First, second and third year students from the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery and London South Bank University will learn alongside dental undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as the qualified dental team.

Dr Barry Quinn, Director St. Thomas' Dental Centre and KCL Dental Institute Learning and Teaching Coordinator, stated that the placement of general student nurses in a dental setting is forward thinking and will expand the interdisciplinary team. Both parties will gain an understanding of each other's remits which should lead to better communication between future healthcare professionals.

Students will rotate through a number of specialities and departments allowing them to observe patients' experience of emergency and planned dental care.