Karen Richardson

Karen has had a long and varied career in dentistry. Amusingly, Karen fell into the dental profession when she applied for a job as a DSA/Receptionist at seventeen, unaware of the term ‘DSA’ meaning!

She soon learned that DSA means ‘dental surgery assistant’ when she was offered the job after attending an interview for the role.

She believes this happened for a reason, as since then, she has loved every minute of her dental career, spanning 30 years.

Karen quickly found that she had a natural ability to pick up both the clinical and clerical side of being a dental nurse and build an immediate rapport with her patients and colleagues.

Karen gained her dental nursing qualification while working in her first dental post. After four years of experience, she felt confident enough to apply for a lead dental nurse role in an orthodontic practice.

She got the job and has continued to work in orthodontics ever since.

Her first lead role helped Karen to recognise that she has an aptitude for leadership and organisation.

She enjoyed the clinical planning that was part of her role and began to take an interest in managing a dental team and the fiscal management of a business.

When a former colleague decided to set up their orthodontic practice and asked Karen to take on the role of practice manager in a brand-new orthodontic practice, she was thrilled.

Karen accepted the challenge and found that helping to build a business from scratch enabled her to further her skills and knowledge.

Over the next decade, she was proud to have had a significant part in creating an extensive thriving orthodontic practice that provided a fantastic service to thousands of patients.

Initially, Karen continued to work as a dental nurse and fulfilled the management role.

During this time, she gained qualifications in dental radiography, photography and impression taking, which allowed her to extend her responsibilities and skills in the dental nursing side of her role.

As the practice grew, Karen’s nursing role decreased, and she focused more on being an effective practice manager. Eventually, the orthodontic practice became part of a corporate group and Karen was soon promoted again.

Her role became area manager, overseeing the running of four different orthodontic practices.

Karen continued to develop her skills and knowledge and undertook all additional training available to her.

With extensive clinical understanding and business management skills, Karen took on the treatment coordinator role while acting as an area manager.

Karen’s clinical knowledge, fiscal management skills, and personability were effectively used to help patients keen to proceed with orthodontic treatments.

With many years as a manager in the corporate orthodontic division, Karen eventually left her position and joined Park Orthodontics in 2015.

Of all her years working in orthodontics, Karen has never been happier in her work.

Karen helped to develop the team’s skills, teaching other enthusiastic and experienced nurses about fulfilling the treatment coordinator role.

Karen became the Director/Business Manager of Park Orthodontics in 2021 and is immensely proud of the standard of care that they deliver to their patients.

When Karen is not busy working, she spends her spare time either cheering on her son, who is a budding footballer, or nervously watching her daughter compete as a women’s artistic gymnast.

She also enjoys spending time with her husband, Grant, and likes to spend time cooking and trying out new recipes.

When she can, she likes to eat out and get some relaxation by taking holidays in the sun.