Luca MacDonald

Luca started her dental career in 2019 working and training in a general dental practice. She was inspired to become a dental nurse thanks to her Mum, who is a GP.

From a young age Luca was aware that she wanted to have a career which had some relation to medicine but wanted to create her own career path. She knew she would enjoy working and learning within a hands-on job, alongside taking pride in offering the highest standard of patient care to the public and decided that dental nursing was the career for her.

Luca began her dental nurse training in January 2020 and completed it in December 2020 and is proud to have been one of the fastest dental nurses to complete the course as she was so keen to gain her SQA Level 3 and PDA Dental Nursing (2020) qualification.

She thoroughly enjoyed being able to learn on the job by putting the theory into practice day-by-day. She says that she loved the feeling of beginning to understand why certain treatments were required and why they were performed in such a specific manner.

Ever passionate to further her knowledge, Luca soon went on to gain a First Aid at Work qualification and was proud to take on the responsibility of being a named first aider at her previous place of work.

She is eager to keep her knowledge in this area up to date at Park and to be able to offer her skills and knowledge to the Park team and patients.

After working in general dental practice for 3 years and gaining some experience of orthodontics she decided that she wanted to further expand her knowledge and skills, and she leapt at the chance of joining the team at Park orthodontics.

Luca was really excited to join the team and learn as much as possible about orthodontics, as well as expand her knowledge and skills overall. She says that she felt confident joining the practice as she knew about the fantastic reputation that we have with patients and dentists alike. She believes that many general dentists have a very high professional opinion of the practice and the work that we do.

She is truly grateful to have joined such a lovely, enthusiastic, encouraging team and feels that the support she receives is second to none, she loves the fact that she is constantly encouraged to further her career, knowledge and skills.

Luca is organised, hardworking, and a very friendly member of the team who is genuinely always happy to help! She offers chairside support to the clinicians during treatment and new patient clinics and strongly believes that preparation is key for the smooth running of the practice. She routinely offers help and support to other dental nurses within the practice, especially trainees and is more than happy to offer any advice, or guidance where possible.

Luca is also in charge of the medical emergency drug kits and equipment, conducting thorough weekly checks of all equipment and drugs, storing correct and precise logs for all components. This includes ensuring that all drugs and equipment are currently in date, as well as ensuring that all order dates for drugs and equipment are completed a month in advance of the expiry date – in case of any delivery delays.

Luca has recently completed her dental radiography training, something she has been very enthusiastic to do since becoming a qualified dental nurse in 2020. By gaining the BDA Education Certificate in Dental Radiography, Luca knows that it allows a much smoother running of the practice as there will be another member of staff able to take radiographs, especially within new patient clinics, as it allows an appointment to run with no interruptions or delays.

She began the course in June 2023 and has gained a significant amount of confidence whilst working alongside patients as well as a greater understanding of the importance of having the knowledge and the correct skills when dealing with radiation.

When Luca isn’t working or studying, she keeps busy participating in gymnastics, coaching gymnastics, reading books and playing piano. She also enjoys the occasional hill walk and having cuddles with her beloved pets Lola (dog), and Meena (cat).