Hiya, the dental nursing apprenticeship means you are qualified to provide chairside support to dentists, dental hygienist and dental therapists but you are not qualified to undergo the treatment yourself. For example, as a dental nurse you would help by providing aspiration to remove water and protect the soft tissue whilst the hygienist is scaling and provide materials and instruments to the dentist during treatment. Your ultimate role as a dental nurse is to provide the clinician the materials they need, note taking, provide support for the patient and to chaperone procedures. To be a dental hygienist/therapist you would be required to go to university and complete the diploma in dental hygiene or the degree in dental hygiene & therapy to undergo procedures within their scope of practice. As a dental nurse your are able to complete additional post graduate qualifications so that you are able to complete treatment such as oral health education, radiography, impression taking, and assisting in sedation and implant placement. It is possible to get into university without the dental nursing apprenticeship, but I would recommend having some type of work experience, I also feel having the experience as a dental nurse helps to cement confirmation that a career in dental hygiene/therapy is what you want to do and get some baseline knowledge into dentistry. Hope this helps.