The ins and outs of a dental degree

Dental courses are one of the most intensive degrees so students should be prepared to commit a great deal of time and effort to their studies. In comparison to most other degree programmes, dentistry involves many more hours of study and very long days.

In order to get onto an undergraduate dentistry programme, you will need to achieve excellent A level results; most students take science-based subjects and all universities require students to have A level qualifications in chemistry and many require biology. Students must also have good GCSE results. Competition for places is now very tough so it is always beneficial for students to have extra qualifications, responsibilities or talents that they can put on their UCAS applications to make them stand out from other candidates; examples of this include sports, music, drama, doing voluntary work, having work experience and holding positions of responsibility at school.

The degree course will vary slightly according to which university you go to but all courses involve a mixture of practical work experience and academic study. In the first year, the majority of the programme will be theory-based, while in later years the amount of practical work will increase considerably. Most students will be required to submit written assignments and sit exams either once or twice a year; many universities also require students to pass practical exams. In order to progress through the course, students must pass each year; in the final year, students will sit final examinations which they must pass to complete the course. Most courses are five years long but there are some that are four years; these are for students that already hold a degree in biology, chemistry and biomedical science.

Once you have qualified, you will usually complete a period of vocational training within a general dental practice setting; this usually lasts for one year. After this period of time, some dentists choose to stay in the field of general dentistry for their dental job, while others opt to specialise in a certain area like many Palm Beach dentists do ; this involves undertaking further study and a period of specialist training.