Dentistry

Snapshot

Top Dentistry Course in the UK (Guardian University League Table 2009 and Complete University Guide 2009).

Why Study at Dundee?

The BDS curriculum in Dundee will help you develop the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to graduate as a dental practitioner capable of maintaining the oral and dental health of the patients in your care. Not only will you develop clinical skills across the full range of dental disciplines, but you will also build the foundation of scientific knowledge on which clinical practice is based. In addition, you will appreciate the ethical and legal basis for dental practice, and acquire appropriate skills for communicating with your patients and helping them deal with what many find an anxious experience. The dentist also works as part of the dental team and you will learn about the roles and responsibilities of all members of this team and work with them in the care of your patients.

The staff in the Dental School are committed to your teaching and development as dental practitioners. The School is small enough for you to get to know the staff well and the care and support provided for our students is recognised as excellent.

Dental knowledge and practice is ever-changing and developing and an important aim of the BDS curriculum is that you appreciate that your undergraduate learning is the first phase in a professional education that will continue throughout your career.

Employability

Dundee's BDS is registrable with the General Dental Council (GDC) and a wide range of opportunities is available. Graduates normally complete a vocational or foundation training programme and can then choose to work as an associate partner or principal in general practice, in the community dental service, or in a hospital with a view to becoming a consultant. University teaching and research is another attractive avenue for the outstanding graduate. Dental surgeons can join the armed forces as commissioned officers. Several large companies employ their own dentists to provide dental treatment for their staff. A dentist, therefore, in addition to enjoying high community standing and an above-average income, has an excellent range of working environments.

Teaching and Assessment

In order for you to gain sufficient knowledge and clinical experience, the BDS degree is a 5-year programme, with extended academic years from Year 2 onwards. A wide variety of teaching methods are used in the dental curriculum, reflecting the breadth of knowledge and skills you must develop as a dental student. These methods will include lectures, tutorials, practical classes and clinical skills classes. The Dental School also makes increasing use of My Dundee, the University's virtual learning environment, to support teaching. From Year 3 onwards, you will begin the clinical care of patients and a large proportion of your timetable will be dedicated to clinical sessions across the full range of dental disciplines.

Assessment in each year of the curriculum combines continuous assessment and an end-of-year examination.

In Years 1 and 2, your continuous assessment grade is derived from integrated class examinations at the end of each semester and contributes 30% towards your overall grade for the year. The end-of-year examination is also integrated, with written and practical elements, and contributes 70%.

From Year 3, continuous assessment has academic and clinical components. You will continue to be assessed academically by examinations and your clinical activity will be graded at each clinical session. This helps us identify students who may require extra support and put such help in place for them.

In Years 3 and 4, continuous assessment forms 25% and 20% respectively of your overall grade.

In Year 5, continuous assessment contributes 30% to the assessment of knowledge component of the final examination.

In addition, the Dental School is keen that you develop the attributes of a professional practitioner from the outset, therefore your professionalism will be monitored at every compulsory teaching and/or clinical activity throughout the curriculum.

Special Features

You will have the opportunity for a period of elective study between Years 4 and 5 of the course, when you can undertake a project in an area of dentistry of specific interest to you. Many students take this chance to travel overseas to gain experience of dental practice in environments very different to the UK, broadening both their educational and personal horizons. Some students take the opportunity to extend this experience by spending the first semester of Year 5 on an Erasmus exchange programme. The Dental School has agreements with dental schools in France, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway and this provides an excellent chance for you to experience both dental education in a different context and the cultural and social benefits of spending an extended period of time in another country.

From the end of Year 4 you will also spend a considerable amount of time in outreach centres, both local and distant from Dundee, set up to help improve access to dental care. Here you will treat a wide variety of patients in settings different to the Dental Hospital, broadening your clinical experience. This element of the curriculum is very popular with students.

The Dental School has a strong record of offering selected students the opportunity to undertake an Intercalated Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) degree. This one-year programme, taken following Year 2 of the BDS, provides an opportunity for the in-depth study of one of a range of disciplines and will help you develop study and research skills useful to both your dental studies and your career opportunities beyond graduation.

Programme Content

The Physical and Mental Demands of the BDS Course

The Dental Course is long and demanding, both physically and mentally. You will, for example, require sufficient bi-manual dexterity to handle, simultaneously, the necessary equipment to treat patients and a dental mirror to allow you to see what you are doing. Dentistry can involve very detailed work under conditions that are often difficult, so you need a steady hand and good vision (with spectacles if need be).

If you have a disability which you feel might impact on your ability to meet these demands, you are urged to consult the School as soon as possible in the application process so that we can discuss the implications with you, including any adjustments that can be made to meet your needs. Please contact one of the School's Disability Support Officers (DSO) - Miss Lorraine Robertson l.j.y.robertson@dundee.ac.uk or Mr John Gray j.d.m.gray@dundee.ac.uk, as a preliminary step. Further information on the University's provision for disabled students is available at: www.dundee.ac.uk/disabilityservices/

Patient safety is paramount and it is particularly important to consider any difficulties that would compromise this so that we can ascertain what arrangements can be put in place to assist you while guaranteeing that safety. In order to register with the General Dental Council (GDC), dental students must also be capable of "independent dental practice" by graduation. Dentists thus require to be able, to a sufficient extent and without assistance, to write or type prescriptions accurately, to understand written and spoken reports on patients and to communicate information to others by the same means. This process includes the use of dental and medical terminology, some of which can involve words that are superficially similar, and students likely to encounter difficulties in these areas are strongly encouraged to discuss the matter as early in the course as possible with the Teaching Subdean or Dean of Dentistry. Further information about dental courses and requirements are available on the General Dental Council web pages. In particular, please read: Standards for Dental Professionals and the First Five Years. Before practising dentistry in the United Kingdom, BDS graduates must register with the General Dental Council. The registration process involves health screening and such other checks as the GDC decide to make.

Entry Requirements

2011 Entry Requirements

Selection for Dentistry

Gaining a place at dental school is competitive and we have more applicants than places. We are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about becoming dentists and who display commitment. Ideally candidates should have undertaken some work shadowing. Selection is on the basis of academic qualifications, your personal statement, your referee's report and an interview.

1. All Highers and A-Levels must have been obtained at one sitting at the first opportunity applicants have to sit these examinations. That is in S5 one year after Standard Grades for Highers and two years after GCSE for A-Levels. Re-take Highers or A-Levels are not normally considered.
2. Whichever of the named SQA or GCE subjects has not been passed at Higher Grade or Advanced Level must normally have been passed at Standard Grade or GCSE respectively. A pass in Combined or Dual Science at GCSE may be acceptable instead of a single GCSE pass in Physics. A pass at Standard Grade or GCSE Mathematics is also normally required.
3. An Advanced Level in Physical Science will satisfy the requirements of both Chemistry and Physics but will count as only one pass.
4. Exceptionally, for first year entry, a non-Science subject may be accepted as a third Advanced Level along with Chemistry and Biology.
5. The predental year is designed for very able applicants who have a predominantly non-Science background (ie. have studied not more than one Science at Higher or A-Level).
6. All applicants will be expected to undertake the UKCAT test. Information on this test can be found at the UKCAT website. Excellent performance in Higher or A-Levels, and at interview, remain the key parameters used in the admissions process.

Your Application

What skills, qualities and experience do I need?

• Dentistry is a course that enables you to care for the patient's oral health. It requires an empathetic spirit and a desire to help people and communities.
• You will have to work very hard and acquire a great deal of knowledge and apply this throughout a long course.
• You will need to have first rate communication skills and enjoy working as part of a team.
• You will need to work with your hands and will have to acquire a high degree of manual dexterity.
• You will have to be reasonably fit, as completing the dental course requires a degree of mental and physical stamina. If you have a health concern you need to tell us about this so we can see if the course can be modified to take account of this.
• All potential dental students are required to undergo screening for blood borne viruses (Hepatitis B and C, and HIV) prior to their place at the Dental School being confirmed. Details regarding testing will be sent to you when you apply.
• A full course of immunisation against Hepatitis B will be required.
• A Disclosure for criminal convictions will also be required. You are at liberty not to give permission for this but in that event we will be unable to process your application further

Tips for your application

• You need to have carefully investigated dentistry as a career and have undertaken some work shadowing with a general dental practitioner or community dentist. There is no prescribed length of time for this, but you should be able to tell us about your experiences in your personal statement.
• You should be able to tell us in your interview about why you want to study dentistry and show enthusiasm for your chosen career.
• You will need to meet the high academic standards required for the course.
• Your personal statement should show some evidence of other interests. (e.g. sporting, musical, community involvement etc).
• We are not looking for an over polished or rehearsed performance in the interview and we understand you will be nervous! Just be yourself!

Contact

Admissions & Student Recruitment
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee
DD1 4HN
Scotland

Telephone: 01382 384 697 (from the UK)
Telephone: +44 1382 384 697 (from outside the UK)

Email: ContactUs@dundee.ac.uk