Work Experience

Work experience is a vital part of your application to study dentistry. You should try to gain a wide variety of experience which you can discuss in your personal statement and at interview. Although work experience in general practice is essential also consider other areas of dentistry such as hospital dentistry or orthodontics

Work experience will allow you to gain an insight into the field of dentistry and confirm your interest. It also allows you to develop many of the skills required to be a successful dentist such as communication and team work as well as providing an opportunity to show your caring nature. Remember work experience does not always have to be directly related to dentistry, voluntary work will help you to develop many transferable skills and provide close contact with the general public

Try to gain as much work experience as you can in a range of different places. Make sure you emphasise in your personal statement what you gained from this experience and how it has confirmed your desire to pursue a career in dentistry

Tips for getting Work Experience

Contact as many places as you can, as early as you can

Don't just concentrate on dental positions, consider other caring roles

If you're having difficulty going through general channels, consider contacting dentists directly via their secretaries to see if you can arrange places that way

UCAS Form

Academic Criteria

Each universities requirements can be found on their website. Links to these websites can be found below along with relevant contact details

UCAS Form

Academic Criteria

Each universities requirements can be found on their website. Links to these websites can be found below along with relevant contact details

Personal Statement

A selection of Dentistry Personal Statements can be found in the TSR Wiki Click here

If you would like your personal statement reviewed in confidence by the TSR team of advisers, post in Ask A PS Helper Only our team of advisers, yourself and the TSR moderators will be able to view it

The most important factor (other than grades) in getting an offer is your personal statement. Your personal statement must be no more than 47 lines long (47 lines in Word does not mean 47 lines on the form!) and no more than 4000 characters. In these 47 lines you must sell yourself to university admissions tutors as much as possible, they will decide if you're called for interview so you must impress them. Remember they will be reading hundreds and hundreds of Dentistry personal statements, make yours stand out from the crowd if you can! Make sure your PS is focused entirely on an application, even if you're applying for 2 other non-dentistry courses

What should I include in my Personal Statement

Reasons for choosing Dentistry

This is an extrememly important part o the personal statement. Why do you want to be a dentist? Each person has their own response to this question but you must explain clearly to the admissions tutor your reasons for undertaking a career in dentistry

Work Experience

The admissions tutors are interested in caring experience which may or may not be dentistry related. This could be anything from shadowing a dentist to working weekends in a care home. Include how you got involved in such work, how long you have been doing it, how much time you spent doing it and most importantly, what skills you have gained from it. This section can include anything you have done which contributes to your investigation of a career in dentistry

Interests and hobbies

Remember the admissions tutors want to see you have interests outwith your academic pursuits. Exceptional academic students don't necessarily make the best Dentists, you must be able to communicate and empathise with patients. Tell the tutors what you do in your spare time, why you do it, if you've achieved any outside recognition and why your hobbies and interests might be relevant to a career in dentistry.

Areas of responsibility including paid employment

Being a dentist requires a great deal of responsibility, paid employment is a good way of showing you are responsible. It may also help your communication skills

Conclusion about why you should be picked

Finish on a positive note, if a tutor hasn't already made a decision, the final sentence is your last chance to sway them either way so make it perfect

My personal statement is too long, help

Cut out the waffle

Cut out things which are not relevant such as names of dental surgeries/hospitals

Remember its a Personal statement

Ask your referee to mention things which won't fit in your PS

Use shorter phrases where possible (eg 'school's prize' instead of 'prize from my school

If you're unsure Ask A TSR PS Helper

My personal statement is too long, help

Read, re-read and read again your personal statement! However many drafts it takes, make it perfect

Get someone else to check your personal statement for any spelling or grammar mistakes which would instantly make a bad impression

Make the start of your Personal statement interesting - this is the first thing the admissions tutor will read so grab their attention

Ensure your application is ready in time for the UCAS deadline

Don't worry if you don't hear anything for a while, even if your friends are hearing things, it doesn't mean anything

Don't use lists on your personal statement, continuous prose is much better

Use paragraphs and maintain structure to your personal statement

Don't lie on your personal statement, be prepared to be questioned on everything which you put in it

Read the prospectuses (in paper form and online- they update this fairly regularly)– some universities publish documents that say what they want to see in your personal statement – if they ask for specific things, you must include them – otherwise there is no point in applying there

If you do an unusual extra curricular activity, put it in - It will get you talking at interview

Entrance Exams

UKCAT

UKCAT - the main wiki page on UKCAT

The Website for this years UKCAT opens on the 16th of April. I'll add further details here when the site opens

Used by Cardiff University, University of Dundee, University of Glasgow, King’s College London, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University of Newcastle, Barts and The London, University of Sheffield

'Exam format'

The UKCAT is an onscreen test consisting of four sub-tests: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, decision analysis. Each of the sub-tests is in a multiple-choice format and separately timed

Exam duration

Approx. 2 hours

Exam cost

The UKCAT fee is £60 to sit the test at a UK or EU test centre, or £95 to sit the test outside the EU

Interviews

Preparation

Have a think about the likely questions: ‘why do you want to study dentistry’, ‘why do you want to come to this university’ etc. and make sure you have answers - try not to over rehearse though

A lot of people find it useful to have at least one Mock Interview before the real thing - so try and fit one in. Your school may be able to help you with this

Read the prospectus; it will tell you the distinguishing course features, and what to expect at interview

Make sure you can talk about a couple of dentistry-related news issues that you've come accross. Issues you could be asked about include the controversy surrounding amalgam fillings, should water be fluoridated, the new dental contract etc

During your Interview

Be yourself – enthusiastic and passionate about dentistry!

Try not to let nerves make you go silent! – Breathe

If you get stuck on a question think of your work experience, and a newspaper/magazine article you have read recently - use these to make up a sensible answer

Give your answers a structure and back up your answer with evidence

On ethical questions, show you have considered all the different sides of the story before giving your own opinion

Try not to fidget, but DO make eye contact

Enjoy it – it can be fun, honestly

Sample Interview Questions

 Why do you want to be a dentist

 What have you done to investigate dentistry

What are the ideal qualities that a dentist should possess

 Can you tell us how you posess these qualities

Give me an example of how you cope with stress

 Why did you apply to this dental schoo

 Did you come to our open day

During your work experience, did anything surprise you

 During your work experience, did anything shock you

 Is your own dentist good at communicating with his patients

 Tell me about preventative dentistry

 What is orthodontics

 Why do dentists recommend the fluoridation of water supplies

 What are the arguments against fluoridation of water supplies

 What are amalgam fillings made of(advantages and disadvantages of amalgam

 What are white fillings made of(advantages and disadvantages

 There has been a good deal of negative publicity about mercury fillings. Do you think that they are dangerous

 If you had to organise a campaign to improve dental health, how would you go about it

 What is gingivitis

 How are NHS dentists funded? Is it the same for GP’s

Should dental treatment be free on the NHS

Have you read any articles about dentistry recently

What have you done to demonstrate your commitment to the community

 What would you contribute to this dental school

 What are your best/worst qualities

 What do you do to relax

 What is your favourite subject at school

 What grades to you expect to gain?

 Do dentists treat children differently to adults

 What precautions need to be taken with patients who are HIV positive

 Who are the members of the dental team

 How does teamwork apply to the role of a dentist

 What is the difference between tooth erosion and tooth decay

 How would you carry out a root treatment

Course Structure

Life as a Dental Student

Current/Past Student Experiences

Universities Offering Dentistry in the UK

Barts and the London, QMUL

Barts and the London
Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry
Turner Street
London
E1 2AD

Tel: 020 7377 7000

Admission enquiries:

Tel: 020 7377 7611
Fax: 020 7377 7612  

Belfast

The Queen's University of Belfast
School of Dentistry
Grosvenor Road
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT12 6BP

Tel: 028 9063 2733

Birmingham

Dental School
University of Birmingham
St. Chad's Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6NN

Tel: 0121 237 2763 Fax: 0121 625 8815

Admissions Tutor: Mr D. Spence

Bristol

Dental School
University of BristolLower Maudlin Street
Bristol
BS1 2LY

Tel: 0117 923 0050

Website

Cardiff

Cardiff University,
Heath Park,
Cardiff,
Wales, UK
CF14 4XY

TelL: 029 2074 2468

Dundee

University of Dundee
Dental School
Park Place
Dundee
DD1 4HN

Tel: 01382 635976/7
Fax: 01382 225163

Admissions Tutor: Dr J R Drummond

Glasgow

University of Glasgow
Glasgow Dental School
378 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow
G2 3JZ

Tel: 0141 211 9703 Fax: 0141 331 2798

Admissions Tutor: Mrs Linda McGinness

Leeds

School of Dentistry
University of Leeds
Clarendon Way
Leeds
LS2 9LU

Tel: 0113 343 6172

Admissions Tutor: Mrs Lesley Aitken

Kings College London

Guy's Campus

King's College London Dental Institute
Central Office, Floor 18, Guy's Tower
Guy's Hospital
London
SE1 9RT

Tel: +44 (0)20 7188 7188
Fax: +44 (0)20 7188 1159

Denmark Hill Campus

King's College London Dental Institute
Bessemer Road
Denmark Hill
London
SE5 9RW

Tel: +44 (0)20 3299 9000
Fax: +44 (0)20 3299 3185

Admissions

Undergraduate
Tel: 020 7848 6512
Email: guysadmissions@kcl.ac.uk

Postgraduate
Tel: 020 7848 6703 (for general enquiries only)
Email: postgrad-dentistry@kcl.ac.uk  

Liverpool

School of Dental Surgery
University of Liverpool
Pembroke Place
Liverpool
L3 5PS

Tel: 0151 706 5203
Fax: 0151 706 5652

Admissions Tutor: Dr George T R Lee
Admissions Secretary: Mrs Julie Brannaga  

Manchester

University of Manchester
School of Dentistry
Higher Cambridge Street
Manchester
M15 6FH

Tel: 0161 306 0220

Newcastle

School of Dental Sciences
Framlington Place
University of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4BW

Tel: 0191 222 8347
Fax: 0191 222 6137

Peninsula Dental School (graduate entry only

Peninsula Dental School
John Bull Building
Tamar Science Park
Plymouth
PL6 8BU

Tel: (01752) 437333 or 437336

Sheffield

School of Clinical Dentistry
University of Sheffield
Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA

Tel: 0114 271 7801

University of Central Lancashire (graduate entry only

Faculty of HealthUniversity of Central Lancashire
Preston
PR1 2HE

Tel: 01772 895900  

Applications through University of Liverpool