Dentistry

Why study Dentistry 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.

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.

"The dental school is great, it feels like a real community, the course is interesting and challenging and you really do make a difference to people!"Emily Mackie, BDS 2011

Professional Accreditation

This programme is registrable with the professional governing body for dentistry in the UK, the General Dental Council (GDC).

Elective study

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.

Outreach centres

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 Outreach Programme has been the part of my course that I have most enjoyed. It provided a wealth of experience and really boosted my confidence in communication and time management."
Final year student comment from the National Student Survey 2011

Furthering your career opportunities

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.

• Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) Dentistry
• Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) Predental Year Entry

• BSc Oral Health Sciences