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Dental Surgery

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B-A*,A,A

The typical offer is GCE A level grades A*AA-AAB which must include Biology and one further science from Chemistry, Maths, Physics and Psychology. Your third GCE A level can be from any subject area including humanities, languages, music, sport, science and social sciences. General Studies at A level is not included within any offer. The University of Plymouth are committed to widening participation and ensuring that all students with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply with us. The additional information gained through contextual data enables our admissions advisory panel to recognise a student’s achievements and identify their potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. The contextual data we may consult when determining to issue an AAB offer include: Living in a low participation neighbourhood as determined by your postcode (POLAR4 quintiles 1 & 2). Attending a low performing school/college e.g. 16-18 performance in the ‘below’ or ‘well below average’ classifications. Significant engagement in either our Peninsula Pathways programme or another widening access intervention. Being in receipt of free school meals. Please note that the typical offer is not necessarily the threshold for selection for interview, which may vary depending on the number and quality of applications received by the faculty.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

36-38

Must include 6 and 6 at the Higher Level in Biology and one further science from Chemistry, Maths, Physics, and Psychology. Other subjects can be from any area including humanities, languages, music, sport, science and social sciences. General Studies is not included within any offer. The University of Plymouth are committed to widening participation and ensuring that all students with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply with us. The additional information gained through contextual data enables our admissions advisory panel to recognise a student’s achievements and identify their potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. The contextual data we may consult when determining to issue a 36 points offer include: Living in a low participation neighbourhood as determined by your postcode (POLAR4 quintiles 1 & 2). Attending a low performing school/college e.g. 16-18 performance in the ‘below’ or ‘well below average’ classifications. Significant engagement in either our Peninsula Pathways programme or another widening access intervention. Being in receipt of free school meals. Please note that the typical offer is not necessarily the threshold for selection for interview, which may vary depending on the number and quality of applications received by the faculty.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H1,H1,H2,H2,H2,H2

Higher level must include Biology and one further science from Chemistry, Maths, Physics and Psychology. General Studies is not included within any offer.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A,A-A,A,B

The typical offer is SQA Advanced Higher grades AAA-AAB which must include Biology and one further science from Chemistry, Maths, Physics and Psychology. Your third GCE A level can be from any subject area including humanities, languages, music, sport, science and social sciences. General Studies at A level is not included within any offer. The University of Plymouth are committed to widening participation and ensuring that all students with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply with us. The additional information gained through contextual data enables our admissions advisory panel to recognise a student’s achievements and identify their potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. The contextual data we may consult when determining to issue an AAB offer include: Living in a low participation neighbourhood as determined by your postcode (POLAR4 quintiles 1 & 2). Attending a low performing school/college e.g. 16-18 performance in the ‘below’ or ‘well below average’ classifications. Significant engagement in either our Peninsula Pathways programme or another widening access intervention. Being in receipt of free school meals. Please note that the typical offer is not necessarily the threshold for selection for interview, which may vary depending on the number and quality of applications received by the faculty.

UCAS Tariff

136-168

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About this course


Course option

5years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Clinical dentistry

This exciting dentistry programme is pioneering, patient-centred and delivered in a supportive and research-rich environment. You will develop the highest level of core dental skills and knowledge needed for a hugely rewarding career as a healthcare professional. We offer you state-of-the art facilities and are committed to making you a dental practitioner with clinical skills of the highest order and a strong sense of social awareness.

You will treat patients through partnership with Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise and the wider NHS in Devon and Cornwall, become familiar with a variety of clinical situations, and prepare for a future career path through solving clinical problems. You’ll also discover how clinical dentistry and research is practiced in different social and cultural contexts in other parts of the South West, UK and the world.

* This dentistry programme is mapped against the General Dental Council’s guidance ‘Preparing for Practice’.

* Treat patients through partnership with the NHS Primary Care Trust in Devon and Cornwall.

* Engage directly with participants and service users in a unique and meaningful way with the Community Engagement Team.

* Benefit from the state of the art facilities provided by established Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE), a Community Interest Company (CIC).

* Become familiar with a variety of clinical situations.

* Prepare for a future career path through solving clinical problems.

* Become competent at diagnosing disease and planning preventive care.

* Choose your own areas of interest to study further.

* Early clinical contact with a strong patient focus.

* Gain the core dental knowledge and communication skills you need to practise as a competent and caring dentist.

* Strong partnerships within the University.

* You will spend Years 1, 2 and 5 in Plymouth and Year 4 in Truro. Students in Year 3 travel 2 days a week, via transport organised and paid for by the School, to the Dental Education Facility in Exeter.

Modules

Your outstanding clinical education commences at the start of Year 1, working in small, integrated study groups you will learn the core scientific foundations of dentistry in a clinical context, explore the scientific basis of normal structure, function and behaviour, with a focus on dental health, prevention of dental disease and the underlying principles of personal and professional development. You will attend the Simulated Dental Learning Environment (SDLE) from your first week developing essential clinical skills and in Term 2 you will experience contact with patients in the clinics where you will be able to develop your communication skills under the close supervision of dental practitioners, bringing to life the skills gained in SDLE. Near the end of the year you have your first experience in social engagement.

In your second year, you build on your foundations with common dental problems, as well as disease mechanisms considered in much greater depth. Learning continues in SDLE as you develop skills for advanced procedures whilst continuing to care for patients in the clinics in Plymouth two days per week. You gain insight into the importance of team working in dentistry as you integrate with other members of the team in the clinical environment, and plan and deliver a social engagement project intervention.

In your third year there is greater self-directed learning as you prepare project assignments, including an engagement project with students from another healthcare profession, and clinical cases. Based in Plymouth with transport provided to our Exeter clinic two days per week you build upon existing skills and consolidate advanced procedures provided for patients. One of the themes for years three and four is to consolidate the learning of medically-related issues for the safe practice of dentistry. You will be given an opportunity to learn about dentally relevant medical issues in patient-based demonstrations.

In your fourth year you will live in Truro for the whole academic year. Clinical activity will expand to three days per week and you start to prepare clinical cases for Finals. Clinical dentistry will now embrace all of the aspects of dental care provision expected of a qualified dentist, will give you experience in advanced restorative techniques and strengthen your competence in treatment planning. You'll gain first-hand experience of the role and services provided by specialists in primary and secondary care, by spending time in specialist clinics such as restorative dentistry, oral surgery, oral diseases and orthodontics.

The emphasis in your final year is on the implementation and consolidation of the skills and abilities you have learned in previous years and is the final preparation for dental practice. You will become more confident with clinical situations, healthcare teams and the principles of professionalism; and discover advances in dentistry being developed for future practice.

The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

Peninsula Dental School

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

96%
Clinical dentistry

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Dentistry

Teaching and learning

96%
Staff make the subject interesting
97%
Staff are good at explaining things
95%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
100%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

99%
Library resources
99%
IT resources
95%
Course specific equipment and facilities
92%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
32%
Male students
68%
Female students

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Dentistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£30,000
med
Average annual salary
98%
low
Employed or in further education
98%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

98%
Health professionals
2%
Caring personal services

If you want a stable, well-paid career, then dentistry is an excellent choice. Starting salaries rival those for medicine, almost all graduates get jobs in dentistry on leaving their course and there are roles all around the country. It is a pretty select course, with only a little over a thousand graduates a year, but for that group, the rewards can be excellent.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Dentistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£39k

£39k

£49k

£49k

£53k

£53k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Lower entry requirements
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Nearby University
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here