Interested in Studying Dentistry in UK? Find a little help here

Carrying the title of Dr. before your name garners a lot of attention and never goes out of style. But what one often forgets is the hours of hard work and sleepless nights that goes behind it. If dentistry is your thing, then UK definitely houses some of the top schools.

Truth being told, dentistry does not fall into my realms. However, while reading a little for a friend, I came across the below information which hopefully will help the future doctors stopping by here.

In UK, there are four main steps to becoming a dentist:
1. A levels or Equivalent: Requirements vary at each university, but Biology and Chemistry are considered as required subjects.
2. Undergraduate Degree: Most degrees take 5 years to complete.
3. Registering with the General Dental Council: Registering as a qualified UK dentist.
4. Dental Foundation Training: After completing your Bachelor’s degree, you will have to practice for one year under experienced general dental practitioners

Entry requirements vary at each University. However, in general you will need the following:

  1. Typical International Baccalaureate requirements: 37 points.
  2. Typical A-levels requirements: AAA to AAB including Chemistry and Biology.
  3. Typical IELTS requirements: 7.0 overall, with no lower than 6.5 in any one component.
  4. Passing the UKCAT or BMAT tests
  5. A successful interview
  6. An excellent personal statement
  7. Evidence of genuine interest in the subject, such as work experience

There are a number of Universities in UK, which offer varied dentistry courses. You can get further information on the course, requirements, fee and others here.

Once you graduate, you can expect an Average starting professional salary of £31,000.

Sources:
The Complete University Guide UK
Studying in UK
Bellerbys College

UK Clinical Aptitude Test

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is part of the selection process of some UK medical and dental schools. It is an online test designed to test cognitive abilities, attitudes, critical thinking, and logical reasoning. There are four reasoning tests and a situational judgement test.

- Verbal reasoning. Assesses ability to think logically about written information and arrive at a reasoned conclusion: 21 minutes, with 11 passages to read and 44 questions.
- Quantitative reasoning. Assesses ability to solve numerical problems: 24 minutes, 9 tables, charts, graphs etc. as information and 36 questions.
- Abstract reasoning. Assesses ability to infer relationships from information by convergent and divergent thinking: 13 minutes and 55 questions.
- Decision analysis. Assesses ability to deal with various forms of information to infer relationships, make informed judgements, and decide on an appropriate response: 32 minutes, 1 scenario full of information and 28 questions (basic calculator provided)
- Situational judgement. Measures your responses in situations, and your grasp of medical ethics: 27 minutes and 67 questions on 20 scenarios.

The test is taken at your local test centre, with each subtest in a multiple choice format. Past papers are not available but there are specimen questions on the UCAT website.

Sources: Studying in UK

Have a look at the Dentistry League Table 2020

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Good Research and writing! :clap:

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