Medicine and healthcare
Dentistry
BDS or BChD
Overview
Dentistry prepares you to prevent, diagnose and treat disease of the teeth, mouth and jaws. You study the science of oral health and spend a large share of the course in clinical skills labs and then with patients. The work is practical and precise, and you are responsible for people's comfort as well as the technical result. It is not a shorter version of medicine, and a biomedical degree does not substitute for a dental degree if you want to register as a dentist. Courses are competitive. Students who enjoy it like working with their hands, explaining treatment clearly, and returning to the same patients over time.
You want to train as a dentist and like precise practical work with patients.
Dental nursing is a different role and usually not this degree. Medicine does not qualify you as a dentist.
People who like science, fine practical skill and face-to-face care.
What you will study
Universities do not teach the same modules. The lists below are a general shape, not a syllabus.
Year 1
- Oral biology
- Anatomy
- Clinical skills introduction
- Communication
Middle years
- Dental disease
- Restorative skills
- Supervised patient care
Final years
- Comprehensive patient care
- Oral surgery and medicine
- Professional practice
Skills
Useful before you start
- Science
- Manual precision
- Clear explanation
- Calm under time pressure
Developed during the degree
- Operative dental skill
- Diagnosis
- Patient management
- Infection control
Teaching and assessment
Teaching often includes Lectures, Phantom-head skills labs, Clinical placements.
Assessment often includes Written exams, Clinical assessments, Practical skills.
Typical weekly commitment
Estimate. Clinical dentistry timetables are heavier than a typical lecture degree.
Entry requirements
Indicative patterns from published UK admissions information. Not an offer. Actual requirements vary by course, university and year. Pearson Edexcel International A Level and Cambridge International A Level are not treated as the same qualification as GCE A level.
Indicative requirements by qualification
The A-level band is the catalogue reference. IB and American lines come from the named university guides under the table. They are not a conversion every university uses, and they are not an offer.
| Qualification | Indicative requirements |
|---|---|
| A Levels | AAA–A*AA. Chemistry plus another science or mathematics is the usual pattern. Check each dental school. |
| IB Diploma | UCL publishes 38 points for AAA and 39 for A*AA, including 18 or 19 across three Higher Level subjects. A required A-level subject must be Higher Level in UCL's rule. Each Higher Level subject in that table is at least 5. UCL equates A* to 7, A to 6 and B to 5. This is one university's table. |
| American curriculum | A Manchester School of Social Sciences guide gives AP 5, 5, 5 for AAA and A*AA, with a High School Diploma and GPA 3.0/4.0, including B in English and mathematics. Bristol publishes a GPA of 3.2, or 3.4 for competitive courses, and does not use one AP pattern for every degree. |
- University College London: Undergraduate entry requirements. Retrieved 2026-10-14. Not a universal rule.
- University of Manchester, School of Social Sciences: Americas country guide. Retrieved 2026-10-14. Not a universal rule.
- University of Manchester, Civil Engineering: USA country entry requirements. Retrieved 2026-10-14. Not a universal rule.
- University of Bristol: USA international qualifications. Retrieved 2026-10-14. Not a universal rule.
This subject does not have a large set of ordinary low-entry undergraduate routes. Contextual offers exist only where a university publishes them.
A-level subjects
Chemistry plus another science or mathematics is the usual pattern. Check each dental school.
Often recommended: Biology.
Useful preparation: Mathematics.
GCSE and IGCSE
Many healthcare courses expect English language and mathematics, and often sciences, at GCSE or IGCSE. Grade thresholds differ. No single grade is stored as a national rule. International GCSEs are not automatically treated as GCSEs by every university.
Undergraduate dentistry is competitive. Do not treat it as having a large set of ordinary low-entry courses.
Other ways in
- Graduate-entry dentistry exists at some schools and is separate from the school-leaver route.
- Registration with the General Dental Council follows completion of an approved programme.
Admissions tests and extra requirements
UCAT
Often used by participating universities. A clinical aptitude test used by participating universities for medicine and dentistry.
Selected UK medicine and dentistry courses. Not every medical or dental programme uses it.
Checked 2026-10-14.
Official test site
Course costs
For many standard full-time courses in England, the home-fee maximum in 2026 to 2027 is Up to £9,790. This is the maximum standard full-time fee published for approved English providers with a TEF award and an access and participation plan. It is not the fee a named university charges, and it does not decide whether you pay home or international fees.
Clinical, laboratory and studio courses are not given a different home-fee figure here, because the regulated maximum is not the same thing as an international or clinical fee.
International tuition is set by each university and is not stored here. Clinical courses are often much higher than classroom-based courses. A school in Qatar does not decide home-fee status.
Source: Changes to tuition fees: 2026 to 2027 academic year. Retrieved 2026-10-14. Living costs, field trips and professional fees are not included.
Where you could study
UK degrees in this subject are numerous. This page does not list every university, because a list without a checked entry requirement would look more certain than it is.
No individual UK course page is stored yet for this subject. Use the university site.
No overseas course has been checked for this subject yet.
Where could this degree take you?
Dentist
Direct qualifying route
An approved dental degree is the university route into registration as a dentist.
Dental nurse
Related, but not enough on its own
Dental nursing is a separate role and does not require this degree.
Explore your pathway
A course sits between school subjects and a career. It does not guarantee either admission or a job.