Dental Surgery (International Route)

Home Transfers

Dental Schools do not accept transfers of students from other schools. This is because the requirements for graduation defined by the GDC are not taught and assessed in a similar order. Government capped places would also be disrupted by student transfers.

Schools may consider transfers for students in unforeseen exceptional circumstances with approval of both the sending and receiving programmes. In most cases the student would need to re-start from year one for the reasons described previously.

DSC encourages prospective students to consider the intensity of oral healthcare courses and their potential geographical distance from their support networks, when applying for dental school.

International transfers

Students from a dental school outside the UK are unable to transfer into a programme in a UK dental school. This is because international programmes follow their local regulatory requirements which are likely to differ from those in the UK.

Overseas BDS or equivalent (dental degrees from outside the UK and EEA) and the ability to demonstrate that your degree contains modules that will allow you to receive Approved Prior Learning (APL) for years 1, 2 and 3 of the award by ENIC statement of Comparability - Home Page (ecctis.com). You must be able to show an original NARIC statement/certificate of comparability.

Your primary dental degree certificate. If your name on the certificate does not match your passport please provide an affidavit to confirm that you are the holder of the degree. You must state here which institution you received your original primary qualification from, the country of qualification and the title of your primary dental qualification e.g. BDS, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, India.

A minimum of 600 hours within the past 5 years of clinical postgraduate dentistry experience where you have personally treated patients in the dental chair, these are hours spent undertaking appropriate investigations and administrating dental treatment during post-qualification experience. The clinical experience requires verification by a clinical reference dated no longer than 3 months prior to applying. The clinical referee must verify the details and hours of experience. The person verifying the reference must be, or have been, registered as a professional with the regulatory body in the country where the experience took place. If the candidate is submitting evidence gained in the UK under temporary registration, the reference must be completed by the supervising consultant(s). Multiple clinical references may be required to add up to the 600 hours.

This is a Certificate or Letter issued by the dental authority of the country in which you last worked which states that you are legally entitled to practise dentistry in that country and that you have not been suspended, disqualified or prohibited from working as a dentist. You must also provide us with a Certificate or Letter of Good Standing from the dental authority in the country in which you qualified if this is different to the country in which you last worked or are currently working.

This document must be: An original certificate or letter on letter headed/watermarked paper;

No more than three months from the date of issue at the time of your application. 

Any required documents which are not in English must be accompanied by an exact translation. You must provide us with a certified copy of the original document and the certified translation. The translation must either be:

• A certified translation by a qualified translator; or
• For degree certificates and diplomas, an official translation by the relevant university with the official stamp of the university and the signature and name of the Dean.

The admission exams are scheduled to take place in Preston, UK, on 9-11 December 2024.

There are two components to the admission:

• A written exam 
• An OSCE (practical) exam

You need to pass both assessments before an offer can be considered.

Exam format

Please read the information below, which will give you some guidance about the format. The entry exam and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) will cover the Learning Outcomes outlined in the General Dental Council document 'Preparing for Practice for the first 3 years of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree.’

Topics for assessment in the written exam and OSCE are:

• Body Cells and Structure
• Body Locomotion and Control
• Body Systems and Nutrition
• Direct Dental Restorative Skills and Knowledge
• General Dental Clinical Knowledge
• General Dental Clinical Skills
• Health Promotion and Population Studies
• Human Health and Disease
• Oral Development and Anatomy
• Pharmacology
• Professional Awareness
• Prosthetics Skills and knowledge

First day of assessment - Monday 9 December 2024

Documents check

At the start of the day we’ll check your documents to verify your identity before you start the exam. You will need to bring the following documents with you:

• Your current passport
• Evidence of your COVID vaccination status

Written exam

• The written exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions (MCQ) sampled from the topics listed above. The exam will take two hours.
• You will sit this exam in a computer lab using a University computer and the software Maxinity. We will contact you in the weeks prior to the exam to show you the software so you can get familiar with this before the exam.
• Due to multiple groups sitting the exam, there may be a need to stay and quarantine until the next group has entered the examination room.

Tour of the University

• Later during the day, you will have the option to take a tour of the School’s facilities and have a look around the University campus. There will also be an opportunity to view a range of student accommodation.

Second day of assessment - Wednesday 11 December 2024

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

The OSCE is a practical exam where you will be asked to carry out some of the dental/clinical tasks that a dental student starting Year 4 of the BDS programme will be expected to master.

Here is an overview of what to expect during the exam:

• You should hand in your bag, mobile phones etc. before the start of the exam. Any student found to be cheating will fail the exam.
• The OSCE will consist of eight short stations plus two rest stations of five minutes each. There will also be two minutes of reading time (you’ll have a paper and pen. We suggest you use this time to make notes).
• There will be two long stations (30 minutes each) plus five minutes reading time. During the reading time you can begin selecting equipment.
• Copies of the questions, radiographs, patient records etc. will be available at the stations.
• The marks you are awarded at each station will be added together. So if you ‘fail’ a station you won’t necessarily fail the entire exam.
• There will be ‘clinical alerts’ if you do something on a station that is potentially dangerous. The marking guide is structured so that you will receive a much lower mark for that station, but there are no ‘killer stations’ which would lead to you failing the entire exam.
• There is water available at each of the rest stations. These will allow you to relax and have a rest for seven minutes.
• Follow the instructions from the audio timers. They will tell you when to start reading, when to start each station, when you have one minute remaining, and when to stop.
• Try and limit any comfort breaks to the rest stations. Otherwise you will lose time.
• There will be a nurse in one of the long stations. They are there to work with you, but they will only do what you request and will not ‘help’ you.
• Staff will be in the corridors to direct you to the next station. Ask them if you are unsure or cannot see the arrows.
• There are two ‘actor stations’. Your time at these stations will be video recorded. The actors may ask you questions and provide answers to your questions. Listen carefully and interact. These tasks will be used to assess your communication skills as well as your dental knowledge.
• When you change from long stations to short stations (and vice versa) there will be staff on hand to direct you.
• There may be a short quarantine at the end until the next group arrive.

Both assessments are standard set to the level of a UK BDS dental student who has just completed Year 3 of their course.

You must attach supporting medical evidence if you have a condition that requires adjustment(s) during the assessments. This can be either a medical certificate or proof of disability assessment allowing for adjustments.

Candidates who arrive late will not be admitted to the exam.

Any of the following examples of misconduct will result in the candidate failing the entry assessments:

• introduction of unauthorised material into the exam room, for example: notes, textbooks or study guides, personal organisers, calculators, dictionaries, personal stereos, concealed mobile phones or other similar electronic devices;
• obtaining, receiving, exchanging or passing on information which could be exam-related (or the attempt to) during the exam by means of talking, written papers/notes, by telephone or by recording oral exams;
• attempting to solicit information about the exam from candidates from an earlier time slot;
• copying from another candidate;
• collusion;
• disruptive behaviour in the exam room (including using offensive language);
• failing to abide by the conditions of supervision designed to maintain the security of the exams;
• failing to abide by the instructions or advice of an examiner, academic lead or administrator in relation to the exam rules and regulations;
• impersonation: pretending to be someone else, arranging for a third party to take the candidate’s place in an exam;
• the inclusion of inappropriate, offensive or obscene material in answers;
• misuse of exam material, e.g. by passing or attempting to pass such material to a third party after the exam;
• bribing or attempting to bribe an exam official;
• the alteration of any results document;
• behaving in such a way as to undermine the integrity of the exam.
• contacting or attempting to contact internal or external examiners before or after the exam for any reason.
• making spurious complaints that are a deliberate attempt to unfairly gain advantage.

Mobile telephones

It is accepted that for reasons of personal safety, including emergency contact with friends and family, candidates cannot be forced to leave mobile telephones behind when attending on the day of the exam. However, we reserve the right to ask candidates to switch off their telephones and place them in a clear plastic bag and ensure that this is on display at all times, or to leave the telephone in designated secure storage at the place of the exam and for the duration of the exam only. Candidates found with concealed mobile telephones or other electronic devices during the exam will fail the exam.

Illness

Candidates who are unwell should speak immediately with the UCLan contact team. They will write a detailed note of all the information given to them and send this to the exams team as soon as possible.

All successful applicants will need to undergo Occupational Health Screening (including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C and HIV) prior to admissions and to undergo an Enhanced DBS check prior to enrolment.

Knowledge and understanding are achieved by a student-centred learning approach. Supplemented by formal lectures, case-based discussions, clinical supervision and practice. Alongside blended learning, case presentations and peer discussions. The practical or clinical aspect of the learning is delivered via formal lectures, simulator courses, case-based discussion, clinical supervision and practice and clinical training facility-based learning.

You'll be encouraged to complete a Personal Development Portfolio. This will help you to develop your thinking on personal and academic development. Case studies will be used to encourage you to think logically about evidence-based dentistry. Problem-solving forms a significant part of the clinical skills modules. And thinking skills gained in the earlier modules will be utilised at a higher level in the Integrated Clinical Care module.

Experience in clinical placements will encourage you to consider the most suitable career pathway after graduation. Thinking skills will be assessed in formal examinations by interpretation-type questions. Personal Development Plans and Reflective Portfolios will also be reviewed.

There will be a mixture of formative and summative assessments. Focused around case-based discussions, case presentations, clinical performance and written assignments. Extended matched items and best fit multiple-choice questions, DOPs, OSCEs and portfolio assessment.

Your clinical performance will be assessed in Enhanced Training Practices. Course assessments, DOPs, OSCEs, case presentations and clinical portfolio assessment will take place on campus.

We work with {my}dentist, the UK’s leading provider of dental services, to deliver this course. You may be eligible to apply for financial support from {my}dentist. Upon successful graduation, you will be able to apply for an associate contract at one of {my}dentist’s 600 dental practices nationwide. So you can complete Performer List Validation by Experience under a validation supervisor. During this period of PLVE, you'll be able to provide dental services on a private basis as well as on the NHS whilst having a supervisor in practice. 

There are a wide range of exciting careers available for qualified dentists in the UK. Most dentists work in general dental practice at NHS hospitals or in community dental services. You might also work for national and global health charities, private hospitals, teaching and education providers, the armed forces, universities, and clinical research organisations.

Once you have qualified as a GDC registered dentist and gained at least two years of clinical experience treating patients in the UK, you will be eligible to apply for our wide range of postgraduate dentistry courses. Further study will enable you to become a specialist in a particular area of dentistry and might provide opportunity for a higher salary due to your increased skillset.