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Have further questions? How to apply | Entry requirements
Become an independent dental professional at a top school with world-class facilities and access to London’s diverse population.
The Oral Health BSc qualifies you to become a registered dental therapist or hygienist, working independently within dental teams to provide preventative and clinical treatments.
You’ll study at Queen Mary University of London's Institute of Dentistry, alongside trainee dentists. Through laboratory, clinical and classroom teaching, you’ll develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to play an important role within an oral health care team. We have a long tradition of training dental therapists and hygienists, starting in 1983 with the Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy, which has now become the BSc Oral Health degree.
We are a small dental school, providing exceptional pastoral support throughout the programme and as you move into employment. Our lecturers have a national profile, putting you at the forefront of dental education and excellent patient care. And our unique location between the City of London and Docklands means you’ll meet patients from all cultures and social backgrounds.
You’ll put what you learn into practice at our outreach centres, helping us to provide vital dental care for local communities.
Interview dates for 2024 entry will be 20 and 27 March 2024.
On completing the programme, you’ll be able to register with the General Dental Council as a dental therapist and as a dental hygienist.
Our undergraduate dental curriculum incorporates the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Safe Practitioner framework of behaviours and outcomes for dental professional education which is effective from 2025. The dental curriculum has been reviewed and co-created with students with the aim of ‘Opening the doors of opportunity to serve our patients by producing outstanding Dentists, Therapists and Dental Care professionals of the future’. The curriculum embodies what is expected by the GDC with the domains listed below running through each year of the course: • Clinical knowledge and skills. • Interpersonal skills. • Professionalism. • Self management. Throughout the course you will be supported and guided so that you achieve your potential and patients will be at the centre of your teaching and learning. A breakdown of what is delivered in each year is provided below:
Fundamentals of clinical practice
We will introduce you to basic biological principles and help you to develop the study skills you will need throughout the programme and your professional career.
You will cover:
• Oral biology and the normal biological structure and function of cells.• The main organs and body systems. • The effects of illness on people and their families. • Development of clinical skills using haptics, clinical skills laboratories and the dental clinics. This increases the exposure of students to clinical dentistry in the first year.• Critical thinking.• Dental materials and their application.• The impact of environmental and social factors on health.• The impact of systemic health and medication on oral health.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Developing clinical skills
You will apply and integrate the knowledge gained in the first year to body systems in both health and disease, with topic areas geared towards the requirements of a dental practitioner.
Substantial portions of your time will be spent with patients, coupled with complementary educational activities, including seminars, clinical skills laboratory work, tutorials, e- learning projects and library activity.
• Abnormalities and diseases of the mouth and how to care effectively for these patients.• Oral biology, including the study of normal structures and functions of the adjacent tissues.• Specialist areas such as adult and child restorative dentistry.
You will also work in our outreach centres, devising strategies for prevention and treatment. You will receive teaching at The Royal London Dental Institute, as well as rotating around our three outreach dental clinics. This will provide you with an excellent opportunity to serve the local community, treat and improve the oral health of patients whilst developing the skills required to become an excellent practitioner.
Preparation for practice
You will apply and consolidate your knowledge and skills in preparation for professional dental practice. You will be exposed to a greater range of cases, including hospital-based treatments. Teaching is delivered through symposia, small group teaching, modules and wide clinical experience.
New digital scanning technology is embedded in the course. 3D images of a patient’s mouth will transform treatment planning and delivery of restorative dental care.
You will undertake:
• Clinical Practice - Child Oral Health.• Clinical Practice – Adult Restorative dentistry. • You will learn more advanced skills of a dental therapist such as emergency care (within your scope of practice), dental impressions and more extensive direct restorations.• A research project.
To prepare for graduation you will hear from graduates on their experiences applying for jobs and learn about the different career routes from dentists working in specialised fields.
You will need to travel around London to gain experience in our outreach clinics.
As an experienced dental nurse I felt confident and happy working in a dental environment and knew I was ready to take the next step into patient care. I applied to Queen Mary due to the location and having so much on my doorstep in London to balance the studying alongside the social side of life. The patient base at the university is diverse with various levels of treatment need- an ideal environment to learn how to become a Dental Hygiene Therapist, with supportive tutors helping at each step of the way. Now qualified I am working in several practices harnessing my education and utilising my full scope of practice.
We are dedicated to inter-professional learning ensuring optimal teamwork and collaborative learning between members of the dental team.
We have an excellent student: staff ratio, with an emphasis on small group learning, dialogue and feedback.
We utilise a wide range of teaching methods to deliver evidence-based learning which include:
• Lectures, seminars and symposia. • We have an excellent e-learning platform ‘QMplus’ which provides extensive material to maximise student learning. It contains information such as e-handbooks, lecture content, video demonstrations, reading lists and clinical aids for all years of the programme.• These resources will all be used to help you become an independent learner.• Outreach clinical teaching.• Practical sessions in our facilities which include clinical skills laboratories, Haptics, VR and IT labs which simulate the real clinical experience.• Training in interview techniques and special sessions devoted to communication between dentists, patients and members of the Dental Team.
Your progress will be assessed throughout the programme, using:
• Continuous assessment – including in-course examinations, independent projects and success in student-selected components.• Longitudinal assessments to evaluate the development of clinical competence, interpersonal skills and professionalism throughout all years.• Examinations – where you’ll demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes you’ve developed throughout the programme.• Formative assessments, which do not count towards your final marks but allow us to identify whether you need additional help with your studies.• Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) to assess your clinical and communication skills. You will be assessed on your ability to interact with clinical simulations, accomplish tasks and communicate or interact with both real and simulated patients.• Clinical case studies.• Feedback is provided to support student learning and the development of insight as well as facilitate reflective practice.
The Institute of Dentistry moved into the Alexandra Wing of The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel in 2014. Costing £78m, it is the first new dental school to be built in the UK for over 40 years, and houses state-of-the-art facilities – setting the bar for the most modern learning environment for dental education of any UK dental hospital.
Facilities to aid your studies include:
• The Blizard Building, which offers an inspiring environment for medical and dental students and staff – including open-plan research laboratories, a 400-seat lecture theatre, and a café.• Garrod building which has been recently opened (Jan 2024) following a £11.2 million refurbishment project by the university. This space is the new home for Barts and The London Students Association and Queen Mary’s Institute of Health Science Education. It also houses The Griff which is located at the heart of the Garrod Building serving delicious coffee, food and drinks.• Newly refurbished treatment areas.• Numerous library facilities – the Queen Mary Library at Mile End, large medical archives at The Royal London and Bart’s hospitals, and the University of London Library.• Kenworthy Road Dental Clinic, a £3.2 million investment, was completed in January 2024 and was opened by England’s Chief Dental Officer to provide free dental services in Hackney and nearby areas – a place where dental decay is prevalent and access to care is in high demand. The state-of-the-art facility provides a fit for purpose training environment with 20 dental chairs for undergraduate dental students and dental hygiene therapy students. This Outreach centre alone will provide around 7,000 appointments per year for the local community.
Find out more about the application process, including selection criteria and our interview process.
Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.
For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
To see a list of the international qualifications we accept, please see our full entry requirements.
Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.
You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.
We will take into account some of your personal circumstances and background when considering your application.
See our general undergraduate entry requirements.
Candidates MUST be aged 18 or over by the end of the second week of course enrolment (end of September).
UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.
Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.
Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.
Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.
We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.
Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:
Graduates can work as dental therapists or hygienists within general practice, either for the NHS or in the private sector. There are also roles in the community, overseas and in the armed forces, and in dental research and education.
Your BSc will also provide a strong basis for further study, including for applications to dentistry programmes.
Your clinical experience gained within the Dental Hospital, community dental services and our outreach centres will allow you to try out different roles and bring you into contact with potential employers.
The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:
Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.
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Opened in 1911, the Institute of Dentistry at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry has a long and proud record of internationally recognised excellence in oral and dental science. We are ranked first in London for dentistry in The Complete University Guide 2022, and third in the country for the quality of our research in the most recent national assessment (REF 2014).
We are a research-led institution, at the forefront of the provision of dental education and excellent patient care, with specialisms including oral cancer and public oral health. With around 70 students per year, we are a relatively small dental school with a strong sense of community. You’ll be taught by experts who are passionately engaged with their subject.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8157
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