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Sorry to revive a bit of an old thread. How many dentists did you have to ask before you got offered work experience?
Reply 41
Original post by GoldGhost
Sorry to revive a bit of an old thread. How many dentists did you have to ask before you got offered work experience?


I asked about 26 in my area and further out before I got a placement.
Just keep at it you'll get a place in the end


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Original post by ImAz
I asked about 26 in my area and further out before I got a placement.
Just keep at it you'll get a place in the end


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Awesome thanks, did you send a letter / e-mail / phone or speak face-to-face?
Reply 43
Face to face with the majority, look smart, smile and have a CV at hand with your contact details at the top to show them you're serious.
Original post by ImAz
Face to face with the majority, look smart, smile and have a CV at hand with your contact details at the top to show them you're serious.


Who do you hand it too, my CV is not very impressive as I have only volunteered at a bird sanctuary and helped young children with their SATs exams.
Reply 45
Original post by GoldGhost
Who do you hand it too, my CV is not very impressive as I have only volunteered at a bird sanctuary and helped young children with their SATs exams.


I just handed it to the receptionists as most of them asked for one :smile:


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Original post by GoldGhost
Who do you hand it too, my CV is not very impressive as I have only volunteered at a bird sanctuary and helped young children with their SATs exams.

Don't worry - Most A level students won't have an extensive CV but it does have all your details so they can contact you. You could append a friendly letter saying why you are passionate about dentistry and why you want work experience - this may help your application stand out! Alternatively you could put a brief personal statement at the beginning of your CV - something along the lines of "I am a hard working A level student seeking work experience in a dentistry setting. I am exploring dentistry as a career and think I would be well suited to the Profession as I enjoy working with my hands and have a keen interest in anatomy. I am a friendly people person and would value an opportunity to work shadow a dentist " (sorry wording here not great, but hope you get my drift.)
Original post by lois griffin
Don't worry - Most A level students won't have an extensive CV but it does have all your details so they can contact you. You could append a friendly letter saying why you are passionate about dentistry and why you want work experience - this may help your application stand out! Alternatively you could put a brief personal statement at the beginning of your CV - something along the lines of "I am a hard working A level student seeking work experience in a dentistry setting. I am exploring dentistry as a career and think I would be well suited to the Profession as I enjoy working with my hands and have a keen interest in anatomy. I am a friendly people person and would value an opportunity to work shadow a dentist " (sorry wording here not great, but hope you get my drift.)


Thanks, I'm on my mums laptop so I don't have the letter with me to copy and paste. However, I detailed work experience in the past and said that although the previous work experience has helped me, it is not very relevant to my career path. Then I mentioned it would be nice to be a working environment so I actually see what it was lik. Then gave all my contact details. See the thing is, I am only in year 11 so I still have next year as well I suppose. Thankyou for the help by the way, as of today I have sent off 40 letters
Hi Everyone,
Im in year 10 and hoping to study dentistry. I've considered possibly in my year 11 summer after I sit my GCSE'S to go on a 3 week placement (arranged by family members) in Africa to observe dental hygiene in a surgery there and helping out in a practice there. And then the following year, after I finish my first year of sixth form to then stay in the uk and observe dental health in the uk, by observing dental surgeries, and various other dental proceedures. My plan was then to compare the two visits and contrast the two.
My problem is would this put me at an advantage or disadvantage ? And if this is a bad idea, then what is the best possible way of gaining experience for a dentistry degree?
Original post by estelle717
Hi Everyone,
Im in year 10 and hoping to study dentistry. I've considered possibly in my year 11 summer after I sit my GCSE'S to go on a 3 week placement (arranged by family members) in Africa to observe dental hygiene in a surgery there and helping out in a practice there. And then the following year, after I finish my first year of sixth form to then stay in the uk and observe dental health in the uk, by observing dental surgeries, and various other dental proceedures. My plan was then to compare the two visits and contrast the two.
My problem is would this put me at an advantage or disadvantage ? And if this is a bad idea, then what is the best possible way of gaining experience for a dentistry degree?

The overseas placement is a fab opportunity which I would encourage you to take as it would be a good experience.
Bear in mind though that the primary purpose of work experience is to find out whether you are well suited to dentistry and whether it is a career that you would enjoy. This is something you should find out as soon as you can, so that if you feel dentistry is not for you, you will have time to explore other courses. My advice is to try and get a short placement observing a dentist in the UK (given this is where you will probably work) - get a balanced perspective too, find out about the bad points as well as the good points of the career.
Most applicants complete work experience in Year 11 and Year 12.
You may have come across the link below, which tells you what work experience you should aim for. It sounds like you have contacts within the profession which is good news for you, because if you don't have contacts it can be very difficult to secure work experience placements.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Dentistry_Work_Experience
Reply 50
Hi, so I have a placement starting in a couple days and was wondering whether anyone has any general advice? I'm more interested in pursuing medicine than dentistry so I don't know much about dentistry so I will be reading up on the basics but is not having much knowledge an issue?
Reply 51
Original post by lois griffin
The overseas placement is a fab opportunity which I would encourage you to take as it would be a good experience.
Bear in mind though that the primary purpose of work experience is to find out whether you are well suited to dentistry and whether it is a career that you would enjoy. This is something you should find out as soon as you can, so that if you feel dentistry is not for you, you will have time to explore other courses. My advice is to try and get a short placement observing a dentist in the UK (given this is where you will probably work) - get a balanced perspective too, find out about the bad points as well as the good points of the career.
Most applicants complete work experience in Year 11 and Year 12.
You may have come across the link below, which tells you what work experience you should aim for. It sounds like you have contacts within the profession which is good news for you, because if you don't have contacts it can be very difficult to secure work experience placements.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Dentistry_Work_Experience


Hi, as well as having one week's work experience in the UK, I spent a few days of my holiday in Cairo observing at a dental clinic there. However one thing I forgot to do was to get a written reference or phone number for the manager, so all I have is my notepad with my observations and a rota which I was using for that week. I have searched on the internet but cannot find contact details for the clinic online, will admission tutors still appreciate this work placement as I can still show what I learnt from it?
If anyone can suggest any places for dentistry experience (where you might have done it is ideal) in London or Essex, please message me! Thanks. For 2017 entry. :smile:
Original post by orange.bananna
Recently a lot of threads have been started about work experience for Dentistry. In order to avoid repetitive threads being created, I’m going to attempt to answer some of the common questions below.

Also have a look at the Dentistry Work Experience wiki page which has some information which you might find useful!

If your question still hasn’t been answered, please post in THIS thread and someone will try and answer you.

1. How do I get work experience?
This is one of the most common questions. The first place I suggest you start is by speaking to your own dentist, see if you can observe them. If they say you can’t, ask them if they know of any dental practices in the area that allow work experience.
Still not got anything? Print off your CV and take it to the dental practices in your area (be prepared, you may have to travel quite away to secure work experience), go in and ask to speak to the practice manager. By going into the practices you’re more likely to be successful than just sending e-mails/letters.
Still struggling to get work experience? Speak to teachers/career advisors in school and see if your school can put you in contact with any dentists.

If you live near a dental hospital, see if you can get work experience there. Generally you apply for a set placement time. Have a look at the university websites for the specific dental schools as they will give you more information.
Don’t forget you can also do work experience in other settings not just GDP, there are orthodontists, hospitals, dental labs etc....

2. How much is enough work experience?
There is no such thing as enough really. Do as much as you can. Most dental schools want a minimum of 2 weeks in an NHS GDP. Remember quality is more important than quantity, it’s much better if you can reflect and say what you’ve learnt during a 1 week placement at one practice than if you’ve sat for months and not learnt anything! However if you do have a long term work experience placement be sure to mention how long you've done it for as it shows commitment.

3. Questions to ask during work experience?
This really is up to you, it depends what you’re interested in and what you want to find out about. You could ask about some of the treatments the dentist is carrying out.
If the patient has been given different options to choose from, after the patient has gone you could ask more information about some of the alternatives. Remember though dental schools don’t expect you to know everything otherwise they wouldn’t need to teach you, so don’t worry about all the technical details!

Other types of questions could relate to the patient/dentist relationship. You may also want to find out more about the dentist you’re observing experiences at university, applying, the course etc.

If you can’t think of a question to ask don’t worry. Try to work out what you want to gain from the work experience and see what questions you can come up with! Before you start work experience try and write a list of questions you'd like to ask!

4. When’s the best time to ask questions?
Most dentists will tell you when you start work experience what their preference is to you asking questions, whether that’s during the treatment, or after the patient has left. If you’re unsure whether it’s suitable to ask your question during a patient’s treatment, wait until the patients left.

Don’t forget the dental nurses are also happy to answer any questions you have. You could ask them what they like about the job, how important teamwork is etc...

5. Should I take notes during work experience?
It's completely up to you whether you take notes while observing. You could just have a notepad at home that you jot down a few ideas each night about what you've seen etc. That way when it comes to writing your personal statement/preparing for interview you've got something to look over to help you prepare.


This is not an exhaustive list of questions and if any other common questions come up below, I'll add them to this list. Hope this helps a bit and avoids repetitive threads :smile:


Hi, I was just wondering,

I have applied to a few dental hospitals but was thinking, if I fo get work experience in a particular dental hospital, which are generally attached to a particular dental uni, could it possibly count against me -i.e.would some unis feel I am showing prefernce to that uni/ pls advise
Reply 54
Original post by kickass112
Hi, I was just wondering,

I have applied to a few dental hospitals but was thinking, if I fo get work experience in a particular dental hospital, which are generally attached to a particular dental uni, could it possibly count against me -i.e.would some unis feel I am showing prefernce to that uni/ pls advise


People sometimes do courses at different universities, so I don't think it would have a negative impact.
I did 4 days at the Dental Hospital which is attached to my local university - but it shouldn't hinder my chances.
Original post by Jitesh
People sometimes do courses at different universities, so I don't think it would have a negative impact.
I did 4 days at the Dental Hospital which is attached to my local university - but it shouldn't hinder my chances.


Hi Jitesh,

Thanks for your reply -v much appreciated.
Do you mind me asking-have you already applied for dentistry-(I am YR 12 and hope to apply this year0
I just want to be v careful as Dentistry is v competitive
Reply 56
Original post by kickass112
Hi Jitesh,

Thanks for your reply -v much appreciated.
Do you mind me asking-have you already applied for dentistry-(I am YR 12 and hope to apply this year0
I just want to be v careful as Dentistry is v competitive


I'm actually year 11 - so I'll be applying next year for 2017 entry!
Therefore, I'm not that much help... sorry :frown:
Reply 57
Hi, I was just wondering whether one week of work experience at a dental clinic is enough? I had 2 weeks work experience planned but it was cancelled by the clinic last minute so I've had to search for 2 weeks at short notice, but have only managed to get one week. Should I still apply for uni with only one week of work experience? For the past year I've also helped out in a primary school and done some charity work if that helps. I'm in Yr 12 so I don't have much time until I send off my application.
(edited 8 years ago)
hello there!

I'm a student from Singapore and will be applying via UCAS and the problem is that I only have 3 days of work experience and I dont think ill have time to get 2 weeks of work experience before UCAS applications. So i was wondering if as long as i get the 2 weeks of experience done before interviews, it will be ok?
Applying for dentistry at QMUL, King's, Dundee and Queen's Belfast.
GCSES 1A*, 4As, 5Bs
AS AABB (RS, Chemistry, Maths, Biology)
A2 predictions A*AA (RS, Chemistry, Maths)
UKCAT today.
EPQ on lung cancer, Grade A
Volunteering at Centre of the Cell, 2 weeks work exp at a care home, work exp at The royal london hospital in the anaesthetic dept. in November plus dental shadowing.

Any suggestions/comments?

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