I study Dentistry - Ask me anything (AMA)

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Reply 60

username1567177

Original post by Kartace

Chemistry A
Welsh Baccalaureate A
Biology A*
Music A*
Business A (AS)

Would it be safe to say I don't have to pick maths as an a-level to go into dentistry?

Reply 61

username1567177

Original post by magneto96

If I didn't take biology A level, is there any university I can apply if I take out a gap year?
I'm currently studying chemistry, maths and psychology at A level

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To go into dentistry it's compulsory to have both biology and chemistry

Reply 62

uberteknik

Do you pick your nose or scratch your scrotum?

Reply 63

NainaK98

Original post by xGCSE_Studentx

To go into dentistry it's compulsory to have both biology and chemistry

Surely they could do a foundation course?

Reply 64

username1567177

Original post by NainaK98

Surely they could do a foundation course?

do unis offer that though? and i'm positive entry requirements say a full Biology qualification at A-level so for the full 2 years

Reply 65

NainaK98

Original post by xGCSE_Studentx

do unis offer that though? and i'm positive entry requirements say a full Biology qualification at A-level so for the full 2 years

take a look at these :smile:

:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/dental-surgery-with-a-preliminary-year-bds
http://www.dentistry.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/dentistry-bds-six-years/?pg=3

Reply 66

Kartace

Original post by qmzp

how competitive is dentistry in the Uk?

Hey there, It's very competitive to be honest. There are only about 13 dental schools and most accept around 80 student a year on average. There are always more applicants than places and a lot of people end up disappointed every year.

It's not uncommon for people to take a gap year before applying for a second time. When i applied to Barts it was about 16:1 for a place. Once you've gotten to the interview stage you're really close, most people get rejected even before interview. Because of the extreme competitiveness the universities ask for more and more qualifications and extra-curricular activities each year, it just help to thin down the applicant pool.

Reply 67

Kartace

Original post by NainaK98

I saw your other thread, you study at Bart's, right? What are the outreach clinics like? That was one of the main reasons I applied to QMUL. :smile:

Hey, that's right I am at Barts, the outreach clinics are really good. We have three of them:

Barkantine (near canary wharf)
Sir Ludwig Guttmann centre (Olympic village)
Southend (southend on sea)

Barkantine is for 3rd years all year once a fortnight and 4th years up til November.once a fortnight - you get a mixture of primary care dentistry here with a combination of paeds and adult. The treatment is mostly perio and fillings etc. Occasionally you get some simple oral surgery/removable pros work and rarely you get endo. (you see 2 patients a day)

The Guttmann Centre is for 3rd and 4th years once a week and was opened the start of this year. Here we have separate adult and paeds clinics and occasionally we also have dedicated screening clinics for new patients. The treatment here is dependent upon your year of study but varies from perio and fillings up to more complex fixed and removable pros and endo. (You see two to four patients a day)

Southend is for 4th and 5th years once a week and you see around 4 patients a day. The work carried out here is obviously more complex than at the other centres and you are expected to work much more quickly now that you are senior students.

The rest of our clinical time is spent in The Royal London hospital in Whitechapel.

NB: In second year we also spend some time at Newham General hospital as part of our medical training - here we spend time on A&E and shadow consultant clinics etc.

Reply 68

Kartace

Original post by T.Stroodle

If you were to go down the max fax route, how old would you be compared to if you otherwise specialised in restorative when you fully qualify?

Probably not significantly older tbh...definitely within 5 years or so. Most medical consultants are appointed by their mid 30s. Dentistry is a bit different because often people don't choose to specialise straight away, in fact there is a rule for many specialties that you need to spend at least 3 years in general practice first which i think i wise.

Most specialist programs for dentistry are 3 years long - so lets say 18 + 5 years = 23 + 1 year for DF1 and 3 years in practice = 27 + 3 years specialty training = 30

http://careers.bmj.com/article-images/cf2801cr.f5_default.gif
http://www.dentalcareerguide.co.uk/files/8113/4848/9417/flow4.jpg

Those two links provide a bit more info about the training pathways but sufficed to say there is more than one way to skin a cat, not everyone takes the most direct route and you can specialise in dentistry in hospital or in practice. I think a lot of people just sortof feel their way along and end up somewhere they enjoy (hopefully!)

Reply 69

A5ko

How many lions have you shot?

Reply 70

Kartace

Original post by captain_falcon

Hello Kartace

so what is the coolest thing of studying dentistry? is barts a cool place? i hope to be able to study there one day .sorry for the weird questions... :P

I think the coolest thing for me is that even as a dental student you have a tremendous privilege in that you are allowed to carry out surgical procedures and have a potentially huge impact on someones life from your 2/3rd year of study. It's also quite daunting and a big responsibility, it certainly means that you have to grow up and become professional pretty damn quick. I love nothing more than waking up and going to clinic where i can hone my craft, talk to people and help them. I can't think of anything more boring than just writing essays all day or even worse being sat in an office or something gruesome like that!

I think I study the best course there is - many would argue and everyone has something different that makes them tick.

As for Barts i think it's a great place to study and I'd recommend it to anyone. The years are quite small so it's easy to know everyones name, after spending a few years in the hospital you get to know all the tutors and nurses and it's really just like one big family. London is expensive but living and working here is an experience I'll never forget!

Reply 71

Jitesh

How many Indians are your year?

Reply 72

Kartace

Original post by A5ko

How many lions have you shot?

Several...

Reply 73

Kartace

Original post by Jitesh

How many Indians are your year?

Barts has a really mixed student population but Asians are definitely in the majority which makes sense given the demographic of London and especially Tower Hamlets etc.

I think probably around 70-80% of the year are ethnically indian/pakistani/sri lankan

Reply 74

Kartace

Original post by xGCSE_Studentx

Would it be safe to say I don't have to pick maths as an a-level to go into dentistry?

Hey there, the answer is that categorically no you don't need Maths A level, I didn't take it and I know plenty of successful applicant that didn't

Reply 75

Jitesh

Original post by Kartace

What was it like in the first year sticking with mostly medics/dentists? Did it limit your freshers' experience? Are you living with medics/dentists only now?

Haha sorry about all those questions

Reply 76

Kartace

Original post by NainaK98

take a look at these :smile:

:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/dental-surgery-with-a-preliminary-year-bds
http://www.dentistry.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/dentistry-bds-six-years/?pg=3

Hey there, as far as I'm aware the foundation programs are generally for those student who studied no lab-based science subject at all rather than those who just forgot to study one of the requirements.

Reply 77

username1567177

Original post by Kartace

Hey there, the answer is that categorically no you don't need Maths A level, I didn't take it and I know plenty of successful applicant that didn't

Thanks for the reply, do you think it will affect my chances of getting into dentistry at uni if i don't pick it, i don't want to take any chances but then if i don't pick it i'm really not sure what else i could. I know i'm taking biology, chemistry and psychology - any suggestions? :smile:

Reply 78

Kartace

Original post by Jitesh

What was it like in the first year sticking with mostly medics/dentists? Did it limit your freshers' experience? Are you living with medics/dentists only now?

Haha sorry about all those questions

No worries, It was interesting and i think it's definitely a different experience to other universities - no necessarily in a bad way though. We still had lots of fun and did all the sorts of things that normal freshers do, I don't feel like it limited my experience at all. Also in first and second year I mixed a fair bit with students from QM and I still have a fair amount of contact with them now through the student ambassador that i work for. The thing is because I'm now a fourth year a lot of my friends from QMUL graduated last year.

In 1st year I lived with Medics/Dentists, 2nd year i lived with just medics, 3rd and 4th year I lived with medics/dentists. To be honest it just work easier and makes more sense. Medics and Dentists understand eachother...our courses are very different to other degrees and can be very demanding sometimes, so it's nice to have housemates who can appreciate that, especially around exam time. We have some 3rd year QM students in the flat below us and they lead a very different life to us, they're only in uni1/2 days a week and have a lot more time for parties etc. In contrast i feel sometimes more like a working adult, I'm in 4/5 days a week 9-5.

Reply 79

Kartace

Original post by xGCSE_Studentx

Absolutely not, they literally don't care if you take maths or music or art. As long as you have the entry requirements. Pick something else that you're good at and are likely to succeed in. Remember you only need 3 a levels.