The Student Room Group

Dental Work Experience

hey,

I am trying to look for dentist work experience, as I am in year 12 right now, doing my a levels. I have emailed dental surgeries and even hospitals, but haven't received anything back. Does anyone know how I can get dental work experience and even optometry work experience?
Reply 1
It's pretty hard to get dental work experience. I think I asked around at every dentist in my area and only one got back for 2 weeks of experience.

I would advise you to either ring or go in.

Dental schools know that it's difficult to find work experience so they're not expecting 8 weeks. They'd prefer you to do 2 weeks and have learnt a lot from it and to talk about it in your interview.
Original post by Raja12
hey,

I am trying to look for dentist work experience, as I am in year 12 right now, doing my a levels. I have emailed dental surgeries and even hospitals, but haven't received anything back. Does anyone know how I can get dental work experience and even optometry work experience?

I would also recommend face to face, speak at your local dentist place of practice and see if they can arrange anything or simply give them you details. My friend had gained 2-3 weeks of experience from going to different practices and found that beneficial though it is hard to gain more than this amount of work experience.
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by -Quava-
It's pretty hard to get dental work experience. I think I asked around at every dentist in my area and only one got back for 2 weeks of experience.

I would advise you to either ring or go in.

Dental schools know that it's difficult to find work experience so they're not expecting 8 weeks. They'd prefer you to do 2 weeks and have learnt a lot from it and to talk about it in your interview.

Thanks for your reply. I am probably going to ring them, and I have emailed some more dental practices and hospitals. I want to get dental experience, as I have average GCSEs and want to have something which will make me stand out. is there anything else I can do, which will make me stand out more? I am going to get guitar lessons, to show dexterity. Thanks
Reply 4
Original post by withered.rose
I would also recommend face to face, speak at your local dentist place of practice and see if they can arrange anything or simply give them you details. My friend had gained 2-3 weeks of experience from going to different practices and found that beneficial though it is hard to gain more than this amount of work experience.

thanks for your reply. I have emailed few more dentist practices and hospitals. Hopefully, one of them gets back to me or else I will ring up different places. Is there anything else I can do to make my application stand out more, when applying to dentistry or optometry.
Reply 5
Original post by Raja12
Thanks for your reply. I am probably going to ring them, and I have emailed some more dental practices and hospitals. I want to get dental experience, as I have average GCSEs and want to have something which will make me stand out. is there anything else I can do, which will make me stand out more? I am going to get guitar lessons, to show dexterity. Thanks

Volunteering in a care home, charity shop, homeless shelter, those institutes where they teach refugees English, primary schools for children with special needs, hospital cafes ect?
Guitar lessons sounds good but in case they chuck you a guitar in your interview and expect you to play something make sure you know how to actually play it.
One boy said he could juggle, so when he went in to the interview the interviewer asked him to juggle (liverpool uni) and he did so and the interviewer said he then did his interview (knowing he was going to get a place anyway) - few years back.
Maybe if you don't get a place then consider taking a gap year and apply during your gap year having worked on your application in that time and with your achieved grades.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Raja12
thanks for your reply. I have emailed few more dentist practices and hospitals. Hopefully, one of them gets back to me or else I will ring up different places. Is there anything else I can do to make my application stand out more, when applying to dentistry or optometry.

That’s no problem, well my friend also had additional work experience as they had a part time job in a shop, so as someone else had said you could also look at other types of experience as well as with a dentist, as it’s more about what you gained from it and the skills you improved. So communication skills, organisation skills, problem solving etc would be hugely required for dentistry. Good luck with your application

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