The Student Room Group

Dentistry application help?

Hi :smile:

I'm currently taking my final AS exams (biology, chemistry and physics) I want to apply for dentistry next year (main choices are Leeds and Sheffield) and I obviously need to start planning my personal statement.

All I have at the moment is shadowing an oral & facial consultant at my local hospital for a week and was wondering what else I could do that would be worth including in my personal statement.

I understand it's early but I plan to do all my volunteer work and extra curricular activities over the summer instead of doing it all in my A2 year

So I was hoping for some advice on the best type of things I could do to include in my personal statement? :smile:

Thanks
Hi
I really don't want to alarm you (genuinely) especiall as you will be focussing on your AS levels at the moment but you say "I understand it's early......" but am afraid it's quite late for working towards your dental school application. Everything that you need to do should be done before A2's because it needs to be reflected in your personal statement.
Dental schools are looking for at least 2 weeks work experience (shadowing) - all want work experience in general practice. Some, like Leeds like to see lots of work experience preferably in a variety of settings.
ATM you need to concentrate on your exams but you urgently need to arrange more work experience - for many this is difficult to secure.
If you check out the various dentistry threads you will see that you need to show the attributes that admissions officers are looking for. e.g. volunteering to show commitment and empathy, extra curriculars to show team work, communication skills, manual dexterity, responsibility etc
It's not too late though all and perhaps you can use your current hobbies on your personal statment. However you need to check that you have ticked all the boxes and do what you can over the Summer to make sure you have a well rounded application.
Good Luck!
Original post by carrellii
Hi :smile:

I'm currently taking my final AS exams (biology, chemistry and physics) I want to apply for dentistry next year (main choices are Leeds and Sheffield) and I obviously need to start planning my personal statement.

All I have at the moment is shadowing an oral & facial consultant at my local hospital for a week and was wondering what else I could do that would be worth including in my personal statement.

I understand it's early but I plan to do all my volunteer work and extra curricular activities over the summer instead of doing it all in my A2 year

So I was hoping for some advice on the best type of things I could do to include in my personal statement? :smile:

Thanks
Reply 2
Thank you :smile: I plan to take the UKCAT exam this summer, my mam is a dental nurse and (thankfully) knows a lot of dentists so I'm sure I can get her help. As for volunteer work, there is a care home literally at the end of my street that I know take a lot of medical students that look for volunteer work. I have played the flute and clarinet for 5 years and have a grade 5 standard on each, so I'm sure I'll be ok for manual dexterity.

I just thought those really seem like the bare minimum, I was wondering if they look for any specific type of volunteer work or even multiple counts of it.
If you have the bare minimum why not think about getting a diverse range of dental placements like mentioned before. Have you looked up dental labs for example together with shadowing at different types of dental settings.

I think volunteer work in health care settings is preferable as you can translate it to the qualities you will require as a dentist. You will be directly engaging with patients and healthcare professionals as well. However, other types of volunteering will still be beneficial if you can manage to get them.

You can also start to read up on dental news and researching some recent issues. It will get you familiar with dental terminology and certain codes of conduct etc. that you will benefit from knowing when you get to the interview stage. You may also find an interesting area of Dentistry that you can talk about in your personal statement and it will generally help in making your personal statement personal.

The longer you can keep your placements and volunteering going, the better as it shows commitment and gives you a chance to build up your application in more ways.

You still have time but make the best use of it and it looks like you are trying to. I decided on Dentistry in June during the 2nd year of my degree and managed to get w/e placements sorted out for the application cycle last year. By this March I had 2 offers, so it is very possible and you definitely have time.
Reply 4
Ah that's great thank you :smile: I haven't always wanted to be a dentist, it was only March when I decided I really wanted to do it, so it's been trying to balance getting the results I need with building a good personal statement. I've been counting on this summer do get everything done.

Thanks for the advice :smile:

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