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dental hygienist to dentistry

if I was to complete a dental hygienist degree of 3 years and get a 2:1 , could I apply for dentistry?
I guess but it depends on the university. Check the websites for graduates!!
Original post by Sximaaaa
if I was to complete a dental hygienist degree of 3 years and get a 2:1 , could I apply for dentistry?

I presume you actually mean a 3 year degree (BSc) in Dental Therapy/Dental Hygiene & Therapy/Oral Health Science (I believe they're all equivalent). Basically becoming a dental therapist, not just hygienist.

The general wisdom seems to be that such applicants are looked down upon compared to applicants with a more "traditional" life science degree. I believe part of that is because dental therapy is for wannabe therapists not wannabe dentists, partly because the dental therapy degree doesn't cover as much fundamental biomedical science as most other degrees and partly because it's a bit less "academic"and less research-orientated, for example, it won't involve a large dissertation (unlike most life science degrees) and I believe (although I'm not totally sure) much like a Dentistry degree (BDS), the Dental Therapy degree is not "graded" on the same scale as a traditional BSc - i.e. you do not get a 2:1 or a first. If it's like the BDS, then the top grade is actually just BSc with Honours (as opposed to just BSc) although it might be different.

As the poster above said, you should look at what each of the universities say and if there's any doubt you should ask the relevant admissions tutor. For example here's the academic entry requirements for graduate entry dentistry at Aberdeen (I've put the bit relating to dental therapy in bold):

"Applicants must hold a good honours degree (1st or 2:1) in a medical science or health related degree from a UK university.

The Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree is a five year programme in the UK. There is both a standard entry pathway and a graduate entry pathway. Applicants to the graduate entry pathway must demonstrate that their prior formal qualifications have covered relevant biomedical subjects. This will allow for direct entry into year 2.

Examples of acceptable degrees include:

Anatomy
Biomedical Science
Diagnostic Radiography
Forensic Anthropology
Genetics
Human Biology
Medicine
Microbiology
Pharmacy
Physiology
Physiotherapy
Veterinary Medicine

If you are in doubt about the acceptability of your degree please contact the Dental Admissions Office ([email protected]) for advice. Please include details on the courses and content of your degree.

For BSc Oral Health Sciences students we would look for evidence of academic excellence in their programme of study. Applicants would need to be able to demonstrate that they have achieved marks that would be at least equivalent level to an upper second/first class performance on their degree programme. This could include details of individual modules and the level of attainment achieved.

Please note: that due to the large number of graduate applicants with 2:1 Honours degrees or better, an additional qualification such as an MSc will not improve the chances of acceptance for those with 2:2 Honours degrees."


As such, it would probably be easier to get a 2:1 or above in a life/medical science degree (than to demonstrate "academic excellence" in dental therapy) and it might well also give you a better chance of getting into Dentistry (depending on how each uni looks at dental therapy applicants).

Having said that, it could still be a good route but you'll need to find out from the universities yourself.
(edited 4 years ago)

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