Dentistry - BDS

Queen Mary University of London

This five-year degree is designed to help you build the skills you will need as a dental professional. The Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London follows a new and innovative curriculum: you will study care of the mouth, including prevention and treatment of dental diseases, screening for oral cancers, managing trauma, orthodontics and oral surgery. Our location in east London means you will serve a population of great diversity and encounter a wide range of disease, including some of the more unusual oral cancers. We encourage you to take a holistic approach to dentistry by studying the human sciences along with your core dentistry modules – including sociology and psychology – to examine patients’ attitude to oral healthcare and the dental profession. Most graduates go on to work as Dental Foundation Trainees, then either remain in the NHS or move into the private sector. Dentists can work in general practice in the community or in the armed forces, within the UK or overseas. A small number defer starting work as a dentist to pursue a specialist postgraduate degree. There are numerous specialist options including oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, children’s dentistry and prosthodontics (implants and false teeth). You could specialise in periodontology (gum disease) or restorative dentistry (fillings, crowns and bridges), or become a lecturer and researcher in any of these areas. Oral pathology – diagnosing and treating oral diseases – is another possible career path.