Bachelor of Dental Surgery Cardiff University, UK

Dentists work with patients and the general public to prevent and treat dental and oral disease, correcting dental irregularities and treating dental and facial injuries. Dentists lead the dental team and have the skills and confidence to diagnose and treat problems and provide good advice to patients. They have high levels of manual dexterity to carry out intricate surgical and dental procedures and have excellent knowledge of human anatomy and oral diseases, as well as first-class clinical skills.

Our programme offers an exciting blend of teaching so you will learn the scientific and pathological processes underlying oral and dental disease at the same time as you acquire the clinical and practical skills to manage patients appropriately.

You will be taught by a dedicated team of dental, therapy and hygiene staff with further interactions under the supervision and support from consultants and primary care supervisors. Many are internationally renowned in their areas of expertise, as reflected in the School’s recent performance in the Research Excellence Framework, ranking first in the UK in its Unit of Assessment. This means that you know you are being taught essential skills that will directly benefit you when you are working in practice.

You will be studying at the University Dental Hospital based at The University Hospital of Wales which is the largest teaching hospital in the country. Because we are based in a working hospital you are instantly surrounded by both public, professionals and researchers. 100,000 patient contacts per year – 75% of them directly related to clinical training of our students.

State-of-the-art dental clinics are available throughout our School which facilitate chair-side teaching in a professional and caring environment. Our clinical laboratories feature the latest CAD-CAM technology and three-dimensional printing facilities for intra-oral prostheses. You will also benefit from a £2.2M refurbishment of our pre-clinical (phantom head) teaching facilities.

On qualification, clinicians who register with the General Dental Council and are able to work in various areas of the dental sector; general dental care, community dental care, dental public health, hospital dental care? and within the armed forces. Every dentist needs to undergo a period of foundation training whatever branch of dentistry you initially take up.