Dentistry

A degree based in the heart of London taking in the latest thinking in dental education: early clinical exposure, emphasis on ideas and facts, integrated teaching, choices. Taught by internationally renowned staff at an institution that combines teaching and research and can claim to be the best in the country.

• Largest dental school in the UK offering entry routes to studying dentistry and graduating over 160 dentists a year.
• Offers students state-of-the-art clinical and technical facilities.
• Evidence-based, research-led degree programme with a high level of clinical experience in all areas.
• Partnership with the world famous hospitals: Guy’s, King’s College and St Thomas’.
• Opportunity to choose to intercalate a BSc degree.

As a dental student at King's you would be taught by internationally renowned staff at an institution that combines teaching and research at some of the country's most famous teaching hospitals: Guy's, King's & St Thomas'.

The Dental Institute was awarded the highest scores in all six areas of assessment when the Quality Assurance Agency carried out a subject review in 2000, with an overall score of 24/24 being awarded. It received a 5-star rating for Research in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (the highest national rating). On the basis of these assessments, the Dental Institute can claim to be the best in the country.

The King's dental degree programme, in line with General Dental Council recommendations, incorporates the latest thinking in dental education, early clinical exposure, an emphasis on ideas as well as facts, integrated teaching of all subjects with an emphasis on a systems approach, and a dimension of choice of special subjects by the student. The integrated nature of the programme means that basic science teaching will relate to clinical practice and clinical teaching will be underpinned by scientific understanding. You will have contact with patients from the first few weeks of the first year and will be encouraged to assume an appropriate level of responsibility for patient care at an early stage. The programme emphasises whole patient care, which implies consideration of the patients total dental and medical needs, rather than just the provision of items of treatment. Most of the teaching is carried out in small groups where students and staff get to know each other well. The fact that the Dental Institute is the largest in the country with a total intake (for all programmes) of 164 students brings many advantages, including expertise in all areas of dentistry.

Structure overview
The programme has three main components. The first consists of subjects common to medicine and dentistry, progressing from biomedical sciences, through behavioural sciences, epidemiology, pathology and microbiology to human disease. The second includes oral and dental aspects of the biological sciences leading to an understanding of the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of oral and dental diseases and disorders and the effects of systemic disease on the oral and dental tissues. The third component consists of the clinical and technical aspects of dentistry with the provision of comprehensive oral and dental healthcare for patients of all ages. These components are vertically integrated with a larger proportion of basic sciences at first and a larger clinical component at the end.

Throughout the five years of the programme you will, in addition to acquiring the practical skills necessary to become a dentist, acquire communication skills, personal management skills, information technology skills and an appreciation and analysis of ethical and legal issues in dentistry.

Assessment
Examinations are held at the end of each year, and a percentage of the marks for each examination are derived from in-course assessment, which may take the form of essays, practical tests or project work.

Intercalated BSc
At the end of year three, you will have the opportunity to take an intercalated BSc degree which allows you to pursue the subjects of your choice in greater depth. The advantage of studying at a multifaculty institution such as King's is that modules can be taken in a wide variety of subjects. For example, you may wish to study clinically relevant subjects and related topics such as health services management or psychology as well as more traditional subjects, such as neuroscience and biochemistry. You can even include a foreign language.

Further information
Information about applying to the programme can be found under the 'applying' tab, and there is also a PDF of frequently asked questions which can be accessed from the 'further information' tab.


Currently, students study the following programme structure. King's reviews its programmes on a regular basis, in order to continue to offer innovative and exciting learning opportunities and this information is therefore subject to change. Please check here for updates, or contact the School/department for further advice.

After a one-week introductory course to prepare you for study at university and on the dentistry programme in particular, the remainder of the year is spent studying biomedical sciences and topics relevant to the practice of dentistry. Much effort has been put into making this year absolutely relevant to dentistry. Basic topics such as molecular and cell biology, and basic human systems specific to dentistry, will be covered. Throughout the year a course on applied dental science will introduce you to the clinical aspects of dental studies and show the relevance of the basic sciences. This popular course will introduce you to all aspects of clinical dentistry and haptic technology.

The second year concentrates on the introduction and development of basic dental clinical skills. A state-of-the-art clinical skills facility allows the learning of necessary skills in a safe and non-threatening environment. You will treat patients in the associated NHS trusts with minor gum problems in the first term and in the third term you will begin the restorative care of your own patients to whom you will offer dental care for your whole time at King's College London.

Linked to the practical clinical courses will be biomedical science subjects such as anatomy of the head and neck, oral biology, and you will also develop an understanding of all aspects of the nervous system relevant to dentistry. During this year you will begin learning about all aspects of human disease and this strand of learning will continue for the remainder of your time on the dental programme. This will include topics such as pathology, microbiology and general medicine.

In the third year you continue to learn about all aspects of human disease and this is a major topic in the year. Another major subject area for this year is the replacement of missing teeth. You will learn how this can be done using fixed and removable prostheses including dental implants. There is a technical component to these courses to ensure you understand how they are constructed and how to deal with problems associated with their fit and function. Much time each week is devoted to the clinical care of patients in restorative dentistry that will include specific teaching in conservative dentistry and prosthodontics. You will also begin to learn about and carry out the extraction of teeth and minor oral surgery.

This is a busy year in which you really begin to establish yourself as a dentist.

Intercalated degree

At the end of Year 3, you will have the opportunity to take an intercalated BSc degree which allows you to pursue the subjects of your choice in greater depth. The advantage of studying at a multi-faculty institution such as King's is that intercalated degrees can be taken in a wide variety of subjects. For example, you may wish to study clinically relevant subjects and related topics such as health services management or psychology as well as more traditional subjects, such as neuroscience and biochemistry. You can even include a foreign language.

In the fourth year of the programme you spend most of the week providing dental care for patients. You will continue to learn about and carry out more advanced procedures in restorative dentistry. During this year major courses in periodontology, child dental healthcare and orthodontics are provided to give you a strong foundation in the subjects.

Time is also spent providing comprehensive care to adult patients. This will continue in Year 5. As you become more proficient at dentistry, patients will be treated under conscious sedation. Learning continues in the human disease strand of the curriculum and you are introduced to an ongoing course in oral disease that will incorporate pathology and medicine directly relevant to disease in and around the mouth. You will be able to treat many patients with more complex dental problems during this year, with specialist teachers on hand to guide you.

The final year of the programme is very much a consolidation year of all you have learned up to this time. You will continue to provide comprehensive dental care for adult and child patients. A specific feature of this programme is the opportunity to work on a regular basis at purpose-built clinics away from the main campus. At these you will work directly with a dental nurse and other dental care professionals, in particular dental hygienists and therapists, learning to work as a team leader in the provision of dental care for your patients.

There is an opportunity each week to spend some time learning about a chosen topic to allow you to develop knowledge of an area in even greater detail than covered in the normal programme. This could include any area in dentistry and there is also the opportunity to learn a new language through the Language Centre of King's College London. There is an elective period of study when you are given the chance to travel anywhere in the United Kingdom, or the world, to learn about how dental care is provided in that region. Limited funding is offered by the College to undertake this period of study away from London. The final year is designed to allow you to develop as a dentist and to ease your transition, upon qualification, into vocational training and general professional training. It also offers the opportunity to flavor the specialist areas of dentistry that may encourage you to specialise after general professional training.