Dental Surgery BDS Honours (A206)

This degree is designed to develop the skills required to provide for the complete oral health of patients, and entitles graduates to practise dentistry anywhere in the UK and in many other countries.

The programme of professional study covers human structure, function, behaviour, clinical dental studies and related sciences.

Clinical dental practice occupies an increasingly large part of your time as you progress through the course, which consists of five Stages.

You spend the first two years studying the basic medical sciences. This provides a basis for clinical work in later Stages. Topics include:

• Anatomy of the Head and Neck
• Cell Biology
• Interpersonal Skills and Shadowing
• Introduction to Dentistry
• Neurobiology
• Dental Physiology
• Behavioural and Social Science for Dentists
• Basic Pharmacology
• Dental Materials Science
• Histology, Embryology and Development
• Immunology and Healthcare
• Key Clinical Skills
• Nutrition and Diet
• Oral Environment

Intercalated study is available for BDS students after completion of Stage 2.

You study:

• Clinical Introduction
• Dental Materials Science
• Dentistry, the Dentist and Public Health
• Human Diseases
• Clinical skills courses in Restorative Dentistry, Orthodontics and Oral Surgery
• Clinical allocations, lectures and seminars in Conservation, Child Dental Health, Orthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Periodontology, Prosthodontics and Radiology

You study:

• Dental Sedation
• Endodontology
• Human Disease
• Clinical skills courses in Prosthodontics
• Clinical allocations, lectures and seminars in Conservation, Child Dental Health, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Periodontology, Prosthodontics and Radiology

By the end of Stage 4, half your time is spent on patient care and clinical dental practice, with supporting clinical-related teaching.

An optional elective period at the end of Stage 4 gives you the opportunity to organise a few weeks studying dentistry outside Newcastle. In recent years this has taken students all over the world.

You study:

• Child Dental Health
• Current Opinions in Dentistry
• Dental Radiology
• Dentistry, the Dentist and Public Health
• Gerodontology
• Oral Medicine
• Temporomandibular Dysfunction
• Vocational Training Interface
• Clinical allocations in Restorative Dentistry, Child Dental Health, Dental Emergency Clinic, Dental Radiology, Dental Sedation, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Prosthodontics.

Once you have qualified there are a number of different careers open to you. Everybody needs to undergo a period of vocational training whatever branch of dentistry they initially take up.

Dentistry is a fairly flexible career and selecting one particular branch does not mean that you cannot venture into others later on in your career. Advice, to help you make the appropriate choice, is available from your tutor as well as other members of staff.

In General Dental Practice you will join an established practice and work with a trainer who will guide you in those early months. In addition, some schemes operated in different parts of the country give you the opportunity to spend part of that vocational period in a dental hospital attachment.

Further training is given in day release courses during this time, covering important aspects such as practice management, advanced clinical skills and team-building.

The Community Dental Service runs as a complementary service to the general dental services. Dental Officers working in this publicly funded service provide dental care for those people either unwilling or unable to obtain care elsewhere, for example, disabled people, or for people in their own homes.

In addition, this service provides a screening programme in schools as well as dental health education and promotion to different groups.

There are also career opportunities available in the defence services and as an industrial dental surgeon.

Careers in university dental schools also allow you to specialise in a particular aspect of dentistry, combining research with teaching and the treatment of patients.

In the Hospital Dental Service you will work in different departments under the guidance of consultants and will, at the end of a two-year period of professional training, be eligible to gain additional qualifications that set you on the career pathway to become a specialist in your chosen subject.

During this time you will have the chance to undertake small research or audit projects if you so wish and to write up your research for publication in a scientific journal.

Newcastle University consistently has one of the best records for graduate employment in the UK

We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through an initiative called ncl+ which enables you to develop personal, employability and enterprise skills and to give you the edge in the employment market after you graduate.

The University's award-winning Careers Service can help you make the most of your time in Newcastle and prepare you for life after graduation.