Dentistry Entry Programme for Medical Graduates

Course detail Description

Teaching

The integrated nature of our course means that basic science teaching will relate to clinical practice, and clinical teaching will be underpinned by scientific understanding.

Our course emphasises whole patient care, which requires consideration of the patients’ total dental and medical needs, rather than just the provision of individual items of treatment.

Our working environment is structured into cross-year teams so that students benefit from working and studying with the same group of teachers and peers throughout their time at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences.

Course stage

Percentage of time in scheduled learning and teaching activities

Percentage of time in guided independent study

Percentage of time on placements

Year 1

11%

34%

55%

Year 2

16%

27%

57%

Year 3

31%

7%

62%

Assessment

Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and written/practical examinations. Forms of assessment may typically include written (short answer) examination, online (MCQ) examination, poster presentation, OSCE (objective structured clinical examination), structured clinical reasoning examination, special projects and reports which must be successfully completed to progress through the course.

Whilst there is ongoing in-course assessment throughout the programme which must be passed, the written and clinical examinations contribute 100% to your final mark.

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Year 1

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on this website for updates.

Year one

You will be given the opportunity throughout your first year to review topics studied in year one and year two of the standard five-year course. During this year you will be treating your own adult patients, providing preventive advice and undertaking straightforward procedures in periodontology and conservative dentistry. You will also learn dental materials science and behavioural science. You will consolidate your knowledge of all aspects of human disease and study the replacement of missing teeth.

You will learn about fixed and removable prostheses, such as dental implants. There is also a technical component to ensure that you understand how prostheses are constructed and how to deal with problems associated with their fit and function. You will devote significant time each week to the clinical care of patients including tuition in conservative dentistry and prosthodontics. You will also learn about and perform the extraction of teeth and minor oral surgery.

The following topics comprise the year one module (180 credits):

• BDS Communication in Dentistry
• BDS Management and Leadership
• BDS Professionalism in Health Care
• BDS Social and Behavioural Sciences
• BDS Dental Public Health
• BDS Oral Surgery
• BDS Radiology
• BDS Dental Material Science
• BDS Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
• BDS Conservative and Minimum Intervention Dentistry
• BDS Periodontology
• BDS Prosthodontics
• BDS Human Disease

Year 2

Year two

In year two, you will spend most of the week providing dental care for patients. You will learn about and perform more advanced procedures in restorative dentistry. During this year, you will gain a strong foundation in periodontology, child dental healthcare and orthodontics.

As you become more proficient at dentistry, you will treat patients 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 relevant to disease in and around the mouth. Under the supervision of specialist teachers, you will be able to treat patients with more complex dental problems.

The following topics comprise the year two module (165 credits):

• BDS Communication in Dentistry
• BDS Professionalism in Health Care
• BDS Social and Behavioural Sciences
• BDS Dental Public Health
• BDS Oral Disease
• BDS Oral Surgery
• BDS Radiology
• BDS Conservative and Minimum Intervention Dentistry
• BDS Periodontology
• BDS Prosthodontics
• BDS Orthodontics
• BDS Paediatric Dentistry
• BDS Outreach (clinical placements)

Year 3

Year three

The final year consolidates all you have learned up to this point. You will continue to provide comprehensive dental care for adult and child patients. A specific feature of our course, our structured placements enable you to work on a regular basis at purpose-built clinics away from the main campus amongst diverse patient populations. There you will gain valuable experience working in a team to prepare yourself effectively for future practice.

The following topics comprise the year three module (180 credits):

• BDS Communication in Dentistry
• BDS Professionalism in Health Care
• BDS Social and Behavioural Sciences
• BDS Dental Public Health
• BDS Oral Disease
• BDS Oral Surgery
• BDS Radiology
• BDS Special Care Dentistry
• BDS Conservative and Minimum Intervention Dentistry
• BDS Periodontology
• BDS Prosthodontics
• BDS Orthodontics
• BDS Paediatric Dentistry
• BDS Outrech (clinical placements)