The BDS and how the five years run
The School of Dentistry opened in 2016 at Pebble Mill, 5 Mill Pool Way, in the same building as the £50 million Birmingham Dental Hospital. The course works in partnership with Birmingham Community NHS Foundation Trust.
You observe treatments and meet patients from your first year, and treat your own patients by the end of the second. In year 4 you have your own surgery with a dental nurse, and outreach runs from the summer term of year 4 to Easter of the final year.
The five years, from Birmingham's module list
- Year 1
Biological foundations
Body systems, craniofacial anatomy, cells and tissues, and law and ethics.
Observing patients - Year 2 · Patients
Towards the clinic
Oral biology, public health, dental materials and simulated clinical procedures.
Own patients by year end - Year 3
Clinical practice
Introduction to clinical practice, human diseases, restorative teaching and an elective.
Dental Hospital - Year 4
Patient care
Clinical patient care, crowns and root treatment, children's dentistry and oral medicine.
Own surgery - Year 5
Into practice
Advanced clinical practice and specialty teaching, then Final BDS.
BDS
Entry requirements and how to apply
A-level route
AAA including Biology and Chemistry; Human Biology is accepted. GCSE Biology and Chemistry at 8/A*, English and Maths at 7/A.
Pathways to Birmingham
For Year 12 students at partner schools in the wider West Midlands, applying without a gap year.
Multiple mini-interviews
Stations of five to ten minutes, with one or two assessors at each. About 300 candidates are interviewed.
Contextual offers
Birmingham's contextual offer runs through Pathways to Birmingham. See how it compares with the other dental schools.
Clinical training and outreach
Your own surgery
In year 4 you have your own surgery and work with a dental nurse, as you would in practice.
Outreach placements
Outreach runs from the summer term of year 4 to Easter of the final year, working with Birmingham Community NHS Foundation Trust.
A DBS check, Hepatitis B immunisation, and evidence that you are not infectious for HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
Student life in Birmingham
BUDSS
The dental student society runs social events and sports clubs, with mentoring. Membership is £15 a year.
Birmingham: student lifeOne building
The school shares its Pebble Mill building with Birmingham Dental Hospital, so teaching and clinics are under one roof.
Birmingham: Dental SurgeryMeet students
The interview visit includes an hour's tour and time to talk to current dental students.
Birmingham: interview dayFees and key dates
A DBS check and health clearance are needed before your place is confirmed.
Source: Birmingham: Dental Surgery BDS; Birmingham: tuition fees; Birmingham: BDS questions
Key dates
Funding and support
- Birmingham Dental Scholarship · £2,000
Strengths and things to plan for
- Your own surgery. In year 4, working with a dental nurse.
- One building. The school and the dental hospital share Pebble Mill, opened in 2016.
- Long outreach. From the summer term of year 4 to Easter of the final year.
- UCAT ranking. Your UCAT total decides the interview invitation.
- One interview week. February half-term, in person at the Dental School.
- A levels at first sitting. Resits, BTECs and Access courses aren't accepted.
- GCSEs. Biology and Chemistry at 8/A*, English and Maths at 7/A.
Who to believe, and in what order
DentiSpark is not the authority on any of this, and does not want to be. University of Birmingham's own pages are the authority on what it will ask of you; where anything here disagrees with them, the school is right and we are not. Entry requirements, deadlines and course codes change from one cycle to the next.
The regulator
The General Dental Council decides which degrees lead to registration as a dentist in the UK. Its list of approved providers is the only place to confirm where a programme stands.
GDC approved providers