The BDS and how the five years run
Bristol has taught dentistry since 1906. Since September 2023 the school has been at 1 Trinity Quay, on the University's Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus: 7,300 square metres, with 119 dental chairs over six clinical areas.
Local people receive free treatment from students there, supervised by qualified dentists. Specialist placements are at Bristol Dental Hospital, and you also work in primary care and community settings.
The five years, from Bristol's course page
- Year 1
Foundations
The foundations of dentistry and peer-work clinical sessions, ending in a student-led conference.
Observing clinic - Year 2 · Patients
First patients
Skills laboratory work, then your first adult patients in the second term.
Second term - Year 3
General treatments
A broad range of general dental treatment for your own patients.
Option to intercalate - Years 4 and 5
Whole-patient care
Patients across all disciplines, working to the Safe Beginner standard.
Community settings - Years 4 and 5
Specialities
Consultant clinics, and a community project in Bristol or further afield.
BDS
Entry requirements and how to apply
A-level route
AAA including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Maths; UCAS also lists Further Maths. Resits are considered like first sittings.
Contextual offer
ABB with an A in Chemistry, for applicants who meet Bristol's contextual criteria.
Structured interview
On Zoom, with four assessors. You bring a pasta model and a five-minute presentation.
Contextual offers
Bristol makes contextual offers of ABB and runs the six-year Gateway to Dentistry. See how its offer compares with the other dental schools.
Clinical training and outreach
Six clinical areas
119 chairs over six clinics, with dental nurses, technicians, sterilisation staff and patient administration teams supporting students.
Placements
Specialist placements at Bristol Dental Hospital, and work in primary care and community settings.
Student life in Bristol
A student conference
Year 1 ends in a conference run by the students themselves.
Bristol: Dentistry BDSTemple Quarter
The school is at 1 Trinity Quay, Avon Street, on the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. Bristol has a virtual tour online.
Bristol: new schoolA year for another degree
You can take a year out after year 3 to intercalate, studying for a second degree.
Bristol: Dentistry BDSFees and key dates
A DBS check and occupational health clearance are part of every offer.
Source: Bristol: Dentistry BDS, 2027 entry; Bristol: dentistry admissions statement 2026
Key dates
Funding and support
No funding specific to this school is listed here. What you can get depends on where you live and where you study.
Strengths and things to plan for
- A new building. Trinity Quay opened in 2023, with 119 dental chairs.
- Early patients. Your first adult patients in the second term of year 2.
- Resits considered. Treated like first sittings.
- Tasks to prepare. A pasta model and a five-minute presentation.
- Online interview. Held on Zoom.
- Outcomes. Offers usually follow once all interviews are done.
- International fee. £51,600 for the first year in 2027/28.
Who to believe, and in what order
DentiSpark is not the authority on any of this, and does not want to be. University of Bristol'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.
Check these before you apply:
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