How to Become a Dentist
If you want to become a dentist in the UK there are many things you will need to take into consideration. First of all, you need to determine if dentistry is the right career for you. Dental school can be expensive, so you will want to look at your financial options. You will also need to determine if it is feasible for you to live away from home during your stay at a university. You will also need to determine what area of dentistry you would like to specialize in.
Making the decision to become a dentist is one that you should take seriously. Becoming a dentist requires a lot of work and responsibility. If you are considering a career in dentistry you should ask yourself why you want to be a dentist. Make a list of pros and cons about the career so that you will be able to take each one into consideration. You may want to talk with a parent or a career counselor to help you determine if dentistry is the career for you.
Once you have decided that dentistry is the right career for you, it is important that you assess your financial options. How will you pay for dental school? Are your parents willing to help out with the costs associated with dental school? Do you have any scholarships? Will you be able to get financial aid for school? If none of these are an option for you, you might consider going to a bank and speaking with someone about how to obtain a student loan to pay for your education. While working your way through dental school is an option, it can be very difficult with the large course load.
Dental students are expected to maintain good grades to be accepted into the top dental schools in the UK. In fact most of the high ranking dental schools will only accept grades of AAA in foundational science classes.
UK Dentist Schools
There are 13 top ranking dental schools in the UK. If one of these schools is not near your home you will need to live close to the university during your 5 year study. You will need to take into consideration where you will live and how you will pay the rent. It is important that you investigate whether or not the schools have dorms. You also need to decide if dorm living is right for you.
Once you graduate from dental school you will need to register with the General Dental Council. After that you will be able to practice as a general dentist. If you want to specialize in a certain area of dentistry such as orthodontics or periodontics you will need to obtain further education. Speak with an academic advisor at your university to find the path you will need to take to specialize in the area that you are interested in.
Making the decision to become a dentist is a life changing decision. It is important that you map out the road to success before you get started. If you are committed to making the right decisions and putting your best foot forth you will succeed in your career.
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Date Added: Wednesday 26th August 2009
"i thought this was quite useful for a young audience, i am 16 years old. I am wishing to study dentistry at university. "
Anna
Date Added: Thursday 13th August 2009
"I agree whole heartedly with David's comments. This article is next to useless and is simply a stream of the obvious. I came to this page looking for information on how to become a dentist and leave with nothing but frustration caused by someone having wasted both my and their time with it's content. I'll steer clear of this site from now on if this is the quality of the (non)information they allow to be shown. Oh! and as a side thought, I left uni 20 years ago, so not everyone wanting to become a dentist is as young and naive as the author assumes."
Martyn
Date Added: Sunday 19th July 2009
"Absolute rubbish. Patronising and pathetic. I thought this was a page on how to become a dentist and not about silly issues that surround university that I'm sure most are fully aware of. Life changing.. yes I'm sure it is- isn't anything? If I were to embark on a course to become a puppet performer then I would say that my life would also be changed. It states the obvious and not what is required of a person- as if the author of this material doesn't have a clue about grades, the time a effort required or the top universities to study. Thanks, but this page gets a 0 out of 100 score. Nice work *sarcasm* I thought I'd point out the sarcastic comment just incase you didn't get it. Oh and sarcasm is something that you might want to look up in a dictionary- MAYBE THEN you could write about something you know a little about."
David