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UK Dentistry · Course profile

The Glasgow Dentistry courseWhat you actually study, and where you will be

Degree BDSLength 5 yearsTeaching IntegratedFirst patients Year 2UCAS code A200
How to get into GlasgowEntry requirements & UCAT

Photo: Clem_nat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Photo: Uzbdoctor2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Atreides83 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Unknown · Public domain

Overview

The Glasgow dentistry course at a glance

Patient management starts in year 2, first extractions and radiographs in year 3, and year 5 is split between the dental hospital and outreach centres in the Public Dental Service.

Teaching

How Glasgow teaches dentistry

A combination of didactic instruction, simulated clinical practice and direct patient care in clinical settings.

What that means day to day

Integrated
Basic science and clinical medicine are taught together from the start rather than as separate pre-clinical and clinical halves.

When you first treat patients

Year 2 is when "you will also begin the management and treatment of patients".

Structure

Year by year at Glasgow

Year 1
Introduction to clinical dentistry, biomedical sciences (anatomy, physiology, microbiology) and clinical medicine.
Year 2
Theory and practice of operative dentistry, prosthodontics and periodontics; simulated clinical work; patient management begins.
Year 3
Restorative skills expand, first extractions and radiographs, paediatric outreach placements, and an elective study project.
Year 4
Community and dental school work across all disciplines, with teaching in oral medicine, sedation and orthodontics.
Year 5
Split between the dental school and outreach centres, with core clinical units in restorative dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, paediatrics and periodontics.
Placements

Where you will actually be at Glasgow

Placement geography is the part of a dentistry course that changes your life most and appears in prospectuses least. Here is what Glasgow publishes.

Glasgow and the west of Scotland

Outreach placements run in Public Dental Service locations.

  • Glasgow Dental Hospital & School
Worth knowing

Worth knowing about Glasgow

  • A mandatory elective study period includes international options.
Next steps

Applying to Glasgow?

Full guide

How to get into Glasgow

Entry requirements, UCAT, personal statement and interview, step by step.

Open the guide →
Entry requirements

Glasgow UCAT cut-offs and offers

UCAT cut-offs, A-level offers, interview format and decision dates.

See the requirements →
Side by side

Compare Glasgow with other schools

Put the teaching style, anatomy teaching and placements next to another school.

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Interview guide

Prepare for the Glasgow interview

Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.

Read the guide →
Sources

Where this Glasgow course profile came from

Every course detail on this page was taken from University of Glasgow Dental School's own course page, read on 2026-09-11.

Primary source: University of Glasgow Dental School — official course information.

Courses are restructured between cycles. Anything here that decides your application — an anatomy offer, a placement city, a compulsory intercalated year — should be confirmed against the official page for your entry year.

Applying to Glasgow?

We have helped hundreds of applicants turn their UCAT, personal statement and interview prep into offers from Glasgow and other UK dentistry schools.

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