Considering Dentistry? Why I decided to go for it

Hello hello hello!

It has been quite some time since I made a blog post but after having so many of you guys DM me about my route onto the BDS, I thought it would be helpful to post about it...

Motivation

Regarding deciding whether to apply for the BDS as a qualified DCP, a big thing you need to determine is WHY you are actually doing this. Theres many different reasons, and yours will be unique to you, but you need to be able to define it and be able to clearly explain it. It needs mentioning in your personal statement but also, it's likely you will need to talk about it during your interview. Not only will this help you in your application, but it will also help you to decipher whether you are doing it for the right reasons, and if it is effectively 'worth it'.

Having a defined reason will also help you to stay motivated and remind you why you volunteered for potentially half a decade more study when the going gets tough!

My Reasons

Back when I was applying for university for my BSc in Dental Hygiene and Therapy I considered studying dentistry. At the time I worked in a private practice and I remember thinking that the dentists seemed pretty stressed, whilst the hygienists seemed to be able to leave work at work, mostly worked part time, and were jet setting on their days off. I remember actively making the decision that being a dentist was not for me and largely my reasoning was down to work life balance. So I started my Access to HE Diploma and applied for DHDT.

If we then fast forward to my first month as a qualified dental therapist, boy had my opinon changed. I was loving being in practice, despite the challenges of getting adjusted to "the real world", but I was very quickly realising that if I was going to work in dentistry for another 30-40 years then I needed some more variety in my day to day, and some oppourtunity for career progression. (Now I am not saying that is impossible within hygiene and therapy, but there are definitely FAR less options or defined routes compared to being a dentist). I also began to realise that I would always be very dependent on other clinicians to be able to carry out my job to my full scope.

I initially started off in a clinic working only to a hygienist scope of practice which I found to be very very repetitive. At the same time I was looking around for "true" dental therapy positions (where I could work to my full scope) and the options were pretty bleak. I have discovered that there is a big difference between the use of therapists in the north of England compared to the south. In the south, primarly the options were full scope but ridiculously under paid, or majoritively hygienie appointments with a couple of fillings here and there. I actually went for one interview and was told they would take me on under the hygiene scope of practice initially, then observe me doing some fissure sealants and effectively "sign me off" to carry them out if they were "happy with how I did it"... Eventually I found a community position within the NHS which was a great option for me as I was newly qualified and gained some amazing experience but again, pay was not great and progression is just non-existent.

At this point, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to spend 30 years trying to fight all these barriers just to be able to do the job I was qualified to do.

I was also coming across a lot of patients under direct access, building good relationships with, and when they needed further treatment I found it frustrating that I had to pass them to someone else. Ultimately I wanted to be able to draw up my own treatment plans and complete more complex work.

I actually remember returning back to London from Leeds after graduating and my mum said to me "That's enough studying for a while now, right?" and I said "Yes, of course, I want to work now, save up some money... blah blah" Then about a month later I was writing my personal statement! (Which I will share later in this post for you guys).

So I started looking into things; I knew Leeds accepted two of their own DHDT graduates into the second year of their BDS, and I knew some other unis offered a four year post graduate course. Post-graduate dentistry is very competitive. There are limited spaces and it's open not only DHDT but also other courses like biomedical science and so on. From what I am aware, you generally need a 2:1 or above. Logically it makes sense to me to apply for a mix. If you miss out on grad entry courses, you need to wait a year to reapply so you may as apply for a 5 year course where your chances of acceptance are higher and you would graduate in the same year.

In the end I applied internally for the Leeds Graduate Entry course, and then through UCAS to Leeds, Kings (Grad-entry), QMUL and Sheffield. I was initally hoping to stay in London (which now I am glad didn't happen).

There are a few things that need to be considered before applying to make sure it's the right decision for you and also that its feasible financially etc.

Funding

A huge thing to consider if you want to do post grad dentistry is funding. Firstly grad funding is more confusing than anything I have ever learnt at uni, and secondly it is a very long winded process to get everything approved and accepted. I will try and explain it as best I can...

The main difference in funding is whether you end up on the (usually) 5 year course as a post grad, or on a 4 year grad entry course. If you are on the 5 year course, you normally can still get a maintenance loan but you won't get any tuition from Student Finance England. Often students use the maintenance loan to pay their tuition fees and then effectively "fend for themselves" by working to pay for eveything else, like rent, food and so on. On the 4 year course, you will get a maintenance loan and then a 'reduced' tutition loan, about £5.7k. This is where it gets a bit more confusing. So for the 1st out of the 4 years, you have to make up the difference between the tuition loan and the tuition fees (about £3.7k), but for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year, it is paid for by the NHS. For me, I am on the grad entry course so thankfully get a bit more funding but I am having to pay about £3.7k out of my own pocket towards the tutition fees this year.

When it comes to applying through student finance, I think my application initally got rejected, and then it got accepted with no funding and eventually after having to submit a complaint and an a formal appeal, it finally got accepted with the right funding. I must have called SFE over 8 times and spoken to them for about 4 hours in total. Even the team of advisors at the University of Leeds told me I was not eligible for funding. Having spoken with other grad entry students, it seems like this is pretty common, so do anticipate push back and try not to stress; The graduate entry dentistry course is 100% an exception under the 'ELQ exception rule' and it will eventually get approved for funding as a secondary qualification, you just having to keep pushing.

The graduate entry dentistry course is 100% an exception under the 'ELQ exception rule'.

Lots of people have asked me how much paid work in practice I have been able to do. At the moment I am working alongside my BDS course in a permenant therapy role on Saturdays and then locuming during the week. On an average week I am working 2-3 days in total. Part of the reason for this is to have a bit of extra money, as I do feel it is challenging to live on student finance alone, but also I want to maintain my skills as a DCP as I feel, when I do come to graduate the BDS, I will have lots of confidence and more experience in comparison to other graduates. I dont anticipate maintaining this many working days for the entirety of my course, but whilst I am able to I will continue working. I have found there to be a lot more locum work available than I expected and that has worked well for me as the university timetable is so inconsistent.

Personal Statement

As promised, I have included my personal statement below so you can get a bit of inspo.

Personal Statement EJ.pdf

Download PDF • 36KB

Of course, your personal statement should be YOURS. I have written a whole seperate blog post on creating your personal statement which I really recommend that you read. The concepts are entirely applicable and I would recommend maintaining a similar structure to ensure quality.

Interviews

I attended two interviews; one at Sheffield for the 5 year BDS and then the Leeds Grad Entry interview. They were both panel (as opposed to MMI).

Interestingly, at the Sheffield interview they sort of went "off script". They basically said to me, 'We know you're capable so we're not going to ask you the usual questions that we ask the sixth form students. Instead give us some idea of why you want to do this." There were some more questions but again it wasn't off the usual script. It was more of a conversation and discussion. For me that was good, as I felt like I could actually show my passion by getting to talk about my experience and how I had come to this decision. I was however a little annoyed because had prepared from the perspective of having to answer the "usual" questions! Sheffield told me they are very keen on mature students and I felt the interview had gone pretty well. I definitely left with quite a lot of confidence that I had a space.

For Leeds I had almost convinced myself that I had no chance of getting a place. I knew there were only 2 spaces available and had been told through word of mouth that about 50 people apply each year. My lovely dad drove me to and from Leeds in one day for the interview and I told him about halfway up the motorway that there was about a 4% chance of me getting a space! I had already received my Sheffield offer so I knew either way I was on a course which I think really chilled me out and helped me come across well in the interview.

In terms of interview tips I would say:

• Have a clear reason for doing the BDS that you can explain

• Know the steps for treatment within the scope of a therapist

• Have an idea of the "state" of NHS dentistry at the moment

• Have a bank of experiences that you can refer to that demonstrate the six 6 C's

I was so worried that my reason for wanting to do the BDS either wasn't good enough, could come across negatively, or paint me in a bad light somehow. I definitely took some time to consider how to word it in the best way possible, but I was also entirely honest. The interviewers seemed to really understand and appreciate what I was saying and I didn't feel judged for what I was saying.

I do always believe that 'what will be will be'. If it's meant to happen it will and therefore we have to take a step back from the process and not allow ourselves to get too worked up and stressed out.

As always, my DMs are open for any questions or advice!

Lots of love,

Ellena x