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Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Overview Both dental hygienists and dental therapists help people maintain good oral health by providing treatments, carrying out procedures and giving dietary and hygiene advice. The role of dental therapist is the same as a dental hygienist, however they can also carry out some of the restorative work dentists do, such as fillings and extractions. This dual role BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy course, accredited by the General Dental Council (GDC), gives you the theory and practical skills required to register as both a dental hygienist and dental therapist with the GDC.

  • Become eligible to register with the General Dental Council (GDC) when you graduate, which you'll need to work as a dental hygienist and/or therapist in the UK
  • Practise your skills in our Dental Academy model clinical practice, with dental treatment bays and simulation technology, including our Phantom Head skill lab, new haptics suite and radiography equipment
  • Work in a dental team alongside practising dentists, dental nurses and other students, giving you a taste of your future work environment
  • Have the chance to work with the public through community healthcare projects, providing additional patient-focused work experience
NHS Learning Support Fund Students on this course may be eligible for additional funding through the NHS Learning Support Fund bursary of at least £5,000 a year. Accredited by: This course is accredited by the General Dental Council (GDC). This allows you to register with the GDC when you complete the course. The GDC continually assess the course to make sure it meets the standard required for accreditation, so you'll know you're getting the most relevant and up-to-date teaching available. Careers and opportunities Both dental hygienists and dental therapists provide oral care that helps patients maintain a healthy mouth, gums and teeth. In addition to this, dental therapists are also trained to do some of the same work as dentists, including fillings, and extracting and placing preformed crowns on 'baby' teeth. On adult patients, dental therapists can provide any dental work that doesn't require treatment to the nerve of a tooth, which makes them an essential support to dentists and a versatile and multi-skilled member of a dental team. Register as both a dental hygienist and a dental therapist On this degree, you'll develop the knowledge, skills and professionalism you need to take on either of these roles, both of which are in high demand throughout the UK, in the NHS and in the private healthcare sector. After you complete this course, you’ll be able to register with the General Dental Council (GDC) as a dental hygienist and a dental therapist. Looking to study just dental hygiene? Take a look at our BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene degree. What areas can you work in with a dental hygiene and dental therapy degree? When you complete the course, you'll be qualified to work in areas such as:
  • general dental practice
  • hospital dental services
  • the Armed Forces
  • the NHS
  • health promotion
  • owning and managing a dental business of your own
Work experience with patients in the community To help you gain professional experience, you'll help to provide free dental health services to the public at the Dental Academy and work with patients in local community settings. You'll have the chance to offer preventative and educational dental support within institutions such as school clinics and hostels for homeless people, enabling you to gain a better understanding of the social impact of good dental care. Our community work experience projects include:
  • outreach activity in community surgeries and maxillofacial departments in local hospitals
  • oral health promotion
  • supervised tooth brushing in infant schools
  • helping staff to develop oral care plans in residential homes
  • providing dental screening to offenders in the probation service

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Foundation of Evidence Based Practice (Dental) (20 credits)
  • Foundations of Dhdt Professional Practice (40 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene & Therapy Practice (20 credits)
  • Science Informing Practice (Dental) (40 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Applied Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice (40 credits)
  • Communication for the Dental Team (20 credits)
  • Dental Radiography (20 credits)
  • Engaging with Service Improvement (Dental) (20 credits)
  • Evidence Based Decision Making (Dental) (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 3 Core modules in this year include:
  • Behaviour Management (20 credits)
  • Enhancing Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice (40 credits)
  • Leading Safe and Effective Care (Dental) (20 credits)
  • Project (40 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through written exams, practical exams, coursework. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the units you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

  • Year 1 students: 67% by written exams, 17% by practical exams and 16% by coursework
  • Year 2 students: 58% by written exams, 7% by practical exams and 35% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 13% by written exams, 43% by practical exams and 44% by coursework

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • General Dental Council

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
B750
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

Applicants must pass Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before starting the course.

Health checks

Applicants must pass Occupational Health check before starting the course. This includes screening to exclude infectivity with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.

Interview

All shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview in support of their application. Shortlisting occurs up until the end of February and interviews take place between March and April.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)7English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 7.0 with no component score below 6.5.
PTE Academic76An overall score of 76 with a minimum of 65 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)100100 with a minimum of 24 in Reading, 23 in Listening, 25 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 185 with no component score less than 176.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 185 with no component score less than 176.
Trinity ISETrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
80%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
95%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
International £25400 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at University of Portsmouth - UCAS