Course summary
Overview Dental nurses support dentists in all aspects of patient treatment and care. On this 1-year CertHE Dental Nursing course, accredited by the General Dental Council (GDC), you’ll get the knowledge and practical skills required to achieve safe beginner status, become a vital member of the dental team and register with the GDC when you graduate.
- Build your team-working skills by studying alongside dental hygiene, dental therapy and final year students from King’s College London Dental Institute
- Use some of the best dental facilities for students in the country at our Dental Academy, with 44 treatment bays, 2 individual surgeries, a phantom head skill lab, full radiography suite and an electronic patient records system
- Work with real patients in the local community, gaining valuable work experience supporting our dental outreach project
- Qualify with a CertHE in Dental Nursing when you complete the course, which allows you to register with the GDC as a dental nurse
- general dental practice (NHS or private)
- corporate dental practice
- hospital dental services
- Armed Forces
- specialists dental practice
- health promotion
- 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
Full time Year 1 Core modules in this year include: Foundations of Dental Nursing Professional Practice – 40 credits Fundamentals of Dental Nursing Practice – 20 credits Science Informing Practice (Dental) – 40 credits Foundation of Evidence Based Practice (Dental) – 20 credits There are no optional modules in this year. Part time Year 1 Core modules in this year include: Foundations of Dental Nursing Professional Practice – 40 credits Fundamentals of Dental Nursing Practice – 20 credits There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include: Foundation of Evidence Based Practice – 20 credits Science Informing Practice (Dental) – 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 examinations and coursework, and your clinical development and competency is assessed via an electronic software platform (LIFTUP). 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.
Professional bodies
Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.
- General Dental Council
How to apply
31Jan
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:
- B751
- Institution code:
- P80
- Campus name:
- Main Site
- Campus code:
- -
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
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.
English language requirements
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 7 | English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 7.0 with no component score below 6.5. |
| PTE Academic | 68 | An overall score of 68 with a minimum of 61 in each skill. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 100 | 100 with a minimum of 24 in Reading, 23 in Listening, 25 in Speaking and 24 in Writing |
| Cambridge English Advanced | Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 185 with no component score less than 176. | |
| Cambridge English Proficiency | Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 185 with no component score less than 176. | |
| Trinity ISE | Trinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components |
Unistats information
Operated by the Office for Students
There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| EU | £9250 | Year 1 |
| England | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| International | £18100 | Year 1 |
Additional fee information
Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship
Placement Year and Year abroad:
UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £925 |
EU – £925 (including Transition Scholarship)|
International (Non-EU) – £2,000.
Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice.
Fees may also go up in later years, in line with inflation.
For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/ug-tuition-fees
Provider information
University of Portsmouth
University House
Winston Churchill Avenue
Portsmouth
PO1 2UP