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Dental Hygiene

Entry requirements


112 UCAS tariff points from 2 or 3 A levels.

112 UCAS tariff points from a QAA recognised Access course, in a science or health subject. We can accept communication and mathematics modules at level 2 in place of GCSE grade C English Language and mathematics.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

A minimum of two GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above including English language and maths. Key Skills/Functional Skills Level 2 in Communication and Application of Number can be accepted in place of English and maths GCSE.

Minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points from 4 or 5 Irish highers/honours subjects, including a science or social science.

112 UCAS tariff points (DMM), preferably in a science or health subject.

Minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points from 3 Advanced Highers, including a science or social science subject.

Minimum of 117 UCAS tariff points from 4 or 5 Highers, including a science or social science subject.

UCAS Tariff

112-120

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Dentistry

**NOTE: This course has no vacancies for September 2024. The next intake is September 2025.**

**Course overview**: A dental hygienist is a rewarding career where your skills to deliver current oral health promotion, periodontal and preventive treatment to a wide range of patients makes a difference. The course is designed to ensure you meet the standards and skills necessary to enable you to register with the General Dental Council and hold the title of dental hygienist.

As a dental hygienist you will be proactive in the prevention and maintenance of periodontal disease and improving ‘smiles’. The course blends equal theoretical and practical learning within the on campus phantom head skills lab and the Student Dental Facility.

As a competent, accountable, problem-solving and evidence-based practitioner, you need excellent manual dexterity and communication skills to meet the high expectations and demands of the modern dental practice. You need to be able to effectively communicate with the public and other healthcare providers at all levels. As with all healthcare professionals the public place a high level of expectation and trust in their dental hygienist and therefore to work in this sector it is essential that you are able to demonstrate the core values embedded within the NHS Constitution.

After developing periodontal instrumentation skills within the phantom head skills lab you progress to your professional placement in the Student Dental Facility to treat your own patients under close supervision. This is the core of your practice experience. You also undertake oral health promotion placements where you will develop and deliver sessions to improve oral health in a variety of community settings. In Year 2 you have a one-week radiography placement at Newcastle Dental Hospital.

**Top reasons to study this course**

1. Dental hygiene is an internationally recognised profession offering global career opportunities.
2. Shared modules with other healthcare students to promote multi-disciplinary working.
3. Experienced, dedicated and enthusiastic teaching team have a strong focus on evidence-base practice.
4. State-of-the-art simulation facilities and the Student Dental Facility support the development of your practical and professional skills.

**After the course**: Employment prospects are excellent; once registered, you will be eligible to work in general dental practice, private practice, hospital departments, community dental services, specialist practices, defence medical services, dental access centres and research. You may also consider postgraduate study in specialist subjects. Graduates have returned to Teesside University as lecturers, and as clinical supervisors to support students during their clinical development in the Student Dental Facility.

Modules

Visit the course pages of Teesside University’s website (www.tees.ac.uk or Visit our course page link provided below) for information on modules.

Assessment methods

Visit the course pages of Teesside University’s website (www.tees.ac.uk or Visit our course page link provided below) for information on assessment methods.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£17,000
per year
International
£17,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Teesside University

Department:

Nursing, Midwifery and Health Professions

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

82%
Dentistry

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Dentistry

Teaching and learning

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
94%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
94%
Course specific equipment and facilities
47%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
13%
Male students
87%
Female students

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
D
A*

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Dentistry

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

100%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

88%
Health associate professionals
13%
Health professionals

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Dentistry

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£27k

£27k

£27k

£27k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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