Becoming a registered (licensed) dentist in the UK : Everything you need to know before making the decision
Just like any other country, to practice as a dentist in the UK, you are required to get registered with the country's dental authority/ board/ council - here, the General Dental Council (GDC).
As an international dental graduate, there are two ways to Obtain Registration with the GDC as a General Dentist.
1. Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) - Conducted by GDC
2. Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) - Conducted by RCS England
**Unlike the USA, you are NOT required to complete any further educational degree like DDS/DMD and passing ONE of the two above mentioned assessment exam is sufficient.
***However, to work in the NHS (Govt. Healthcare Facility), you are required to complete a Foundational Training (FY/PVLE) (Similar to an internship). This will be discussed later.
What Qualifications Do You Need to Become a Dentist in the UK?
Firstly, a Bachelor’s Degree:
To work as a dentist in the UK, you will need a Bachelor’s Degree in Dentistry (BDS, BChD, DDS or DMD) that has been approved by the General Dental Council (GDC). You will also need to have completed foundation training.
For this, you are required to complete a process called NARIC Statement of Comparability: NARIC is a board that will compare your Bachelor’s Degree to that of UK’s curriculum and give an equivalency statement.
UK mostly does not recognise other country’s Specialist recognition or clinical master’s degree in dentistry and you will still be a general dentist, no matter where you have graduated or how many years of experience you possess.
Secondly, English Language Requirement.
- IELTS of overall score 7.0 (with no less than 6.5 in any section) is required.
- Alternatively, For recent dental graduates (Less than 2 Years), there is an exemption if your medium of instruction of your Bachelor’s Degree is English. For this route, you’ll need
- A certificate signed by your dean/ principal that the course was taught and examined in English.
- NARIC English Equivalency (You submit a copy of your degree and obtain English Language Equivalency)
- English Language Reference Form (which can be found on GDC Website)
Lastly, Clinical Experience Requirement
You must have at least 1600 hours of clinical experience where you have personally treated patients in the dental chair. The number of hours of this clinical experience will either be hours spent undertaking appropriate investigations and administering dental treatment:
- during your dental degree;
- during the post-qualification experience; or
- a combination of the two.
For graduates from Asia, you would have completed a Compulsory Internship before graduation and that is accepted.
As Mentioned Earlier, there are two routes to get registered.
Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) – Conducted by GDC
More information regarding ORE can be found here.
License in Dental Surgery (LDS) - Conducted by RCS England
More information regarding LDS can be found here.
ORE vs LDS
- There is no significant difference between the ORE and LDS except they are conducted by different bodies.
- ORE is conducted twice per year whereas LDS is conducted only once per year
- Passing the LDS gives you nominals LDS RCS
- Some candidates say that questions in LDS are more clinical than ORE.
What are the challenges you will face during this journey?
- The one challenge that strikes everyone is securing a seat for the exam. There are limited seats for ORE (200 candidates) and LDS (120 Candidates). When the exam booking opens, it gets filled in almost 1 to 2 seconds
- The second Challenge is Visa. Both ORE and LDS are conducted ONLY in the UK. There are two possible ways to appear for this exam.
- First is by getting a tourist visa and give ORE part-1 and for Part-2. Remember, Dentists are not on Shortage Occupation Lists declared by the UK Visa and Immigration. So, there is a high rate of visa denial for students who wish to write exams from outside the UK. Students who are already in the UK as a dependent use this opportunity wisely.
- You can also migrate to the UK by joining a full-time master’s program, either clinical or non-clinical. Most of the students follow the second step as you can get a master's degree along with preparation and also in the UK there are few groups started for the overseas dentist to prepare for ORE.
- Recently, alongside the Master's degree, some bachelor's dental degrees are equivalented to dental hygienist/ dental therapist registration in UK and students work part-time as DH/DT. Details about this will be discussed later.
Official GDC's statement on Visa & Immigration
The functions of the GDC are separate from those in charge of administering visas. Therefore, the GDC is unable to advise on visas. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that they are permitted to be in the UK to take the exam that they are booked on to. For information on visas and entry to the UK, please contact the UK Border and Immigration Agency.
If you make payment for an exam and then are unable to obtain a visa, you will not be refunded your fees. It is your responsibility to ensure that you can obtain a visa before you make payment for an exam.
What after ORE/ LDS? Is it worth going through this journey in terms of career progression? Is the UK a better career option for international dentists compared to the USA, Canada, Australia, or NZ?
Have any questions? Mention in comments!
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