Oversubscribed dentistry degrees in England

Franziska Beier

Mon. 30. August 2021

save

LONDON, UK: The UK government has adjusted the cap for medical and dentistry courses for 2021 in order to support the National Health Service workforce of the future. To meet the needs of the increased number of students, medical and dentistry schools across England will receive additional funding to expand courses for the coming year. However, as a result of this change, some classes in universities are oversubscribed and dental students have been offered a financial incentive to switch to a different university.

Owing to the adjusted cap and far more students than expected achieving the high A-level grades necessary to secure an offer, this year more students than ever will have the opportunity to study medicine or dentistry.

According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, 8,560 students from England have been accepted into medicine or dentistry, compared with 6,960 in 2020, an increase of 23%.

In a government press release, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, CBE, said: “Medicine and dentistry have always been popular courses and we have seen significant demand for places this year […]. We want to match student enthusiasm and ensure as many as possible can train this year to be the doctors and healthcare professionals of the future.”

The Dental Schools Council also welcomed the confirmation of the adjusted cap in order to “accommodate those applicants who have met the terms of their offers after achieving the required grades” in a statement.

Students who have won a place on an oversubscribed dentistry degree in England have been invited to join the Department for Education’s scheme in which medicine and dental students can claim £10,000 (€11,691) compensation to transfer from an oversubscribed institution to a university with available places.

Concerns about clinical education

Concerns about providing appropriate clinical training for the increased number of students have been expressed by different voices. According to the Dental Schools Council, providing clinical placement opportunities for dental students will be a challenge for dental schools and hospitals.

Even though Queen Mary University of London has agreed to additional funding to hire more staff in order to accept all students who met their offers, Prof. Paul Coulthard, dean for dentistry at the university, told The Guardian: “The challenge for all dental schools will be scaling up clinical teaching facilities, such as the number of dental chairs in partner hospitals, particularly as we still cannot work to capacity of space or pace because of COVID restrictions.”

He added that, because of limited dental practice owing to the pandemic, dental schools had struggled to offer dental students the clinical experience they needed in order to graduate and that graduation was only possible because educators worked in extra training sessions on evenings and weekends. “This meant students could catch up with much-needed clinical experience so they are ready to take up training posts this September. But of course the staff are exhausted now,” Coulthard explained.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Dentistry in England: A national disgrace?

LONDON, UK: The British government has recently published the much-anticipated recovery plan for National Health Service (NHS) dentistry in a policy paper, ...

Dentistry stands among top-ranked degrees in 2023

JERSEY CITY, N.J., US: In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, the value of degrees is constantly shifting to align with the demands of a ...

University aims to make dentistry more diverse

BUFFALO, N.Y., U.S.: A student at the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Dental Medicine has developed a new initiative that aims to remove barriers to ...

England and Wales set to collaborate on dental care

LONDON, England: Dental care across the UK is now in a critical state. Inadequate public funding, personnel shortages and unavailability of appointments are...

Smoking rates continue to drop steadily in England

LONDON, UK: Cigarette smoking rates in England have been in a steady decline since the 1970s, according to the Office for National Statistics. Whereas 45.6%...

“The simplicity of the Oral-B iO2 is intended to make it easier for manual users to switch to an electric toothbrush”

Recently, Oral‑B introduced its Oral-B iO Series 2 (iO2) electric toothbrush at an event in Germany. One of the speakers was Dr Daniel P. Grotzer, who...

Hospital dental trainees in England to receive pay uplift after strike action

LONDON, England: After two years of sustained industrial action, hospital dental trainees in England have voted to accept a government offer to increase ...

Semmelweis University highlights severe environmental impact of dentistry

BUDAPEST, Hungary: Research shows that healthcare systems contribute 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and dentistry plays a significant role in this...

Leading university champions holistic approach to sustainability

MONTREAL, Canada: As the world increasingly comes to terms with the immense impact produced upon the environment by industrial capitalist societies, the ...

Microplastics in dentistry: An invisible threat to patients and practitioners

WASHINGTON, US: Covering everything, including composite fillings and disposable suction tips, plastics are woven into all aspects of modern dental care. ...

Education

Live webinar
Tue. 23 September 2025
10:00 am EST (New York)