Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy BSc (Hons)
BSc Hons Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
BSc Hons Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
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.
Course highlights
- 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 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
At least £5,000 a year
Students on this course may be eligible for additional funding through the NHS Learning Support Fund bursary of at least £5,000 a year.
100% of graduates in work or further study 15 months after this course (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2018/19)
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.
Liz Wathen, a BSc Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy student at the University of Portsmouth, talks about her experiences at the Dental Academy.
Why did you choose to study Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at the University of Portsmouth?
Liz: The facilities are really good at the Dental Academy. They have clinics on the campus. Above the clinics, you've got the phantom head labs which are just really up to date.
What is your favourite thing about the Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy course?
Liz: So my favourite thing about the course, I would say, is the practical sessions in the clinics. I enjoy learning about what we're actually going to do in practice and then putting that into practice on the phantom heads.
What's the most exciting project you've worked on as part of the course?
Liz: Going in, doing the practical sessions and particularly working with the ultrasonic scalers. I was a dental nurse before I started this course, so I have seen dentists use the ultrasonic scaler. So to be able to come in and actually be able to use it myself was very exciting.
After you graduate, what are your plans for the future?
Liz: I'm hoping to work a couple of days in a private practice, a couple of days in the NHS and I also worked as a dental nurse in the prison. I really would like to return to it as a therapist.
What would you say to convince someone to study Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at the University of Portsmouth?
Liz: The tutors, they don't just teach you to pass your course. They really care about you having a good information and knowledge base to be able to deal with your patients as a whole. It's just amazing.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Typical offers
- UCAS points – 128–136 points from 3 A levels, or equivalent, including 40 points from a pure Science subject For A levels which include a separate science practical component, a pass is desirable and may strengthen an application (calculate your UCAS points)
- BTECs (Extended Diplomas) – DDD–DDM
Selection process
- All shortlisted applicants will need to attend an interview. Applicants must pass Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health checks before starting the course. This includes screening to exclude infectivity with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
See full entry requirements and other qualifications we accept
English language requirements
- English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 7.0 with no component score below 6.5.
See alternative English language qualifications
We also accept other standard English tests and qualifications, as long as they meet the minimum requirements of your course.
If you don't meet the English language requirements yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
Values and the NHS Constitution
We embed the principles and values of the NHS Constitution in all our health and social care courses. When you apply for this course, we’ll expect you to demonstrate how your values align with the values of the Constitution.
Choosing to study Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at the University of Portsmouth was a no brainer as the course is accredited by the GDC. Portsmouth is also a brilliant student city and absolutely beautiful in the summer!
Facilities and specialist equipment
Dental Academy
Hone your practical dental skills in our Dental Academy, which includes 2 patient clinics with 44 dental treatment bays.
Phantom Head lab
Build your skills and your confidence using our realistic industry-standard phantom heads, designed to simulate working with real patients.
Dental radiography
Learn how to take dental X-rays and explore dental imaging techniques in our dental radiography booths.
Take a tour of our Dental Academy at the University of Portsmouth, where we teach Dental Hygiene, Dental Therapy and Dental Nursing courses.
Careers and opportunities
Both dental hygienists and dental therapists provide oral care that helps patients maintain a healthy mouth, gums and teeth. The treatments and procedures they carry out – such as scaling and polishing, and taking dental X-rays – are designed to support good oral health and prevent dental problems before they develop.
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 BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy 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 and embark on your dental career straight away.
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
What jobs can you do with a dental hygiene and dental therapy degree?
Roles our graduates have taken on include:
- dental hygienist
- dental therapist
- oral health educator
- practice manager
- practice owner
You could also continue your dental studies or do research at postgraduate level.
Our graduates have progressed in many areas within the dental sector including working within the Forces, HM Prison, community and hospital dental services and general practice. A number of our graduates have successfully set up their own dental practices and companies.
Potential salary
As an NHS dental hygienist in 2021, you could expect a starting salary of £25,655 moving up to £31,534 (Band 5).
With more experience as a specialised dental hygienist, you could earn from £32,306 to £39,027 (Band 6) and with a role training others in dental hygiene, you could make up to £45,839 (Band 7).
As a dental therapist in the NHS in 2021, your starting salary would be between £25,655 and £39,027 (Bands 5-6). Once you have more experience, you could earn up to £45,839 (Band 7).
In private practice, hourly rates for dental hygienists and dental therapists range from approximately £16.56 to over £50.00.
Ongoing careers support
After you graduate, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability Service as you advance in your career.
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
- providing dental check ups to elite athletes, including first team players from Portsmouth Football Club
Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations
The Government has made full Covid-19 vaccination status a condition of deployment for all frontline health and social-care workers from 1 April 2022. This includes students undertaking work placements in health and social-care settings.
In order to be able to meet the learning outcomes of this course and the standards of proficiency of the professional, regulatory or statutory body (PSRB) body, it is an essential part of this course to attend placements in these settings. As such it is a requirement of this course that all students are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 prior to the start of the programme or have proof of medical exemption. Confirmation of this will form part of the Occupational Health checks before starting the course.
If you are medically exempt from having the vaccinations please contact admissions@port.ac.uk to confirm evidence requirements and speak to a member of staff in the relevant school or department.
The Government guidance around this will be monitored including the definition of what constitutes full Covid-19 vaccination status.
If you have any questions please email admissions@port.ac.uk.
Thanks to a collaborative partnership with Portsmouth Football Club, our undergraduate dental students gave first team players Clark Robertson and Liam Vincent a full oral health assessment at our Dental Academy.
Check ups like these are an opportunity to catch any potential issues early, such as dental trauma from the sport, tooth decay from a diet that’s often high in carbohydrates and sugars, or dental erosion caused by acidic sports drinks.
Professor Chris Louca: Today we are resurrecting a collaboration between the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club. So in this case, we've got final year Dental Hygiene students who are looking at the Portsmouth Football Club players and they're carrying out a full oral health assessment.
This is a really big area of interest, looking at the link between oral health and the performance of elite athletes. There's a growing body of evidence to show that there is a link between these two areas.
Francesca Lee: So an athlete's diet consists of high sugar, so the advice I'd give to athletes is to minimise eating sugary foods and drinks and if they're going to have it, eat it in one sitting rather than snacking throughout the day.
Liam Vincent: I've just had a check up and they've removed some decay off my teeth. My teeth are a lot better now!
I never really considered the health of my teeth before, as much as I will do now.
Clark Robertson: I didn't really think about it too much in relation to actually playing football, but it's something I'll be more aware of moving forward.
What you'll study
Each module on this course is worth a certain number of credits.
In each year, you need to study modules worth a total of 120 credits. For example, 4 modules worth 20 credits and 1 module worth 40 credits.
Modules
Core modules in this year include:
- Core Skills Training Framework – 0 credits
- Tutorials – 0 credits
- Foundation of Evidence Based Practice – 20 credits
- Foundations of Dhdt Professional Practice – 40 credits
- Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene & Therapy Practice – 20 credits
- Integrated Clinical Practice – 0 credits
- Science Informing Practice – 40 credits
- UPDA Events – 0 credits
There are no optional modules in this year.
Core modules in this year include:
- Applied Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice – 40 credits
- Communication for the Dental Team – 20 credits
- Core Skills Training Framework Repeat Level 5 – 0 credits
- Dental Radiography – 20 credits
- Tutorials – 0 credits
- Engaging With Service Improvement – 20 credits
- Evidence Based Decision Making – 20 credits
- Integrated Clinical Practice – 0 credits
- UPDA Events – 0 credits
There are no optional modules in this year.
Core modules in this year include:
- Behaviour Management – 20 credits
- Core Skills Training Framework Repeat Level 6 – 0 credits
- Tutorials – 0 credits
- Enhancing Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice – 40 credits
- Leading Safe and Effective Care – 20 credits
- Project – 40 credits
- UPDA Events – 0 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.
How you're assessed
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 will depend on the modules you select throughout your course. Here's an example from a previous year of how students on this course were typically assessed:
- 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
The tutors, they don't just teach you to pass your course. They really care about you having a good information and knowledge base to be able to deal with your patients as a whole. It's just amazing.
Teaching
Teaching methods on this course include:
- lectures
- seminars
- practical laboratory work
- guided reading
- supervised clinical sessions
In the second and third year, there are student clinics within the school to develop skills and apply knowledge for up to 2 days a week.
Our academic staff have expertise in clinical practice and research, and you'll be fully supported face to face and online with the appropriate study materials.
How you'll spend your time
One of the main differences between school or college and university is how much control you have over your learning.
We're planning for most of your learning to be supported by timetabled face-to-face teaching with some elements of online provision. Please be aware, the balance between face-to-face teaching and online provision may change depending on Government restrictions. You'll also do lots of independent study with support from staff and our virtual learning environment, Moodle. Find out more about how our teaching has transformed to best support your learning.
A typical week
We recommend you spend at least 35 hours a week studying for your Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy degree. In your first year, you’ll be in timetabled teaching activities such as tutorials, lectures, practical classes and workshops and guided independent study sessions for about 13.5 hours a week. The rest of the time you’ll do independent study such as research, reading, coursework and project work, alone or in a group with others from your course. You'll probably do more independent study and have less scheduled teaching in years 2 and 3, but this depends on which modules you choose.
Most timetabled teaching takes place during the day, Monday to Friday. You may occasionally need to go to University and course events in the evenings and at weekends.
Term dates
The academic year runs from September to June. There are breaks at Christmas and Easter.
Supporting your learning
The amount of timetabled teaching you'll get on your degree might be less than what you're used to at school or college, but you'll also get support via video, phone and face-to-face from teaching and support staff to enhance your learning experience and help you succeed. You can build your personalised network of support from the following people and services:
Types of support
Your personal tutor helps you make the transition to independent study and gives you academic and personal support throughout your time at university.
As well as regular scheduled meetings with your personal tutor, they're also available at set times during the week if you want to chat with them about anything that can't wait until your next meeting.
You'll have help from a team of faculty learning support tutors. They can help you improve and develop your academic skills and support you in any area of your study.
They can help with:
- improving your academic writing (for example, essays, reports, dissertations)
- understanding and using assignment feedback
- managing your time and workload
- revision and exam techniques
As well as support from faculty staff and your personal tutor, you can use the University’s Academic Skills Unit (ASK) for one-to-one support in areas such as:
- academic writing
- note taking
- time management
- critical thinking
- presentation skills
- referencing
- working in groups
- revision, memory and exam techniques
Our online Learning Well mini-course will help you plan for managing the challenges of learning and student life, so you can fulfil your potential and have a great student experience.
You can get personal, emotional and mental health support from our Student Wellbeing Service, in person and online. This includes 1-2-1 support as well as courses and workshops that help you better manage stress, anxiety or depression.
If you require extra support because of a disability or additional learning need our specialist team can help you.
They'll help you to:
- discuss and agree on reasonable adjustments
- liaise with other University services and facilities, such as the library
- access specialist study skills and strategies tutors, and assistive technology tutors, on a 1-to-1 basis or in groups
- liaise with external services
Library staff are available in person or by email, phone or online chat to help you make the most of the University’s library resources. You can also request one-to-one appointments and get support from the faculty librarian for science.
The library is open 24 hours a day, every day, in term time.
If English isn't your first language, you can do one of our English language courses to improve your written and spoken English language skills before starting your degree. Once you're here, you can take part in our free In-Sessional English (ISE) programme to improve your English further.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees (2022 start)
- UK students – £9,250 per year (may be subject to annual increase)
- EU students – £9,250 a year (including Transition Scholarship – may be subject to annual increase)
- International students – £25,400 per year (subject to annual increase)
Funding your studies
Find out how to fund your studies, including the scholarships and bursaries you could get. You can also find more about tuition fees and living costs, including what your tuition fees cover.
Applying from outside the UK? Find out about funding options for international students.
Additional funding – at least £5,000 a year
Students on this course may be eligible for additional funding through the NHS Learning Support Fund of at least £5,000 a year. The bursary is non-repayable and is in addition to any other support you are eligible for, including Government student loans.
For more information, including eligibility criteria, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
Additional course costs
These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending.
Additional costs
Our accommodation section shows your accommodation options and highlights how much it costs to live in Portsmouth.
You’ll study up to 6 modules a year. You may have to read several recommended books or textbooks for each module.
You can borrow most of these from the Library. If you buy these, they may cost up to £60 each.
We recommend that you budget £75 a year for photocopying, memory sticks, DVDs and CDs, printing charges, binding and specialist printing.
If your final year includes a major project, there could be cost for transport or accommodation related to your research activities. The amount will depend on the project you choose.
You’ll get 3 sets of scrubs (clinical clothing) and a name badge at the start of the course. You can order extra or replacement scrubs at £8 per set or £4 an item. You can also order replacement name badges for £7.
You’ll need to buy your own visor frame (available from the Dental Academy for £8) and a pair of black shoes which enclose the foot (not canvas or clogs).
Plastic skulls are available for a £30.00 deposit to assist your learning of oral anatomy during your first year.
You’ll need to bring your own 40mm padlock if you use our locker facilities.
You’ll attend outreach locations to support your studies, and you’ll need to cover travel costs. The NHS may meet some of these costs through its Learning Support Fund.
Optional conference trips will cost in the region of £100–£200. You may have the opportunity to engage in the Erasmus programme, which will incur additional costs.
Apply
How to apply
To start this course in 2022, apply through UCAS. You'll need:
- the UCAS course code – B750
- our institution code – P80
If you'd prefer to apply directly, use our online application form.
You can also sign up to an Open Day to:
- Tour our campus, facilities and halls of residence
- Speak with lecturers and chat with our students
- Get information about where to live, how to fund your studies and which clubs and societies to join
If you're new to the application process, read our guide on applying for an undergraduate course.
How to apply from outside the UK
See the 'How to apply' section above for details of how to apply. You can also get an agent to help with your application. Check your country page for details of agents in your region.
To find out what to include in your application, head to the how to apply page of our international students section.
If you don't meet the English language requirements for this course yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.
- Subject area
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