To become a dentist is one of the most difficult courses to gain entry to a university level in the UK. The requirements needed to even to make an application for dentistry is extremely demanding but also the competition for places is fierce. All dental school UK universities will have approximately 40 applicants per place. You can also be assured that nearly all of those 40 candidates chasing for one place will be of an extremely high-calibre. However, there are ways in which you can maximize your chances of gaining a place to become a dentist. It is not just one particular action you have to take but a number of actions which all simultaneously put together will increase the probability of you getting an offer from a university. Even when you gain a place to study dentistry at university for 5 years, the course itself is extremely intense and demanding. There is not usually a very high failure rate and that is because each candidate knows how difficult it was for them to get into doing a dental degree in the first place but also the calibre of each student is exceptional.
Once you have done your dental degree, in theory, you are ready to treat your own patients. From a practical perspective, dentists, if they want to work under the NHS, you will be required to carry out a foundation training year which is for 12-months.
Having mentioned the difficulties in becoming a dentist, it is indeed a demanding job yet rewarding and satisfying to have as a career.