Sir, in his letter of 24 June, Dr Pine highlights his daughter's difficulty in gaining a place to study dentistry. It is very disappointing that someone who wishes to enter the profession fails to gain a place but this is, indeed, a highly competitive environment.
The number of UK undergraduate training places in dentistry is set by government to prevent 'oversupply' of dentists (and it should be noted that undergraduate numbers in the UK were reduced by over 10% in 2013/14). Demand therefore considerably exceeds capacity at every dental school and, due to capped numbers, dentistry is one of the few remaining professions where entry to university depends upon 'selection' rather than 'recruitment'. There is, approximately, a 15:1 ratio of applicants to places in most undergraduate dental schools in the UK and, because of their smaller capacity and the need for one to one teaching in many areas of the course, it can be more difficult to gain a place in dentistry than in medicine (medicine has approximately 4-5 times more places and there are twice as many undergraduate medical schools as dental schools).
As these posts are sought after very competitively it is important to make the process as fair (based solely on merit) and transparent as possible. First considerations are based objectively on academic performance to ensure that those selected can cope with the very challenging academic elements. There are then subsequent assessments of vocation and motivation, mapping of applicants against 'values' as well as consideration of practical capabilities and communication skills. At each stage school's admissions processes are subject to scrutiny by a variety of sources and so are designed carefully.
In the end we admit highly talented and capable students into a challenging course and we work to enable them to meet the outcomes required for registration. At each hurdle there are, unfortunately, some individuals who do not quite make it. Dr Pine is right when he states: 'There must be so many other able students to create such competition'. There are, and whilst some good candidates are regrettably unsuccessful, those who make it are intelligent, practically capable, carers who are the future leaders of the profession and who are, very deservedly, our colleagues.
1. Chair, Dental Schools Council
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Youngson, C. A highly competitive environment. Br Dent J 221, 150 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.584
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.584
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