Dental Nursing
Dental nurses plays a crucial role in the dental team, providing essential support to dentists and enhancing patient care.
Outstanding new facilities
Opened in 2023, our £36 million purpose-designed Dental School in Bristol City Centre, offers cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities.
Ideal environment
Learn on designated clinics with integrated teaching alongside the dental students for enhanced student learning and patient care.
Supportive teaching
Our excellent staff-to-student ratio allows for high level clinical supervision, with staff able to provide support and guidance throughout.
Dental Nursing courses for 2026
Dental Nursing at Bristol
To further strengthen the integration between Dentistry and Dental Hygiene and Therapy, the BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy recently underwent a review; the School now offers applicants the option of applying for the Bachelor of Dental Hygiene or Bachelor of Dental Therapy.
The newly named Bachelor of Dental Hygiene (BDH) will commence in September 2026.
Our Dental Hygiene degree will enable you to become a skilled, competent clinician, capable of providing high levels of clinical care and patient management. As a student Dental Hygienist, you will have your own designated clinics, in addition to being taught alongside our dental students, this integrated teaching enhances student learning and patient care.
In September 2023, Bristol Dental School opened its new £36 million, purpose-designed facility in Bristol City Centre. Designed to support the future of dental education and research, our School offers exclusive access to cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art clinical and teaching facilities, and a team of experienced dental professionals. We are proud to be ranked 3rd in the UK for Dentistry (Complete University Guide 2025 and The Times Good University Guide 2025) and to have achieved outstanding research results in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
You will be taught pre-clinical and clinical skills in brand-new training facilities, working and training alongside dental undergraduates and dental nurses and learning through a team approach to patient care. You will benefit from a variety of teaching methods that will help you develop the confidence to deliver tailored advice and carry out preventative and restorative treatments.
Learn in the heart of the city in a welcoming and supportive environment, providing routine and specialist clinical dental services.
Career prospects
The Cert HE Dental Nursing is a full-time intensive 1-year programme which equips students to work safely as a registered Dental Nurse.
Students will be eligible for guaranteed interview for Bachelor of Dental Hygiene for up to two years post-completion.
Course structures
The Cert HE Dental Nursing is an intensive 12-month programme, running from September to August. This start date allows provision of initial training and skills development ahead a clinical placement that starts in the second week of September. The consistent clinical placement, supporting undergraduate dental and dental therapy clinics, allows students to develop their clinical skills at a good pace, alongside regular didactic teaching content, formative assessment and feedback each week. To provide sufficient clinical experience, the teaching terms for Dental Nursing students will be longer than terms for other undergraduate programmes in the School.
An introductory unit starts aims to prepare students for professional practice as a Dental Nurse within the clinical setting. This ensures that students are competent in essential procedures and able to work ethically and safely within the clinical placement that is at the heart of this programme. Two longitudinal units also start at the beginning of the programme and continue throughout the academic year; Clinical and Technical Practice and Development of Self and the Team. Time and experience on the clinical placement will allow students to meet clinical and professional learning outcomes as well as developing interpersonal and self-management skills. The final unit begins in January when students will have already developed an understanding of many aspects of dental nursing, meaning students will be able to integrate new knowledge of Oral Sciences into fully understanding the processes and treatments they support.
Welcoming community
Studying here, you will have the chance to live and work in Bristol - a vibrant, diverse and multicultural city.
Studying dental hygiene and therapy means you will interact with people of all ages, social cultures and backgrounds and those with varying need, to really make a difference.
Bristol Dental School has been awarded a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of its ongoing commitment to gender equity.