I am largely based at the university dental hospital in Cardiff, most of our lectures, lab and clinical sessions take place here. At the dental hospital, we get to carry out a wide range of treatments such as extractions, restorations, root canal treatment and constructing dentures. Additionally, we have the opportunity to carry out procedures under conscious sedation and general anaesthesia.
Yazmin Aziz
The dental hospital also has a paediatric and orthodontic department where we treat children of all ages. I get to travel to different outreach dental clinics in south Wales including Mountain Ash, Merthyr, and Newport to treat patients. We are exposed to a diverse range of clinical scenarios through different placements.
I was recently on placement in a community dental service in Wrexham where we treat children and special care patients. We also have a maxillofacial and oral surgery placements in various hospitals in Wales and England, here you get to observe more complex surgical treatments. In the first year of the degree, you are based at the biosciences school at Cardiff University, here you learn about anatomy, carry out dissections and lab experiments.
What do you enjoy most about your course?
I really enjoy being able to interact with patients and provide them with care and support. It is very rewarding to be able to minimise the amount of pain or discomfort patients have been suffering with. I also enjoy the problem-solving aspect of dentistry, which involves looking at a patient’s medical history, clinical and radiographic findings and coming up with a treatment plan to alleviate their pain and improve their oral health.
The wide range of treatments and procedures you can carry out is also something that appealed to me, I like the diversity you have within dentistry and the different specialties you are able to explore such as prosthodontics, endodontics, and oral surgery.
What did you do to get into dental school?
For my A-levels I took Biology, Chemistry and Geography. I really enjoyed these subjects and found them to be relevant to dentistry. I undertook work experience at my general dental practice, as well as a day placement at the dental hospital in Cardiff, where I observed patients in the orthodontic and oral surgery department. This was a great insight into the different specialties within dentistry, and the variety of treatments that are provided.
I also spent some time in a dental laboratory where they construct dental prostheses such as dentures and crowns. It was fascinating to see the production of these, and the skills required to create them.
I also volunteered with St Johns Ambulance and St Catherine’s Hospice, this gave me a better understanding of patient care and working within a multidisciplinary team, it is useful to understand this as dentistry is a team-based profession.
What kind of person would suit studying your course?
You will enjoy dentistry if you are an outgoing people-orientated individual who has an interest in science and healthcare and enjoys caring for others. Dentistry does have a lot of contact hours and learning material; therefore, you need to be motivated and manage your time well.
There are also constant developments in dental technologies and materials, so you must be someone who enjoys learning and is keen to improve their skills over time. Dentistry is very much a patient-orientated career hence having good communication skills is helpful.
You also work within a dental team which may consist of other dentists, dental hygienists, and dental therapists therefore you have to be able to co-operate with others. I think someone who enjoys problem-solving will enjoy the challenges that dentistry offers.