Oral Surgery MSc

Course overview

Our Master of Science in Oral Surgery provides a unique and highly relevant approach to clinical oral surgery. The MSc is delivered by leading clinicians and scientists who will help you develop the skills and knowledge to provide high quality, safe and effective clinical care, based on the latest clinical evidence.

The clinical content of the programme includes the management of patients with complex medical problems; simple and complex extractions; management of the complications of oral surgery; surgical removal of roots and unerupted teeth; management of wisdom teeth and odontogenic cysts; and the diagnosis and management of facial pain.

Your clinical knowledge and skills will be underpinned by an understanding of the latest evidence-based practice and clinical guidelines. Your understanding of research methods and interpretation of research data will be enhanced through tutorials, seminars and journal clubs, equipping you with the skills to produce your own independent research dissertation.

Design and provision of a modern clinical service requires a deep understanding of the principles of clinical governance, including clinical audit. On this programme you will learn how to apply the audit cycle to your own clinical practice and compare your outcomes to the best available standards. You will also gain experience in application of service improvement methods. These techniques developed in other industries have been adopted widely by healthcare providers.

Find out more about studying at the School of Dentistry.

Applying

Entry requirements

• Primary dental qualification that is acceptable to the University of Leeds: BDS, BChD or equivalent.
• Two years full-time (or equivalent) post-graduation clinical experience in hospital dentistry or General Dental Practice or successful completion of the PGCert in Oral Surgery from the University of Leeds.
• Two references are required: one academic reference from a registered dental practitioner and one reference from an employer.

Health and disclosure and barring screening

All successful applicants will also need to pass health and disclosure and barring screening.

The University has a policy statement on students with criminal records. For the vast majority of students who are residents in the UK the record will be checked via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

For international students

The DBS check can only include background checks on your time in the UK. If you have been resident in the UK for less than 3 years, then a criminal record check from your home country is required in addition to the UK DBS check. This may be referred to as a "Certificate of Good Conduct" (CoGC), but the name varies.

To ensure a safe and professional environment for patients, you’ll also need to meet other requirements, including screening for communicable disease – read the section below.

Occupational health

Any offer of a place to study Oral Surgery is conditional upon a satisfactory confidential occupational health assessment, which will include a health questionnaire, and if necessary further telephone consultation and/or an appointment with an occupational health clinician. Screening for serious communicable disease, (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and a review of immunisation status and needs, which includes COVID-19, will also be arranged before beginning your studies.

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.5 in every skill. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Science (6 weeks) and Language for Science: General Science (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

This programme will build your clinical experience and confidence in oral surgery and equip you with knowledge and skills that will allow you to take your clinical career forward. You will have a greater ability to critically appraise published research and professional guidelines which underpin evidenced-based practice.

The level of expertise you achieve on the programme will be influenced by your previous knowledge, experience in the field and your active approach to learning. Your career choices upon completion of the programme will also be affected by your registration with regulatory bodies such as the UK General Dental Council.

Upon successful completion, this programme does not provide/demonstrate eligibility to register with the GDC UK as a dental care professional or as a specialist in Oral Surgery.

Alumni of this programme have gone on to develop their own independent oral surgery practice, progressed in specialist teaching posts and progressed into NHS Core Training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.