Dental therapy and dental hygiene courses in the UK
26 providers are listed by the General Dental Council for programmes that train dental therapists and dental hygienists, covering 38 programmes — 31 fully approved and 7 provisionally accepted. 14 of them are also dental schools; the rest are universities, colleges and NHS trusts that train dental care professionals only. Only a GDC-approved programme leads to registration.
Every GDC-approved provider
Sorted by institution. ↗ opens the provider's own course page; the count is how many GDC inspection reports that provider has published.
| Provider | Programmes | GDC reports |
|---|---|---|
| Bangor University ↗ School of Medical and Health Sciences | Diploma of Higher Education in Dental Hygiene | 1 |
| University of Birmingham ↗ Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry | BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy | 1 |
| University of Bristol ↗ Bristol Dental School | Diploma in Dental Hygiene Diploma in Dental Therapy - conversion course for qualified dental hygienists BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy Batchelor of Dental Hygiene has been approved to commence in September 2026. (sic) (provisionally accepted) Batchelor of Dental Therapy (BDT) (sic) (provisionally accepted) | 2 |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | Bachelor of Science with Honours in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy (provisionally accepted) | — |
| Cardiff University ↗ School of Dentistry | BSc in Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene and Higher Education Diploma in Dental Hygiene | 1 |
| University of Central Lancashire ↗ | BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy | 2 |
| University of Dundee ↗ School of Dentistry | BSc in Oral Health Sciences (Hygiene and Therapy) | 1 |
| Eastman Dental Hospital ↗ School of Dental Hygiene & Dental Therapy | BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene BSc (Hons) Dental Therapy | 2 |
| University of Edinburgh ↗ Edinburgh Dental Institute | BSc Oral Health Sciences | 1 |
| University of Essex ↗ Department of Health and Human Sciences | Foundation Degree in Oral Health Science (Hygiene) BSc Oral Health Science (Therapy) FdSc Dental Hygiene (provisionally accepted) BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy (provisionally accepted) | 4 |
| Glasgow Caledonian University ↗ | BSc Oral Health Science (Hygiene and Therapy) | 1 |
| University of Greater Manchester | BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy (provisionally accepted) | — |
| University of Huddersfield | BSc (Hons) in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy (provisionally accepted) | — |
| King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ↗ This programme is awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Dental Team Education Centre | Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy | 1 |
| King's College London ↗ | Dental Therapy & Hygiene BSc | 2 |
| University of Leeds ↗ School of Dentistry | Graduate Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy BSc (Hons) in Dental Hygiene & Therapy | 3 |
| University of Liverpool ↗ School of Dentistry | Combined Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy Dental Therapy BSc (Hons) | 2 |
| University of Manchester ↗ The School of Dentistry | BSc Oral Health Sciences (Hygiene and Therapy) | 2 |
| Newcastle University ↗ School of Dental Sciences | Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy Bachelor of Science in Dental Therapy | 1 |
| University of Plymouth ↗ Peninsula Dental School | BSc (Hons) Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene | 1 |
| University of Portsmouth ↗ Dental Academy | BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy | 3 |
| Queen Mary University of London ↗ Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry | BSc Oral Health | 1 |
| University of Sheffield ↗ The School of Clinical Dentistry | Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy | 1 |
| University of Suffolk ↗ | BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy | 1 |
| Teeside University (sic) ↗ | BSc Dental Hygiene BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy | 3 |
| University of the Highlands and Islands ↗ | BSc in Oral Health Sciences (Hygiene and Therapy) | 1 |
What "provisionally accepted" means
A provisionally accepted programme has been allowed to start, but the GDC has not yet approved it. The decision waits until the first cohort has completed their studies and assessments and the programme has been inspected; the panel's recommendations then go to the Registrar. It is not a warning sign — every programme starts here — but if you are applying to one of the 7 below, ask the provider directly what happens to your registration if approval is delayed.
- Canterbury Christ Church University — Bachelor of Science with Honours in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
- University of Bristol — Batchelor of Dental Hygiene has been approved to commence in September 2026.
- University of Bristol — Batchelor of Dental Therapy (BDT)
- University of Essex — FdSc Dental Hygiene
- University of Essex — BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy
- University of Greater Manchester — BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Therapy
- University of Huddersfield — BSc (Hons) in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy
Therapy and hygiene, or dentistry?
These programmes qualify you as a dental therapist or dental hygienist — a GDC-registered dental care professional, typically three years, with no UCAT and no BDS. They are a different route from the five-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and they do not lead to Dental Foundation Training, DCT or specialty training, which are for dentists. Several dental schools run both — their entry requirements sit on each school's page.
Sources
Providers, programmes and approval status are from the General Dental Council's approved-provider list for dental therapy and dental hygiene, checked on 16 Sep 2026. The GDC page is the authority — it carries the full inspection-report history for each provider, and status can change between our checks. Note the GDC list still shows the University of Lancashire under its former name, University of Central Lancashire. “Teeside” and “Batchelor” are reproduced as written by the GDC (sic).