The 1st year of Dental Core Training (DCT1) is open to any dentist with at least 12 months whole time equivalent (WTE) postgraduate clinical experience to the full scope of a dentist by the start date of the post.
DCT2 applicants must have evidence of completion of a UK Dental Core Training Year 1 programme or equivalent by the start date of the post.
DCT3 applicants must have evidence of completion of a UK Dental Core Training Year 2 programme or equivalent by the start date of the post.
Person specification
There are full details of the DCT1, DCT2 and DCT3 entry and selection criteria, known as the person specification, on the Person specification page.
All applications will be assessed against the person specifications' essential criteria.
Any applicants found to have not met all the required eligibility criteria will be rejected from the recruitment process.
Academic person specifications
If you're applying to an Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF), you'll need to meet the criteria in both the clinical and ACF person specifications.
For more information go to the Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) page.
Important: ACF appointments only (clinical benchmarking)
If you only wish to be considered for an ACF post you should select "Academic Clinical Fellowship appointments only" on your application form.
When invited to preference posts on Oriel, you do not need to complete this. However the preferences will still appear on your Oriel account.
Your application will be withdrawn once the results of the DCT selection process are confirmed and passed to the region(s) of your ACF application(s). You will not be eligible to be considered for clinical training programmes offered through the DCT vacancy.
English language skills
Applicants must have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues, as assessed by the General Dental Council (GDC).
For more information, see the GDC's guidance on necessary knowledge of English language for dental professionals.
When you complete the Language Skills section on the application form, it may incorrectly state that you will be required to provide evidence at interview. This is not the case. Confirmation that you are registered with or will be eligible to be registered with the GDC (full or temporary) by the time of post commencement will be sufficient.
Evidence of communication skills for dental lists
For some posts, the person specification requires that you are eligible for entry onto the Dental Performers List for England, NI Dental List (Northern Ireland), NHS Scotland Health Boards Dental List or Dental Performers List in Wales.
Therefore, applicants must also ensure their evidence of communication skills complies with the standard operating procedure (SOP) or guidance issued by the relevant primary care organisation (PCO) responsible for maintaining the dental lists in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
The UK's PCOs are:
- England: NHS England
- Northern Ireland: Health and Social Care Board
- Scotland: Primary Care Divisions within Health Boards
- Wales: Local Health Boards
DCT Locum Appointment for Service (LAS) guidance
If you are currently undertaking or have undertaken a Locum Appointment for Service (LAS) DCT post and wish to apply for DCT recruitment, please read the important guidance document on the COPDEND website.
LAS posts are not usually considered to be equivalent to a UK DCT programme.
DCT1 equivalence
Dental Core Training in the UK is a structured period of training in a secondary care or specialised primary care environment, where progress against agreed development outcomes is monitored and reviewed by an assigned educational supervisor and/or clinical supervisor as part of an educational agreement for training.
The objectives of the placement are selected from the UK DCT curriculum and vary according to the individual's training needs and the opportunities available.
To demonstrate DCT1 equivalence, you must show evidence of career development in a similar environment within a structured, supervised and monitored programme for a minimum of 12 months whole-time equivalent by the time of appointment - for example, the start date of the DCT programme being applied for.
Posts considered to be equivalent to DCT1
- Hospital
- General dental practice
- Community junior training posts
- Overseas posts
The requirement for each of these types of posts is that the individual has a designated supervisor, undertakes work-based assessment and develops according to a personal development plan set at the beginning of a training period, with an appropriate review of competence progression (as identified in the UK DCT curriculum).
For posts in the UK, these must be posts with prior educational approval from a postgraduate dental dean.
Previous training should include hands-on clinical dental experience or involve training in Oral Pathology, Radiology, Oral Microbiology or Dental Public Health.
Posts not considered to be equivalent to DCT1
- Dental Foundation Training posts
- Performers List Validation by Experience (PLVE) posts
- Any post where there is no personal development plan, work-based assessment, evidence of competence progression review or designated supervisor
- Masters or PhD programmes
- Posts that provide service only, with no structured personal development plan
How DCT2 applicants can demonstrate DCT1 equivalence
If you believe you can provide evidence of a UK DCT1 equivalent post, you must:
- clearly state this on your application form
- upload a valid Educational Supervisor Letter of Support. You can find this in Oriel's Resource Bank
If you do not upload this evidence at the time you submit your application, it will prevent your application progressing.
DCT2 equivalence
The DCT3 person specification states: "Applicants must have evidence of completion of a UK Dental Core Training Year 2 programme by time of post commencement."
If this does not apply to you, however you consider you have acquired experience and/or training which is equivalent to DCT, you can apply for the National Certificate of Dental Core Equivalence (NCDCE).
An NCDCE allows applicants who have experience deemed to be equivalent to a UK DCT2 programme to meet the DCT3 person specification.
Important: NCDCE application dates
The 2022 NCDCE application window closed on Tuesday 6 September 2022 at 4pm. There will not be another opportunity for DCT3 applicants to acquire an NCDCE by the time of DCT3 application.
For more information go to NHS Education for Scotland's NCDCE page.
Eligibility for temporary UK General Dental Council (GDC) registration
There will be some preferences that will require an applicant to be eligible for full UK GDC registration to take up the post. There will be questions on the application form relating to this and it's important you answer them accurately.
Your preferences should then also be ranked appropriately. So, if you are eligible for temporary UK GDC registration, you must move all the preferences labelled "NOT suitable for temporary GDC registrants" to the not wanted column so you are not considered for these posts.
Right to work in the UK
All applicants to dental training programmes will be required to provide right to work documentation. For more information go to the Right to work in the UK page.
Page last reviewed: 8 December 2021