Applying

Dental Foundation Training (DFT) applicant guide

All applications must be made via the Oriel recruitment portal hosted by NHS England (NHSE) using the nationally agreed application form.

Important: Application deadline

We will not accept applications after the 3 September 2024 at 4pm please ensure you have submitted and received confirmation before this deadline.

Non-urgent advice: Communication from Oriel

Oriel recruitment portal

All communication regarding your application will be via Oriel. Please add [email protected] to your safe senders list.

We strongly recommend that you log in to check your Oriel messages regularly as it is outside our remit how your email provider manages messages from Oriel.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your contact details are correct and kept up to date throughout the recruitment process.

Please ensure you continue to check your Oriel messages regularly, and your spam/junk folder so you do not miss any messages.

We would also encourage you to opt in to receive text messages to your phone.

Summary of changes to 2025/2026

  • Update to person specification for overseas applicants regarding passing of Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), and Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) exams by 1 September 2025
  • Only full registration with the GDC by 1 September 2025 is accepted to take up dental foundation training post
  • English language proficiency to meet GDC guidance

You must read all of the DFT website as this comprises of our DFT Applicant Guidance, and the guidance on the Dental Specialty applicant website, Oriel guidance found in the Oriel Resource Bank, and watch the 2025/26 DFT webinar, before submitting your application.

DFT application guidance

For full details of how to use Oriel and complete all relevant sections please refer to the Oriel Applicant User Guide which can be found on the Oriel Resource Bank.

We have provided additional information below regarding how to complete certain sections specifically for your application to Dental Foundation Training.

Creating an Oriel account 

To create an Oriel account with the recruitment portal, you must ensure you have a valid email address.

We strongly recommend that you use an alternative email address to the one provided by your university or employer as you will need access to your emails from August 2024 – September 2025.

When registering on Oriel, you must set up your account using your name as it appears on your passport.

Registering with Oriel is only the first step, and a confirmation of this registration will automatically be sent to you. Subsequent to this confirmation, you must complete and submit the Dental Foundation Training 2025-26 application by the deadline. Please refer to the additional Oriel User guidance available on the Oriel system.

Important: Important

Oriel is only supported by these browsers:

  • Chrome v77+
  • Edge v79+
  • Firefox v68+
  • Safari v12+

It is strongly recommended that applicants avoid using a mobile device or internet browsers that have reached the end of their product support lifecycle as these are unlikely to be supported.

Application form

Subsequent to this confirmation, you must complete and submit the Dental Foundation Training 2025-26 application by the deadline of 3 September 2024 4pm.

Please refer to the Oriel User guidance available on the Oriel resource bank.

You must only have Oriel open on one browser and one tab or will encounter concurrency issues that will impact your application.

Guidance for appliction form part one

See information below for compelting specific sections of the application form.

Competences

Here you will be asked to provide details of your primary dental qualification, and the date of achievement.

If you have not yet completed your primary dental qualification – please enter the date as the anticipated date of achievement (for example, 07 June 2024).

Here you will be asked to enter the details of the dental school where you achieved your primary dental qualification.

If it does not fall within the list provided – please select other and you will be prompted to give details.

Employment

In this section you will need to enter any employment details that you have had up to the start date of the post (September 2025).

It may be that you have no employment history at the date you are applying as you are still a dental student, in which case – answer Yes to ‘I have no employment history’.

Declarations

You will also be asked to tick that you have read and understood the guidance below.

  • Applicant declaration that focused on Preparing for and Conduct at your Online Interview and the Recruitment Process and use of Information. This can be found on the Oriel Resource Bank.
  • COPEND guidance on education and training with close family members. This can be found on the COPDEND website.

Personal details and special circumstances

See information below for personal details, reasonable adjustments and special circumstances, for completing these sections on the application form for Dental Foundation Training recruitment 2025/2026.

Personal details (reasonable adjustments)

Reasonable adjustments are the practical arrangements made to provide access to the Situational Judgement Test (SJT), to ensure that no applicant is at a disadvantage on the grounds of disability or health, without changing the demands of the assessment.

You must apply for reasonable adjustments on the relevant section on your Oriel DFT 2025-26 application form. If you require a Reasonable Adjustment for your SJT, in the Personal Details section of the application form you will need to select Yes to the question:

"Do you have a disability which requires any specific arrangements / adjustments to enable you to attend a computer-based test, interview or assessment, or other selection process?" and select the adjustment(s) you require from the list of options.

As part of your application form you will be asked to select the relevant adjustment and upload the supporting evidence to support the request.

It is important to note that the reasonable adjustments (adjustments (for example, wheelchair access, extra time, nursing mothers) allowed for the SJT selection assessment may differ from those you obtain for university exams. 

The Dental Foundation Training National Recruitment Office (DFTNRO) are aware of the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate requests provided these are made known in advance.

Adjustments cannot be guaranteed if contact is made after the specified deadline and once the invite to SJT have been sent we are unable to accommodate adjustments.

In some instances, in order to satisfy requests for adjustments, it may be necessary to schedule your exam at a specific time or in a specific location and we will contact you separately about this. 

If you have any queries regarding Reasonable Adjustments, please contact the DFTNRO recruitment team.

Please review the DFT SJT timings and time adjustments if you have been approved for time related reasonable adjustments.

Special circumstances

We have a page dedicated to special circumstances. 
There are 4 criteria:

  1. I am the primary carer for someone who is disabled (as defined by the Equality Act 2010)
  2. I have a medical condition or disability for which ongoing follow up for the condition in a specific location is an absolute requirement
  3. I am the primary carer for someone who is disabled AND I have a medical condition or disability for which ongoing follow up in a specific location is an absolute requirement
  4. I am the parent or legal guardian of a child or children under the age of 18, who reside primarily with me and for who I have significant caring responsibilities

Please ensure you apply for special circumstances by the deadline, we are unable to review application requests after this timeline.

Further guidance to applying

  • All applications must be made via the Oriel recruitment portal by using the nationally agreed application form. Late applications will not be accepted
  • Please ensure you submit in a timely manner. This is to ensure if you require support from the NRO before the application closing deadline we are able to assist you. We cannot guarantee if you have any issues within the last 30 minutes before the closing deadline we will be able to assist in time to ensure your application is submitted by the deadline, and we are unable to extend the closing deadline
  • You must only have Oriel open on one browser and one tab or will could encounter concurrency issues that will impact your application
  • You will be unable to change your application once it has been submitted
  • When you select Submit, the page will change on Oriel informing you that you have submitted your application. After this point, you will only be able to edit your contact details.

If you have any issues applying or your application form please contact us via the applicant support portal.

Submission

There are 3 ways by which you can confirm that your application has been submitted.

  1. You will receive an automatic email confirming submission. The email may not arrive immediately upon submission of your application. In busy times, particularly near the application closing date, there can be a significant delay in when this email is received
  2. Check your messages in your Oriel account. Any emails sent to you via the application system will be stored in your candidate portal on Oriel in the Messages section, so you will be able to view these upon logging in
  3. Check that your application status has been updated from In progress to Applied. This can be seen in the Applications area of your Oriel dashboard

After you have submitted your application, you will only be able to edit your contact details and you will be unable to change any information on your application form after submission.

Please note the recruitment team are unable to make changes to your application form at any stage.

Updating your Oriel account

If you wish to change your account information (email address or password) at any point, click on the profile icon in the top right-hand side.

The details you update within your profile will, where relevant, filter down into any of your in-progress or submitted applications as well as any new applications you start.

Other dental recruitment processes

The information on these pages is related to to all DFT Schemes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is managed by DFT NRO. 

There are separate recruitment offices that run recruitment for the following, see details below: please note you will need to make separate applications for these if you wish to apply.

Academic Clinical Fellow in Dental Foundation Training - NHSE South West

Academic Clinical Fellow in Dental Foundation Training (ACF) is a separate vacancy and process managed by NHS England South West.

If you wish to apply for this ACF you will be required to submit an application for DFT and be found appointable (benchmark) at national recruitment.

The national recruitment office will circulate details of the ACF recruitment to all applicants who have submitted a DFT application.

Welsh Enhanced Recruitment Offer (WERO)

Welsh Enhanced Recruitment offer (WERO) - Health Education and Improvement Wales.

DFT WERO is a local recruitment initiative managed by Health Education and Improvment Wales. This is a separate vacancy on Oriel.

Dental Vocational (foundation) Training (DVT) - NHS Education for Scotland

Dental Vocational Training (DVT), is organised and administered on a Scotland-wide basis by NHS Education for Scotland (NES). This is a sparate vacancy on Oriel.

Related information

Page last reviewed: 11 March 2024
Next review due: 11 March 2025