Applying Dental Foundation Training (DFT) applicant guide

All applications must be made via the Oriel recruitment portal hosted by HEE using the nationally agreed application form.

Information about the DFT schemes will be available via the recruitment portal, as well as on individual HEE Local Offices’ websites (or the equivalent in Wales and Northern Ireland).

To register 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 these may expire prior to DFT start dates. 

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

Registering with the recruitment portal 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 application by the deadline. Please refer to the additional Oriel User guidance available on the Oriel system.

Communication between the Dental Foundation Training National Recruitment Office (DFTNRO) and applicants will be primarily via email. Applicants should check their email account and online Oriel account a minimum of once every 24 hours. Failure to do so may result in you missing vital information in relation to your application. Please also check ‘spam’ or ‘junk-mail’ to ensure correspondence has not been filtered by your email provider.

DFT application form

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.

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.