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 be able to accept applications after the 8 September 2025 at 10am please ensure you have submitted and received email confirmation of your submission before this deadline.

You are unable to make changes on your application form after it has been submitted.

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 and check your spam/junk folder so you do not miss any messages.

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

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

Essential resources to support your application

Please ensure you have accessed and reviewed all information on the below before submitting your application:

Guidance on submitting your DFT application 

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

There are two important steps for submitted an application for DFT:

  1. Creating/Registering for an Oriel account
  2. Applying for dental foundation training on Oriel

Creating an Oriel account 

You can create an Oriel account at any stage and do not need to wait for the DFT advert to be available. 

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 2025 – September 2026.

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

This information is later used for the situational judgement test, where you will need to valid ID to sit, and should match.

A confirmation of this registration will automatically be sent to you. Please note this is only the first step, and not your application.

Application for 2026/2027 Dental Foundation Training

Subsequent to this confirmation, you must complete and submit the Dental Foundation Training 2026-2027 application by the deadline – 8 September 2025 at 10am.

Please refer to the additional Oriel User guidance available on the Oriel system on how to use Oriel.

You must only have Oriel open on one browser and one tab or will encounter concurrency issues that will impact submission of your application and you are unable to change your application once it is submitted.

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. Applicants are also advised to use one of those browsers when using the website and, where possible, the most up to date version of that browser.

Application form

Below is further information to help you complete sections of the application form.

Guidance for specific sections on application form part 1

See information below for personal details, reasonable adjustments and special circumstances, for completing these sections on the application form for Dental Foundation Training recruitment 2026/2027.

Personal - 3. Personal Details Reasonable Adjustments/Disabilities

Reasonable Adjustments/Disability

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.

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.

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 2026 - 2027 application form. This is the only point at which you can submit a request, we cannot guarantee any adjustments if you have not requested them at the point of application and submitted relevant medical reports for example, full Educational psychology report diagnosing an illness with the adjustments detailed in the report. Only adjustments requested that match your evidence will be reviewed/approved.

As part of your application form you will need to select the relevant adjustment available and upload medical evidence to support the adjustments requested.

It is important to note that the reasonable adjustments available for the SJT may differ from those you have previously had available at university/school exams. (adjustments cannot be guaranteed if contact is made after the specified deadline). Once the SJT invitation has been sent, we are unable to accommodate any further adjustments.

In some instances, 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 prior to 8 September 2025 at 10am.

Personal - 4. Special circumstances

Please ensure you apply for special circumstances by the 8 September 2025 at 10am, we are unable to review application requests after this deadline.

If you feel your circumstances may change during the application process and you could qualify for one of the below, please submit your special circumstances request at the point of application as we are unable to accommodate after the deadline.

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

We have a page dedicated to special circumstances and the evidence required.

Eligibility

Other professional registration(s)

Please ensure you enter all completing details of all registration bodies that you are registered with accurately here.

Fitness to practice 

It is important to note that if you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions you must also submit a fitness to practice application form via the applicant support portal.

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, 7 June 2026).

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

Enter any employment details that you have had up to the start date of the post (1 September 2026).

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’.

Other professional registration(s)

Please ensure you enter all completing details of all registration bodies that you are registered with accurately here.

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.

Further guidance to applying

  • All applications must be submitted via the Oriel recruitment portal by using the nationally agreed application form. Applications cannot be submitted after the deadline of 8th September 2025 at 10am
  • 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
  • In peak periods our response time is at least 48 hours (excluding weekends), due to the volume of queries, so we cannot guarantee we will be able to assist in time should your query fall within this timeframe, so please  ensure your application is submitted by the deadline, as we are unable to extend the closing deadline
  • 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
  • You will be unable to amend your application once it has been submitted

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

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

Deadline

If you miss the deadline to submit your application, you will need to wait for the 2027 application process. 

Once applications have been submitted, we are unable to make any changes.

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 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

More information about academic dental foundation training will be available in due course.

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: 30 July 2025
Next review due: 30 July 2027