Most dental graduates become general dental practitioners. Other possible careers lie in the hospital service or the community dental service.

Choosing a career in NHS general dental practice requires you to undertake a period of vocational training designed to ease the transition between dental school and general dental practice.

This vocational training period lasts one year. However, in some parts of the country, it has been voluntarily extended to a two-year period of general professional training, to provide experience in the provision of dental care in both primary and secondary settings.