What A-Levels Do You Need For Dentistry In 2027?

What A-levels do you need for dentistry?

Three A-levels, including at least one science that the school names. The table gives the standard offer, the published contextual offer and the three subject slots at all 16 UK dental schools for 2027 entry.

Aberdeen and the University of Lancashire recruit graduates only, so neither publishes a school-leaver offer. Lancashire still checks your A-levels alongside your degree, which is why grade C in three subjects appears in its row.

Key takeaway: Chemistry and Biology together satisfy all 14 school-leaver courses, which is why most successful applicants take both.

Which dental schools require both Chemistry and Biology?

Ten of the 16 name both subjects outright. The rest split into four smaller groups, and those groups are where a non-standard subject choice either works or does not.

• Chemistry and Biology both compulsory, 10 schools: Birmingham, Cardiff, Dundee, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Queen’s University Belfast and Sheffield. Glasgow wants both at grade A specifically.
• Chemistry compulsory, second science open, 1 school: Bristol asks for Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics, Maths or Further Maths, so Biology is genuinely optional there.
• Biology compulsory, second science open, 1 school: Plymouth asks for grade A in Biology plus grade A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology.
• Either Chemistry or Biology plus a second science, 2 schools: King’s College London and Queen Mary. King’s accepts Psychology as the second science, Queen Mary does not.
• No school-leaver A-level offer, 2 schools: Aberdeen and the University of Lancashire admit graduates only.

Human Biology counts as Biology at Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Queen’s Belfast and Sheffield. Manchester will not build an offer from two near-identical subjects, so Biology with Human Biology, or Maths with Further Maths, is refused as a pairing.

Key takeaway: Chemistry alone opens 12 of the 14 school-leaver courses and Biology alone opens 13, so the pair is the only combination that opens every door.

What is the best third A-level for dentistry?

There is no third subject that scores you extra. Plymouth states that it gives no preference to applicants with three sciences, and Liverpool says the third subject may come from the arts or the sciences.

• Maths and Physics: Safe everywhere, and they also satisfy the second-science slot at Bristol, King’s, Plymouth and Queen Mary if you decide to drop one of the two main sciences.
• Psychology: Accepted as a full third A-level everywhere, and accepted as the second science at King’s and Plymouth only.
• Humanities and languages: History, English, Geography and modern languages are all accepted as the third subject, and Plymouth says explicitly that the third A-level does not need to be a science.
• General Studies: Refused at Birmingham, Dundee, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Queen’s Belfast and Sheffield. Treat it as worthless for dentistry.
• Critical Thinking: Refused at Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Queen’s Belfast.
• Further Maths: Counts as a normal subject at most schools, but King’s and Queen Mary will not count it when Maths is already filling a science slot.

Pick the third subject you will get an A in. An A in a humanity beats a B in Physics at every school on the table, because the grade is what the offer measures.

Key takeaway: The third A-level is a grade, not a signal, so choose the subject you are strongest at and avoid General Studies and Critical Thinking.

What A-level grades do you need for dentistry?

AAA is the working number. It is the standard offer at 11 of the 16 dental schools, and the two schools above it are both in London.

• Typical offer: AAA at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Dundee, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Queen’s Belfast and Sheffield.
• Highest offer: A*AA at King’s College London and at Queen Mary, where the three grades must also come from one sitting inside two years.
• Widest range: Plymouth publishes A*AA to AAB, with the AAB end reserved for widening access applicants.
• Lowest published contextual offer: ABB, at Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle. Manchester, Plymouth and Sheffield sit one grade higher at AAB.
• Schools with no published contextual grade: Cardiff, Dundee, Glasgow, King’s, Liverpool, Queen Mary and Queen’s Belfast. Most still weigh contextual data when they rank applicants for interview, they just do not advertise a reduced offer.

Gateway, foundation and pre-dental years take you in below these grades and add a year to the course. Manchester and Liverpool both run one, and the entry criteria are separate from the figures above.

Our guide to getting into dentistry with low grades covers the gateway routes, contextual eligibility and what to do after a missed results day, and the dentistry clearing guide covers the August route.

Key takeaway: Plan for AAA, and check your contextual eligibility early because a published ABB offer is worth more than any amount of extra work experience.

How many A-levels do you need for dentistry, 3 or 4?

Three. No UK dental school requires a fourth A-level, and none of them rewards one.

• Manchester: Makes offers on three A-levels only, and states that a fourth will not be included in the offer.
• Birmingham: Says selection for interview is influenced neither by taking more than three subjects nor by achieved AS grades.
• The EPQ is the exception worth taking: Sheffield makes an alternative offer of AAB with AA in Chemistry and Biology plus grade B in a dentistry or health-related EPQ, sat in the same sitting, if Sheffield is your firm choice.
• The EPQ elsewhere: Birmingham refuses it as a third A-level, and Manchester says it will not usually form part of the formal AAA offer.
• Further Maths counting rules: King’s will not consider Further Maths as the third A-level when Maths is meeting a subject requirement, and Queen Mary applies the same rule when Maths is your second A-level.
• One sitting rules: Queen Mary needs all three grades in one sitting over no more than two years, Liverpool needs one sitting after two years of study and accepts no resits, Dundee needs the same sitting, and Birmingham caps the whole thing at two years.

A fourth A-level costs you revision time that would raise your grade in the three that count, and it does nothing for your UCAT.

Key takeaway: Take three A-levels, and add an EPQ only if Sheffield is on your list or you genuinely want the research practice.

Can you get into dentistry without Chemistry or Biology?

Not on a school-leaver route. All 14 school-leaver courses name at least one of the two, so dropping both closes every BDS in the UK for direct entry.

• Without Chemistry: Four schools work. Plymouth accepts Biology plus Physics, Maths or Psychology. King’s accepts Biology plus one of Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. Queen Mary accepts Biology plus Physics or Maths. Bristol is out, because Chemistry is compulsory there.
• Without Biology: Three schools work. Bristol accepts Chemistry plus Physics, Maths or Further Maths, and King’s and Queen Mary both accept Chemistry plus a second science.
• Without either: No direct route exists. Your options are a foundation or gateway year, an access course, or a science degree followed by graduate entry.

If you have already finished the wrong A-levels, graduate entry dentistry is the cleanest fix: Aberdeen and the University of Lancashire run four-year courses built for graduates, and Birmingham, Liverpool and Queen’s Belfast all consider graduates on the five-year BDS. Our guide to getting into dentistry with low grades sets out the foundation-year alternatives.

Key takeaway: Dropping one of Chemistry or Biology narrows you to three or four schools, and dropping both means adding a year to your route.

Two new dental schools open for 2027 entry

Two more BDS courses accept UK applicants for the first time in September 2027, funded by the Office for Students dental expansion. They sit outside the 16-school table because neither has an offer history yet.

• Portsmouth (B758): AAA, or 144 UCAS points from three A-levels, including grade A in Biology and grade A in one further science from Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. Twenty-five funded places.
• University of East Anglia: AAA including Biology or Chemistry, taught on the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital campus. Twenty-five UK places and 11 international places.

Both courses are five years and both use the UCAT. Because they are new, published grade requirements are more likely to move than at established schools, so recheck them when UCAS opens.

Key takeaway: Portsmouth and UEA add 50 UK places for 2027, and both fit the standard Chemistry plus Biology subject choice.

Scottish Highers, the IB and other equivalents

The Scottish dental schools run their own scales, and the two Scottish universities on the table treat Highers as the main route rather than an equivalent.

• Scottish Highers: Glasgow asks for AAAAB at Higher plus BB at Advanced Higher, with Biology and Chemistry at grade A. Dundee asks for AAAAB, dropping to AAABB for widening access applicants.
• International Baccalaureate: 36 points with 666 at Higher Level is the common shape, used at Cardiff, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield. Queen Mary asks 37 points, and Bristol asks 36 with 18 at Higher Level.
• Access to HE Diplomas: Accepted at Bristol, King’s, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, always with named Chemistry and Biology credits at Distinction.
• BTECs: Narrow. Sheffield and Bristol take an Applied Science extended diploma with specified units, Liverpool does not accept BTECs at all, and Birmingham refuses BTECs, access courses and foundation programmes outright.

Key takeaway: Every equivalent qualification still has to carry the same named sciences, so the subject rules matter more than the qualification you sit them in.

What GCSEs do you need for dentistry?

Most dental schools want six to nine GCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English, Maths and science, and the competitive schools want more.

Birmingham asks for grade 8 in Biology and Chemistry with grade 7 in Maths and English, Glasgow asks for six subjects at grade 7, and Sheffield asks for six at grade 7 including English, Maths and science.

Our guide on how to become a dentist and dentistry entry requirements sets out the GCSE profile school by school, alongside the UCAT, work experience and interview stages.

Key takeaway: GCSEs are scored before your A-levels are even sat at several schools, so a weak set narrows your list before you apply.

Applying to medicine instead or as well?

The subject rules differ enough to matter, so read which A-levels you need to become a doctor before you settle on a combination, because a handful of medical schools accept Biology without Chemistry while most dental schools do not.

Key takeaway: Chemistry with Biology keeps both medicine and dentistry open, which is why it is the default pairing for applicants who have not decided.

Related guides and tools

Use these to plan the rest of your dental application once your subjects are settled:

• Dental schools in the UK: compare every BDS course, its UCAT policy and its interview format
• Dentistry work experience guide: how much you need, where to find it and how to write it up
• Ultimate dentistry personal statement guide: structure, content and the mistakes that cost interviews
• Dental school interview questions: practice questions with model answers for MMI and panel formats
• Getting into dentistry with low grades: contextual offers, gateway years, clearing and reapplying