Courses for DCPs

Qualifications

Dental radiography for dental care professionals

Our online Radiography programme teaches dental nurses how to use X-rays safely, and how to take common radiographs. The programme leads to the BDA Education Certificate in Dental Radiography - a nationally recognised qualification that entitles you to take radiographs unsupervised.

The initial part of the programme is a course consisting of 25 modules and 5 quizzes to be completed over a period of 8 weeks. You will then be expected to complete a Practical Portfolio, under supervision; consisting of 40 radiographs. You will be given approximately 5 months to complete the practical work.

Once the Portfolio has been completed to the required standard, you will then sit a 1 hour, online, multiple choice examination.

The programme is approved by the British Society of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, and the Society and College of Radiographers.

Read the interview with the BDA Honours and Awards winning radiography student to find out what their experience learning with BDA Education was like.

Register now for the Radiography programme

Radiography program dates and exam information

Once you have successfully completed the online course and the practical work, you will need to sit the final exam. Exams are held online, on a set Saturday, at 10:00, using a secure system.

You must have access to a PC, with broadband internet connection, to be able to take the final exam (you will not be able to use a Chromebook, tablet or phone to take the final exam).

The exam will last for 1hr and consist of 80 single best answer answer questions. We will give you plenty of practise in answering exam questions during the programme and you will also have the chance to sit a mock exam online.

Key dates

Program start	Portfolio deadline	Exam date
20 January 2025	14 July 2025	20 September 2025
17 February 2025	11 August 2025	20 September 2025
17 March 2025	09 September 2025	20 September 2025
21 April 2025	07 October 2025	22 November 2025
19 May 2025	21 October 2025	22 November 2025
16 June 2025	04 November 2025	22 November 2025
11 August 2025	03 February 2026	14 March 2026
08 September 2025	24 February 2026	14 March 2026

Oral Health Education for dental care professionals

The Oral Health Education programme was developed in partnership with OHE Southwest, this flexible, online programme will help dental nurses or DCPs to learn the communication skills needed to educate your patients about their oral health.

Designed for busy DCPs in a clear, concise and interactive format. You will be required to complete 27 modules, 7 quizzes and a practise test over a period of 8 weeks. Students will then be expected to complete a Practical Portfolio. You will be given approximately 4 months to complete the practical work.

Once the Portfolio has been completed to the required standard, students will then sit an online examination.

The course leads to the nationally-recognised BDA Education Certificate in Oral Health Education, which qualifies you to work as an Oral Health Educator within your practice.

Watch our interview with Ana Tout, a previous BDA Oral Health Education student, about how gaining the OHE qualification has benefited her and the team she works with.

BDA's Oral Health Education Qualification

Register now for the OHE course

Oral Health Education program dates and exam information

Once you have completed the online course and the practical portfolio you will be eligible to sit the final online exam. The exam includes multiple choice questions and long answer questions based on hypothetical cases.

We will provide plenty of support, including practice tests and feedback, to help you prepare for the examination.

The final exams are held on Saturdays at 10am, dates below, and are taken at home. For the exam you will need a Windows PC or Mac computer with a webcam. The exams cannot be taken on a Chromebook, tablet, or phone.

Key dates

Course	Portfolio deadline	Online Examination
27 January 2025	04 August 2025	20 September 2025
24 February 2025	01 September 2025	20 September 2025
21 April 2025	27 October 2025	22 November 2025
11 August 2025	09 February 2026	14 March 2026
08 September 2025	23 February 2026	14 March 2026

OHE Ann Felton Scholarship

We are now taking applications for the 2025 Ann Felton Scholarship. This is a unique opportunity to gain a free place on our OHE qualification (worth £782).

As part of the application, you will need to answer the following question: How would you use the OHE qualification to make a difference?

For more details and to apply, visit our CPD Hub (please note that you need a BDA account to access the Hub): OHE - Ann Felton Scholarship 2025

Closing date: 13 June 2025

About Ann Felton

"Love your patients and they will do anything that you ask."

Ann Felton (1942 - 2007)

Ann Felton's career in dentistry began in her teens (in the late 1950s) as a qualified dental nurse in South Bristol.

When her children reached their teens, Ann was able to retrain as a dental hygienist at the grand old age of 41 (the oldest in her class by a good decade!), and became a hygienist, before being asked to teach Oral Health Education at Bristol Dental Hospital (following the successful completion of a teaching qualification).

Such was Ann's dedication to her students and Oral Health Education, that when the Dental Hospital stopped teaching the course, Ann set up her own school, which she ran in the evenings (without profit). Her genuine love of both students and patients, coupled with the satisfaction of seeing nurses (often from working class backgrounds) achieve new heights, made her many long-lasting friendships within the industry.

Ann often referred to her nurses as the "Darlings of dentistry," believing that their roles were pivotal, yet so often undervalued in many practices, and was adamant that nurses should be given the respect they deserved, and access to new and exciting career opportunities.

In 2000, Ann formed OHE-Southwest; which was to become one of the top OHE courses in the country. She was also elected Secretary of the BDHA South West/South Wales Regional Group. In Ann's later years, despite a long battle with cancer, she carried on teaching, wrote a course textbook, and developed the online course with the BDA.

Ann's life was dedicated to making people smile and their smiles brighter, and this scholarship is your chance to follow in her footsteps – from dental nurse – to wherever you wish to go within dentistry.

Ann Felton Scholarship - entry requirements

Criteria for entry

Entrants must be GDC-registered dental care professionals and must have the signed support of a GDC-registered dentist.

Applications must be received by the specified deadline. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

Essays exceeding 250 words will not be considered.

Terms and conditions

The Scholarship acts as rebate against course and examination fees for one Oral Health Education course taken in the same year as the application. Entrants may not defer the award under any circumstances.
No cash alternative is available. The Scholarship is not transferrable and cannot be substituted by any other BDA course, product or event.
The winning entrant will be notified within one month of the application deadline.
The recipient of the OHE Scholarship must inform BDA Education of any changes to their status which may affect their ability to complete the course, before the course begins.
Awarding the OHE scholarship remains at the absolute discretion of BDA Education. BDA Education may decide not to award any scholarships in a given year.
If the recipient of the scholarship is not successful at their first examination, they will need to pay to resit the exam.
BDA Education reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions detailed in this document and any terms and conditions detailed in the award letter.

Continuing professional development (CPD)

CPD Hub

The CPD Hub provides online training courses and free CPD courses for all dental nurses and other dental professionals. Designed to help you to gain training and meet your CPD requirements. Topics covered include Child Protection, Decontamination and Data Protection Officer training.

Events

Everyone in the dental team is welcome to attend our events. We use a variety of formats; lecture-based seminars, practical hands-on training, and small group interactive workshops, delivered either in-person, virtually or sometimes through a blend of the two.

Events in our portfolio cover subjects such as business best practice, practice management processes, core CPD topics, clinical skills and techniques, personal and professional development.

Attending events provides a great opportunity to not only hear first-hand from the experts but to ask questions and learn through discussion with your peers. Discounted fees typically apply for DCPs and group booking discounts may be offered for some events too.

Webinars

Earn CPD from the comfort of your own home.

Our weekly hour-long live evening webinar series covers a wide range of topics – clinical, business, core CPD, personal and team development, and well-being too.

Missed the live lecture? Then catch-up with webinars on-demand. Most lectures are recorded and available to access on-demand for a limited period too.

A bespoke magazine

Earn 10 hours verifiable CPD over a year from our online magazine BDJ Team - aimed at all members of the dental team. BDJ Team features people stories, advice, research, news, views and dental products.