Program Overview

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PG Certificate (Postgraduate Certificate) Clinical Conscious Sedation and Anxiety Management

Overview

This programme is for dental practitioners wishing to develop competence, knowledge and skills to feel confident in the provision of conscious sedation and anxiety management. It will allow you to gain experience with intravenous sedation and your knowledge will be developed through distance learning modules and study days.

Clinical skills will be acquired during supervised clinical placements in Bristol (Emersons Green) for Oral Surgery patients, and as you progress through the certificate you will gain a greater understanding of pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain and anxiety control.

The Anxiety Management unit will provide you with a knowledge and critical understanding of the theoretical framework that underpins cognitive therapy, including self-help and behavioural approaches.

You will have 20+ mentored cases to become an accredited sedation provider in as little as 5 days. Immediate life support training is also included as part of this programme.

Students are offered the opportunity to combine this programme with the Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Oral Surgery to graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Oral Surgery, Clinical Conscious Sedation and Anxiety Management.

Key Information

• Programme duration: One year part-time
• Start date: September 2025
• Application deadline:
  • Overseas applicants: 25 July 2025
  • Home applicants: 8 August 2025
• Delivery method: Online with On-Campus Elements
• Location: Clifton
• Awards available: PG Certificate (Postgraduate Certificate)

Programme Structure

This modular programme is divided into three units.

World-leading Research

• The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education)
• 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent

Entry Requirements

• You will typically need a Bachelor of Dental Surgery or an equivalent United Kingdom General Dental Council-registrable dental qualification
• You will also need at least one year's demonstrable postgraduate clinical experience

This course will provide clinical experience for the delivery of intravenous dental conscious sedation during oral surgery procedures only. Therefore, you should be an experienced general dental practitioner with confidence in delivering routine (level 1) oral surgery, ideally with some experience of surgical procedures (level 2). More detail on level 1 and 2 procedures can be found in the NHS England Oral Surgery Clinical Standard.

You must submit all required documents to the specifications detailed in the programme's Admissions Statement to be considered for review.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level B.

Fees and Funding

• Home: part-time (one year) - £13,500 per year
• Overseas: part-time (one year) - £14,000 per year

Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

Alumni Discount

University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study.

Funding and Scholarships

To assist with the delivery of more advanced NHS dental care outside an acute hospital setting, Health Education England has teamed up with the NHS Local Dental Network to provide financial support for practitioners providing NHS services within the South West.

This is available for dentists who wish to develop their clinical skills by studying on one of our postgraduate programmes. Applications are assessed on merit and according to predefined criteria by the relevant Managed Clinical Network.

Career Prospects

This programme is aimed at experienced dental practitioners who want to develop their skills in providing conscious sedation for their patients in practice, with additional clinical experience in Oral Surgery.