It is no breaking news that Kenya has a huge deficit of dental surgeons with statistics showing a mere less than 2000 registered surgeons as of late 2025. Let me take you through a snippet of becoming a dental surgeon in Kenya. Minimum entry requirements Mean grade- C+ Biology- B(plain) Chemistry- B(plain) Maths/Physics- B(plain) English/Kiswahili- B(plain) Universities offering the course Offered by only 2 government institutions 1.      Moi university 2.      University of Nairobi KUCCPS placement BDS is placed in cluster 13 and whereas a mean grade of C+ can get you an admission, the cluster points are typically high at between 43-45 out of the possible 50. This therefore means with a mean grade of below B+ it is close to impossible to get a chance given the highly competitive nature of this course. Alternative B (self-sponsorship) Missing government placement can’t be the end of the road since you can still enroll for ssp (self-sponsored program) in the government universities. It is a less competitive option but you don’t qualify for government scholarships. Tuition and Funding This is a relatively expensive course especially for the ssp students. The school fees range from KSh 500,000 to 600,000 annually. For gsp (government sponsored program) students, the government provides scholarships and can allocate loans through HELB based on your household’s financial assessment. You can be placed in the following bands depending on your household income ·       Band 1 - you get a 70% scholarship, 25% loan 5% household and up to KSh 60,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 2- you get a 60% scholarship, 30% loan 10% household and up to KSh 55,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 3- you get a 50% scholarship, 30% loan 20% household and up to KSh 50,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 4 - you get a 40% scholarship, 30% loan 30% household and up to KSh 45,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 5- you get a 30% scholarship, 30% loan 40% household and up to KSh 40,000 upkeep loan. Course structure and duration This is a very demanding course to you as the student where you will generally concentrate on learning the head and neck. It is a 5-year fulltime course with UON having 2 semesters per academic year and Moi university running a trimester. The course is structured such that; Þ    First year serves as the foundation year with students studying anatomy, physiology and biochemistry with great emphasis on dissection of the head and neck. Þ    Second year serves as para-clinical year with introduction to disease mechanisms, pharmacology and dental materials. Þ    Third year is the transition year with clinical introduction Þ    Fourth and fifth years are majorly clinical years with students undergoing vigorous clinical rotations blended with a little class work. Upon graduation after the fifth year, the new doctors must go through a compulsory one-year internship before they are licensed to practice by KMPDC Conclusion This is a highly sought after profession with a huge market deficit and a lot of returns coz come to think of someone doing braces for between 75000-150000 and a starting salary of KSh 206,000 for an intern. This is worth considering, don’t you think?

It is no breaking news that Kenya has a huge deficit of dental surgeons with statistics showing a mere less than 2000 registered surgeons as of late 2025. Let me take you through a snippet of becoming a dental surgeon in Kenya. Minimum entry requirements Mean grade- C+ Biology- B(plain) Chemistry- B(plain) Maths/Physics- B(plain) English/Kiswahili- B(plain) Universities offering the course Offered by only 2 government institutions 1.      Moi university 2.      University of Nairobi KUCCPS placement BDS is placed in cluster 13 and whereas a mean grade of C+ can get you an admission, the cluster points are typically high at between 43-45 out of the possible 50. This therefore means with a mean grade of below B+ it is close to impossible to get a chance given the highly competitive nature of this course. Alternative B (self-sponsorship) Missing government placement can’t be the end of the road since you can still enroll for ssp (self-sponsored program) in the government universities. It is a less competitive option but you don’t qualify for government scholarships. Tuition and Funding This is a relatively expensive course especially for the ssp students. The school fees range from KSh 500,000 to 600,000 annually. For gsp (government sponsored program) students, the government provides scholarships and can allocate loans through HELB based on your household’s financial assessment. You can be placed in the following bands depending on your household income ·       Band 1 - you get a 70% scholarship, 25% loan 5% household and up to KSh 60,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 2- you get a 60% scholarship, 30% loan 10% household and up to KSh 55,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 3- you get a 50% scholarship, 30% loan 20% household and up to KSh 50,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 4 - you get a 40% scholarship, 30% loan 30% household and up to KSh 45,000 upkeep loan. ·       Band 5- you get a 30% scholarship, 30% loan 40% household and up to KSh 40,000 upkeep loan. Course structure and duration This is a very demanding course to you as the student where you will generally concentrate on learning the head and neck. It is a 5-year fulltime course with UON having 2 semesters per academic year and Moi university running a trimester. The course is structured such that; Þ    First year serves as the foundation year with students studying anatomy, physiology and biochemistry with great emphasis on dissection of the head and neck. Þ    Second year serves as para-clinical year with introduction to disease mechanisms, pharmacology and dental materials. Þ    Third year is the transition year with clinical introduction Þ    Fourth and fifth years are majorly clinical years with students undergoing vigorous clinical rotations blended with a little class work. Upon graduation after the fifth year, the new doctors must go through a compulsory one-year internship before they are licensed to practice by KMPDC Conclusion This is a highly sought after profession with a huge market deficit and a lot of returns coz come to think of someone doing braces for between 75000-150000 and a starting salary of KSh 206,000 for an intern. This is worth considering, don’t you think?