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Dentistry

Bachelor of Oral Health Science

La Trobe University · Bendigo

Bachelor degree · 3 years · On campus

Course page at La Trobe(opens in a new tab)
See every dentistry course compared

Can I get in?

Lowest ATAR
74.80
before adjustments
Lowest rank
99.95
ATAR + adjustments
  • Lowest rank is the figure to compare yourself with. If you have no adjustments, your ATAR is your rank; if you have some, add them first.
  • Lowest ATAR: some got in from here because adjustments lifted their rank.
Lowest rank that got an offer: 99.95
Lowest ATAR that got an offer, before adjustments: 74.80
Median rank that got an offer: 99.95

Rank or ATAR? Which number counts

About studying dentistry

Dentistry and oral health degrees combine coursework with supervised clinical practice. Entry to dentistry is decided by a rank, an admission test and often an interview, not by the ATAR alone. Oral health therapy and dental science are different qualifications from a dentistry degree.

This describes the field in general, not this course. Check the university's page for what this course covers.

Getting into dentistry courses

Your ATAR is necessary here and nowhere near sufficient. Direct-entry dentistry usually combines a very high rank with an admission test and an interview, in the same shape as medicine. Treat the rank shown here as one requirement among several and read the admission centre's page for this specific course.

This describes the field in general, not this course. Check the university's page for what this course covers.

These are the lowest rank and the lowest ATAR that got an offer in 2026, not a cut-off or a guarantee. Next year's depends on how many places there are and who applies. How ATARs really work · Didn't get the ATAR you needed?

What this course asks for beyond your ATAR

Entry to dentistry is usually decided by three things together: a very high rank, an admission test, and an interview. The rank below is one requirement among several, and it is not a target to aim at.

Before you can start placement you will need a police check or working with children check, immunisations and a first aid certificate. This does not affect whether you get in. It is worth knowing early because some of it takes time to organise.

We show that these requirements exist, not what they currently say, because universities change them and we would rather send you to the source than repeat something out of date. Check the current requirements at VTAC

Three kinds of figure on this page

They are not all about the same thing, so they are kept apart. Each section says who its numbers describe.

This course

Bachelor of Oral Health Science at La Trobe, Bendigo. These describe this course and nothing else.

Lowest rank that got an offer
99.95
Lowest ATAR that got an offer, before adjustments
74.80
Median rank that got an offer
99.95
Length
3 years
Study mode
On campus
Campus
Bendigo
TAC code
2100224231

Every dentistry student at La Trobe, not this course alone. The tick on each bar is the national figure for dentistry.

Overall student experience72.6%

National average: 76.6%

Teaching quality79.7%

National average: 80.5%

All of La Trobe

Every student at La Trobe, across every subject. Nobody publishes them for one course or one study area.

Dentistry at La Trobe is not reported for overall satisfaction, in full-time work, about four months out, so the whole-of-university figure is shown here instead of in the section above.

Overall satisfaction75.5%

National average: 75.1%

In full-time work, about four months out75.2%

National average: 76.2%

Median starting salary
$70,400

Where graduates end up

Source: QILT, 2025 GOS-L

QILT does not publish three-year outcomes at course level.

In full-time work+12.4 pts
4 months after finishing
79.4%
3 years on
91.8%
Employer satisfaction86.3%

of supervisors would hire another La Trobe graduate. Employers of recent graduates, surveyed by QILT (ESS 2023-2025).

Do students stay and finish?

Source: Dept of Education, 2024

Of students who started at La Trobe in 2016, nine years later:

Finished a degree
70%
Still studying
3.8%
Left after returning
17.6%
Never came back after first year
8.6%

More recently: of new La Trobe bachelor students in 2023, 10.4% didn't come back to study at any university the following year.

Students are followed if they move: finishing a degree at another university counts as finishing, and moving to another university doesn't count as leaving. Read these alongside the quality measures, not instead of them. Completion and attrition partly reflect who a university enrols – universities serving more regional, mature-age and part-time students naturally run higher attrition without being worse at teaching. What completion rates tell you

What it costs, next to what graduates earn

Total student contribution:3 years × $14,046/year ≈ $42,100Estimate

The Australian government sets this rate by field of study, so it is the same at every university in the country – La Trobe did not set it and cannot discount it. Your exact total depends on the subjects you pick. Paid through HELP once you're earning, not upfront. How HECS-HELP works

Typical starting salary (all La Trobe graduates)
$70,400
Typical salary three years on (all La Trobe graduates)
$87,000

Our arithmetic, from the fee and salary figures shown elsewhere on this page with their sources. It never affects how well this course fits you.

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