14 Best Dental schools in South Africa

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in South Africa ranked based on their research performance in Dentistry. A graph of 82.6K citations received by 6.44K academic papers made by 14 universities in South Africa was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Dentistry

#2 in Africa

#153 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

2. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Dentistry

#6 in Africa

#359 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

3. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Dentistry

#8 in Africa

#433 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 24,754
Founded: 1959

4. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Dentistry

#9 in Africa

#463 in the World

Founded: 1918

5. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Dentistry

#11 in Africa

#522 in the World

Founded: 1874

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Dentistry

#13 in Africa

#544 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

7. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Dentistry

#17 in Africa

#735 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

8. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Dentistry

#23 in Africa

#888 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Enrollment: 37,000
Founded: 1904

9. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Dentistry

#35 in Africa

#1249 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

10. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Dentistry

#39 in Africa

#1274 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1873

11. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

South Africa | Pretoria

For Dentistry

#41 in Africa

#1313 in the World

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 2014

12. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Dentistry

#52 in Africa

#1594 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Enrollment: 26,439
Male:Female: 42:58
Founded: 2004

13. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Dentistry

#59 in Africa

#1711 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Enrollment: 10,213
Founded: 2002

14. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Dentistry

#71 in Africa

#1978 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

The best cities to study Dentistry in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bellville, and Stellenbosch.