Access Courses

[SaintAleia]

I am currently a dental nurse wanting to train as a hygienist in 2010. I dropped out of college early with no A-levels but have 5 As at GCSE and will have my Oral Health NVQ by the summer.
I have the bare minimum qualifications to get onto a hygiene course (some unis accept dental nurse training in lieu of A-levels) but as there is so much competition I'm thinking of doing an Access course (Biosciences) to boost my chances.
Has anybody here been on an Access course? Was it worth it? I'm very wary of having to give up full-time work for a year if there's no guarantee it'll help in the long run.
Does anybody know how valuable my prior experience in the dental field will be when applying? Will I be considered inferior for having done an Access course as opposed to the traditional route?
Any help at all would be valuable, as would your honesty. I'd like opinions as well on whether I've perhaps got my head in the clouds a bit with this because although I am considering other pathways this is definitely top of the pile.