| Unit name | Bachelor of Dental Therapy/Hygiene – Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ORDS10024 |
| Credit points | 0 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Miss. Sarah Bain |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Dental School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
This unit will introduce the fundamentals of biomedical sciences with relevance specifically to the working practice of the dental therapist. The principles of acute and chronic inflammation and wound healing form the underpinning knowledge required prior to its application to oral tissues and introduces you to periodontal disease. You will have thorough knowledge of common medical conditions, particularly those of oral significance including their management implications. Pre-clinical training ensures that you have the relevant skills, knowledge and behaviours to commence periodontal patient care. Communication skills are developed to enable patient assessment, patient consent, treatment and effective team working. Legal, ethical and evidence-based principles that underpin good clinical practice are introduced. The importance of social accountability is introduced together with recognising the need for reflective practice and feedback. Once you have demonstrated competence in the pre-clinical setting, you begin direct patient care under supervision, including pain and anxiety control.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The first unit equips you with the appropriate skills, knowledge and professional behaviours to commence safe patient care and provides periodontal patient treatment sessions. It provides background to educational principles and methodology within Oral Health Promotion, looking at concepts of health, health behaviour and sociological influences community wide. There is a specific focus on the needs and management of different patient groups including children, adults, older people, patients from differing cultural backgrounds and those with special care requirements. The principles of evidence-based practice are introduced, which prepares you to critically appraise evidence for patient modalities.
An overview of content
Content of this unit includes the relevant anatomy and physiology of the oral cavity, alongside principles of acute and chronic inflammation and wound healing. These will form the underpinning knowledge required prior to its application to oral tissues and introduces you to aetiology, clinical presentation, treatment and management of periodontal diseases. You will understand the significance of gingival inflammation. You will be taught how to assess, classify and treat periodontal disease using the latest guidelines and have underpinning knowledge of the histopathology, aetiology, clinical features of periodontal disease and its progression. Further content explores medical history taking and consent, patient and public safety, clinical governance, an evidence-based approach to learning, clinical and professional practice and decision making.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will have the skills, knowledge and behaviours to progress to direct patient care, treating patients fairly and without discrimination. You will understand the significance of undertaking a professional clinical training programme leading to registration with the General Dental Council.
Learning Outcomes
To describe relevant general and regional dental anatomy and physiology and explain their application to patient management and legal and ethical requirements of a Dental Therapist.
To demonstrate the appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours to safely transition into the clinical environment, commencing periodontal assessment and treatment.
To assess and manage patients’ level of pain and anxiety.
To demonstrate the principles of evidence-based practice through making appropriate decisions on patient care and management using this approach.
Teaching methods include:
Lectures
Flipped classroom
Tutorials
Practical classes
Clinical Practice (Work based learning)
Guided Independent study
ePortfolio (CAFS) including Reflective Practice
Teaching will use a blended learning approach delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. You will be expected to engage with all learning. Small-group tutorials are designed to support asynchronous learning and will provide opportunities to pose questions to the tutors.
Clinical skills simulation (CSS) teaching will be provided on manikin heads for students to practice the necessary practical procedures. These sessions will be supported by preparatory material, viewing images/video clips and demonstrations, and formative assessment and feedback by supervising staff.
In order to develop communication skills, you will join integrated teaching sessions with BDS students as part of PPD teaching. In the initial sessions, students will practice their communication skills with each other, and in later sessions will work with actors to cover a variety of clinical and behavioural scenarios.
Clinical teaching provides opportunities for both operating and assisting a clinical partner. In both cases, students reflect on what they experience on clinic, and record sessions in their continuous clinical assessment ePortfolio.
Small group tutorials support law, ethics and professionalism teaching. Small group tutorials also support evidence-based practice teaching and will provide opportunities to learn through critiquing research papers from Dental journals.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You are provided with an opportunity to answer formative questions on the skull under exam conditions and are given written feedback from examiners. To check their progress in anatomy and physiology, you will complete a formative single best answer assessment. On completing this, you have a chance to gather feedback and support in small group tutorials. Once your training in local anaesthesia is complete, you will complete a local anaesthetic formative single best answer quiz. As patient sessions commence, you will present your patient case and stage of treatment to their clinical supervisor. Following each patient encounter, you must complete an entry via your clinical ePortfolio (CAFs) including reflections on the procedure (must-engage). Each entry is in turn graded by the clinical supervisor, who considers the knowledge and skills that have been demonstrated and the professionalism shown during the session. These verbal presentations provide many opportunities to develop the skills that will be assessed in the summative case presentations.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
You must satisfy all engagement requirements and successfully complete all 'must pass' assessments, as set out below and in the student progression requirements for Year 1 in the BDT Assessment Handbook. Satisfactory and appropriate engagement with the programme will be determined by the Progress Committee which will normally meet termly. The committee will monitor engagement against the engagement and progression criteria, review performance in 'must pass' assessments and monitor levels of professionalism.
Must-pass assessments are a requirement, but do not contribute towards the numerical unit mark:
There are four parts to the unit summative assessment; all are must-pass:
When assessment does not go to plan
A student who has not demonstrated satisfactory and appropriate engagement with the programme, and/or reached a satisfactory level of professionalism (as determined by level of engagement and any other evidence relating to professionalism presented to the Progress Committee; outlined in the BDT Assessment Handbook) will not be permitted to progress to Year 2.
In accordance with university regulations, a student who has not achieved the pass mark for the end of Year 1 summative assessments at the first attempt will normally be offered a second and final attempt. If a student does not achieve the pass mark at the second and final attempt, they will be required to withdraw from the programme. In exceptional circumstances students may be offered one further attempt to demonstrate satisfactory engagement by retaking Year 1 in its entirety.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ORDS10024).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
