| Unit name | Bachelor of Dental Therapy – Year 2 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ORDS20050 |
| Credit points | 0 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| 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) |
Bachelor of Dental Therapy – Year 1 |
| 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?
You will begin to develop knowledge and understanding of the wider remit of the Dental Therapist which will include the aetiology of more complex/ acute conditions, advanced treatment modalities and planning for refractory cases; in parallel you will undertake operative restorative techniques. Paediatric dentistry is introduced, and you develop an understanding of safeguarding, diagnosis, treatment and management of paediatric cases. The unit examines dental hard tissue loss with specific relevance to the Therapist in recognition, management/ advice and referral to appropriate health professionals. Mechanisms of action and uses of fluoride in the prevention and treatment of dental caries are explored. This unit will cover aspects of ionising radiation, protection and radiology. Periodontal and restorative skills are further developed and the management of patients with complex medical needs. The unit will enable you to recognise dental caries, and other oral and dental disease and provide appropriate preventive care.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This must pass unit in the Dental Therapy Programme builds on the periodontal skills acquired in year one and introduces restorative dentistry together with the management of patients with more complex medical histories. Direct patient care is delivered across a number of clinical settings, which develops knowledge and understanding of treatment modalities in both paediatric and adult patients. Dental radiology and the importance of this diagnostic tool is introduced. Completion of an evidence-based summary ensures you understand critical appraisal and prepares you for your final year and completion of a dissertation.
An overview of content
This unit introduces paediatric dentistry, safeguarding, diagnosis, treatment and management of paediatric cases. You will develop safe practical skills to take and interpret dental radiographs. Content includes dental hard tissue loss with specific relevance to the Dental Therapist in recognition, management, advice and referral to appropriate health professionals. This unit covers systemic and localised common oral diseases which affect dental management and enable you to make referrals to appropriate health professionals; strengthened through specialist clinical placements within Oral Medicine and Orthodontics.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will have the skills, knowledge and behaviours to progress to restorative and paediatric patient care; utilising effective time management and resources.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
Teaching methods include:
Lectures
Small Group Seminars
Flipped classroom
Tutorials
Practical classes
Clinical Practice (Work based learning)
Guided Independent study
Continuous Clinical Assessment logbook/portfolio (CCA) 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. 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 others’ research.
Clinical simulated skills teaching provided on mannikin heads for students to practice the necessary practical procedures. These laboratory 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, working with actors to cover a variety of scenarios. Communication skills then continue to be developed during every patient interaction when completing supervised clinical practice.
Clinical teaching provides opportunities for both operating and assisting a clinical partner as well as taking radiographs under close supervision in Year 2. In all cases, students reflect on what they experience on clinic, and record sessions in their ePortfolio. You will gather staff feedback on each clinical interaction in addition to this, so will have many chances to gain both verbal and written feedback at multiple points on your clinical skills, knowledge and behaviours.
From Term 3 you will start a hospital placement to observe consultant-led Oral Medicine clinics. These sessions provide you with important experience that enriches your experience by bringing lecture content to life. At the same point, you start to assess and treat patients (within your scope of practice) on the urgent dental care clinic (UDC) This provides excellent hands-on experience and understanding of UDC and patient management.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will be provided with an opportunity to answer formative questions on tooth morphology under exam conditions and are given written feedback from examiners. Throughout training in the simulated clinical skills suite, you are given feedback on each completed task to support your clinical skills development. You will attend small group seminars on a variety of clinical and oral medicine topics throughout the year and will be set formative assignments to complete on selected key content. Tutors provide formative feedback both during the seminars and on any written work, which helps to prepare you for both single best answer and patient case studies in the summative assessment period.
As patient sessions continue, you will present your patient case and stage of treatment to your clinical supervisor. Following each patient encounter, you must complete an entry in your ePortfolio, including reflections on the procedure (must-engage). Each entry is in turn graded by the clinical supervisor, considering the knowledge and skills that have been demonstrated and the professionalism shown during the session. These spoken presentations provide many opportunities to develop the skills that will be assessed in the radiography portfolio as well as the summative case presentation.
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 2 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 six 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 3.
In accordance with university regulations, a student who has not achieved the pass mark for the end of Year 2 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 2 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. ORDS20050).
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.
