Course Catalogue

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Dental healthcare services are delivered in a range of settings and the future of dentistry is somewhat at a cross-roads - not least with the challenges of COVID-19, but with the debate around private and NHS provision and the role of prevention vs surgical treatments. Undergraduate dental students do not usually have formal teaching on the nature and shape of dental services and how these services fit in with the wider healthcare system. This course will cover areas including the dental health care services system - in primary and secondary care, their regulation/governance structures, the role of dental research, links with wider health services and government/policy, and provide context of the current and future challenges of delivering dental care.

Weekly lectures and tutorials will be delivered online, typically over a ten-week block in Semester 2.

Successful completion of BDS1 in academic session 2020-21

None.

None.

Online MCQ test covering a range of course material, derived from PeerWise activities (30%)

At the end of the course students will submit a 2000 word essay covering in-depth critical discussion of selected course topics (70%).

This course aims to:

■ provide students with insight into the role of dental services in the context of the wider healthcare system.

■ introduce the relevant regulation/governance structures. 

■ introduce the role of dental research in informing practice and policy.

■ highlight current and future challenges of delivering dental care. 

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

• Identify the main public health, oral health, and dental service delivery challenges - generally but also in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Outline the main principles of healthcare system theory.

• Differentiate the components of the dental healthcare services system, including primary care, secondary care, community and health improvement services.

• Describe the organisation, regulation and governance structures  of  dental healthcare.

• Discuss the importance of dental research and clinical academia in informing evidence-based practice.

• Articulate how dental services link in with wider health and social care services.

• Summarise the role of Scottish Government and healthcare policy in relation to dentistry.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.