This course focuses on the challenges of improving oral health and tackling oral health inequalities. This will be examined via the theory and practice of dental public health including: epidemiology, evidence based policy and practice, and through development and evaluation of public health interventions.

Classes will meet in the second semester. Due to the small number of students who enrol for this course this course will only be offered every other year.

Students will write a 3,000 word assignment.

This course aims to provide an overview of dental public health through: equipping students to critically examine the distribution of oral disease and related inequalities and the associated epidemiology methodology; and appraising the approaches, practices, and policies to developing and evaluating interventions to address population oral health challenges.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Evaluate and apply epidemiology in relation to patterns, social gradients, and inequalities of oral disease / health globally and locally

• Critique oral health preventive paradigms and understand the importance of the social determinants of health

• Appraise the theories and principles of improving population oral health and tackling oral health inequalities via public health interventions

• Critically evaluate the practice and policy of developing public health interventions to improve oral health and tackle oral health inequalities

•Critically appraise the approaches to evaluation of public health interventions to improve oral health and tackle oral health inequalities

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