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Bachelor of Health Sciences in Dentistry/Master of Dentistry

Course code/s: Bendigo (HZHSDD)

The Bachelor of Health Sciences in Dentistry/Master of Dentistry commenced in 2008 at the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University.

The first three years of the course are the Bachelor of Health Sciences in Dentistry, an undergraduate level qualification that is required to gain access to the postgraduate component. This Bachelor level degree does not enable graduates to register as a dental practitioner. The postgraduate component of the course, the Master of Dentistry, will complete the training and enable students to register as a dental practitioner.

The Bachelor of Health Sciences in Dentistry/Master of Dentistry is a unique course that responds to rural health needs and the current shortage of oral health professionals in regional Australia. The course has a strong focus on public oral health and the provision of care to communities in need. The Department of Dentistry and Oral Health has developed clinical teaching sites at Wodonga, Mildura, Melton and Bendigo.

During the Master of Dentistry component of the course, students will be on clinical placement for two years, rotated throughout the regional clinical sites. This is an integral part of the program and one that all students are required to participate in to complete the course successfully. All students are required to attend all placement sites, as directed by the Department, during this two-year period. Students are not able to select their placement sites.

There are a number of costs inherent in the course and students will be required to purchase items of equipment. These items and associate costs may be, and are not limited to:

• protective clothing and uniform - $150
• books - $400 per semester
• instruments and equipment - $7000

Please note that all costs are approximate. For further information and more detailed costing of instruments and equipment, please go to the Department website www.latrobe.edu.au/students/health/your-studies/materials-required/dentistry-and-oral-health.

It is expected, by the fourth year of the course, that students will have arranged their own mobile personal computing resources.

All students will need to comply with credentialing requirements of the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health and the clinical placement sites. This will include a police record check, Working With Children check, vaccination requirements, Level 1 First Aid/CPR certification and registration with the Dental Board of Australia (www.dentalboard.gov.au).

Students need to be familiar with the requirements of the Dental Board of Australia (DBA) and are strongly advised to read the DBA's 'Dental Guidelines on Infection Control' and the documents referred to in the Guidelines www.dentalboard.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD10%2F1399%5Bv2%5D&dbid=AP&chksum=5Xwqg83fkeSZ...).

These documents require applicants and students to be aware of their blood borne virus (BBV) status. Students with a BBV will not be able to undertake the course, in line with the requirements of the Dental Board of Australia. New students will be required to undertake blood tests to determine their BBV status. Students must comply with all credentialing requirements prior to the census date in semester one of their first year of the course. Failure to satisfy all these requirements (including having a BBV) may result in immediate discontinuation from the course.

Course structure

 

First year

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit points
TE-ALLYR	ORH1POH	Preclinical Oral Health Practice	30
TE-ALLYR	ORH1IOS	Introduction to Oral Health Sciences	30
TE-SEM-1	DEN1DSA	Dental Science A	15
TE-SEM-1	PHE2PHP	Principles of Public Health Practice	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE3BRH	Rural Health	15
TE-SEM-2	DEN1DSB	Dental Science B	15

 

Second year

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit points
TE-ALLYR	DEN2IDP	Introduction to Dental Practice	60
TE-ALLYR	DEN2CGD	Craniofacial Growth and Development	15
TE-ALLYR	DEN2MED	Medicine for Dentistry	15
TE-ALLYR	DEN2DPH	Dentistry Public Health & Preventive Practice	15
TE-SEM-1	DEN2MDA	General Medicine A	15

 

Third year

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit points
TE-ALLYR	DEN3ICP	Introduction to Clinical Practice	75
TE-ALLYR	DEN3RID	Research in Dentistry	15
TE-ALLYR	DEN3TPC	Treatment Planning and Communication	15
TE-ALLYR	DEN3OPM	Oral Pathology and Medicine	15

 

Fourth year

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit points
TE-W08-50	DEN4CDP	Clinical Dental Practice	75
TE-W02-50	DEN4DTH	Dental Theory	30
TE-W03-50	DEN4FPR	Fixed Prosthodontics	15

 

Fifth year

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit points
TE-W03-48	DEN5CDP	Clinical Dental Practice	90
TE-W03-48	DEN5DPT	Dental Practice Theory	30