DIPLOMA IN DENTAL THERAPY AND HYGIENE

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About Course

The Diploma in Dental Therapy and Oral Hygiene program offers comprehensive training in dental care, focusing on preventive and therapeutic dental procedures and oral hygiene practices. Throughout the 27-month duration, students delve into both theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to become proficient dental therapists and oral hygienists. The curriculum typically covers areas such as dental anatomy, oral pathology, dental radiography, periodontology, and pharmacology, among others. Hands-on clinical experience forms a significant part of the training, enabling students to apply their knowledge in real-world dental settings under the supervision of experienced professionals.

Career Growth and Opportunities:
Graduates of the Diploma in Dental Therapy and Oral Hygiene program can explore various career paths within the dental industry. Some potential roles and opportunities include:

1. Dental Therapist: As a dental therapist, you will work closely with dentists to provide a range of preventive and basic restorative treatments to patients. This may include scaling and polishing, fluoride applications, fissure sealants, and simple fillings. With experience and additional training, you may also perform more advanced procedures such as extractions and pulp treatments.

2. Oral Hygienist: Oral hygienists specialize in promoting good oral health and preventing dental diseases through patient education, professional cleaning (scaling and root planing), and application of preventive treatments such as fluoride and sealants. They play a vital role in helping patients maintain healthy gums and teeth, thereby reducing the risk of cavities and gum disease.

3. Public Health Educator: Graduates can pursue opportunities in public health organizations, educational institutions, or community health centers, where they can educate the public about the importance of oral hygiene, conduct screenings, and implement preventive dental programs aimed at improving oral health outcomes within communities.
4. Research and Development: For those interested in advancing the field of dental therapy and oral hygiene, opportunities exist in research institutions, dental product companies, and academic settings, where you can contribute to the development of new techniques, technologies, and oral healthcare products.
5. Specialized Practice: With further training and specialization, graduates may choose to focus on specific areas such as pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, or geriatric dentistry, catering to the unique oral health needs of different patient populations.

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What Will You Learn?

  • The curriculum typically covers areas such as dental anatomy, oral pathology, dental radiography, periodontology, and pharmacology, among others. Hands-on clinical experience forms a significant part of the training, enabling students to apply their knowledge in real-world dental settings under the supervision of experienced professionals.

Course Content

MODULE ONE
A rudimentary understanding of the development, structure and relationship of the tissues and structures which constitute the oral cavity and its associated environment is fundamental to the practice of clinical dentistry. It enables the clinician better understand how subsequent pathological change may be influenced by adjacent anatomical structures or tissues and therefore helps to provide a better understanding of the rationale for potential treatment options.

  • THE ORAL CAVITY: UNDERSTANDING ORAL EMBRYOLOGY AND HISTOLOGY
    00:00
  • EARLY TOOTH DEVELOPMENT
    00:00
  • DEVELOPMENT OF THE DENTAL TISSUES
    00:00
  • HISTOLOGY OF ORAL TISSUES
    00:00

MODULE TWO
The oral cavity sits at the opening of the digestive tract, bounded by the lips anteriorly and the oropharynx posteriorly, and is supported structurally by the maxillary (upper jaw) and mandibular (lower jaw) bone structures. The vermillion zone serves as the transition area between the moist oral mucosa and the skin of the face. The oral structures are adapted to serve a variety of functions: 1. including maintenance of a protective barrier, 2. mastication, and initiation of digestion, 3. special taste sensation, 4. speech and swallowing, 5. immunologic defense, 6. and provision of salivary lubricants and buffers.

MODULE THREE
PATHOLOGY: INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNITY PATHOLOGY; in medical science; focuses on the study and diagnosis of diseases. INFLAMMATION; literally inflammation is the body's natural response to protect itself against harm. Basically, there are two types: acute and chronic. You're probably more familiar with the acute type, which occurs when you bang your leg or cut your hand. Your immune system dispatches an army of white blood cells to surround and protect the area, creating visible redness and swelling. The process works similarly if you have an infection like the flu or pneumonia. So in these situations, inflammation is essential—without it, injuries could aggravate and simple infections could be fatal. IMMUNITY; ‘In medicine, it is the immune system’s way of protecting the body against an infectious disease. The three types of immunity are innate, adaptive, and passive. Innate immunity includes barriers, such as skin and mucous membranes, which keep harmful substances from entering the body. It is the first response of the body’s immune system to a foreign substance. Adaptive immunity occurs in response to being infected with or vaccinated against a microorganism. The body makes an immune response, which can prevent future infection with the microorganism. Adaptive immunity can last a person’s entire life. Passive immunity occurs when a person receives antibodies to a disease rather than making them through his or her own immune system. Passive immunity provides immediate protection but only lasts a few weeks or months.’5

MODULE FOUR
One of the first steps in the management of a patient with periodontal disease is to take thorough anamnesis-medical and dental histories and to perform a complete oral/periodontal examination. On the basis of the information collected, a diagnosis (Greek: dia “through,” gnosis “knowledge”) can be made. Plaque-induced periodontal diseases can be divided into two general diagnostic categories—gingivitis or periodontitis— based on the presence or absence of attachment loss. 1. Gingivitis is the presence of gingival inflammation without loss of connective tissue attachment. 2. Periodontitis is the presence of gingival inflammation at sites where there has been apical migration of the junctional epithelium onto the root surface with the concomitant loss of connective tissue and alveolar bone. In making a periodontal diagnosis, a clinician must answer three simple questions: • What disease (if any) is present? • Where is the disease (e.g., localised vs generalised)? In answering this question, an assessment of the extent of the disease is made. • How severe is the disease (e.g., slight, moderate, severe)?

MODULE FIVE
First things first: Systemic simply means affecting the entire body, rather than a single organ or body part. For example, systemic disorders, such as high blood pressure, or systemic diseases, such as influenza (the flu), affect the entire body. An infection that is in the bloodstream is called a systemic infection. Alternatively, an infection that affects only one body part or organ is called a localized infection. Many systemic diseases, disorders, and conditions have been implicated as risk indicators or risk factors in periodontal disease. Clinical and basic science research over the past several decades has led to an improved understanding of and appreciation for the complexity and pathogenesis of periodontal diseases.

MODULE SIX
Syphilis is a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum and is acquired primarily through sexual contact. New cases of syphilis occur in the United Kingdom every year, and the average incubation period from contact to infection is 21 days. Syphilis lesions can develop on the external genitalia, the vagina, the anus, the rectum, and the oral cavity. There are typically three stages of syphilis infection. In the primary stage, the characteristic chancre develops at the point of inoculation. This lesion, which is typically painless, lasts for three to six weeks and heals even if not treated. Without appropriate treatment, the infection enters the secondary stage to manifest as skin rashes and macular lesions affecting not only the area of inoculation but also other parts of the body such as the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet. Gray or white lesions may also occur in warm moist body sites including the mouth, the underarm, and the groin. Symptoms of secondary syphilis may include fever, lymphadenopathy, weight loss, hair loss, headache, sore throat, muscle ache, and fatigue. As with primary syphilis, lesions of secondary syphilis resolve without treatment, but the disease will then progress to the tertiary stage or latent stage that can last for many years. Approximately 15% of patients with syphilis who are not treated through the second stage will develop tertiary syphilis which can occur up to 30 years (three decades) after the initial infection. This is the most devastating form of syphilis and can cause multiple nervous system complications, including paralysis and dementia. Multiple organ systems can also be involved leading to eventual death. Syphilis may be passed from an infected mother to her child during pregnancy, and infected babies may suffer premature birth, low birth weight, and other long-term complications.

MODULE SEVEN
The purpose of this module is to define the meaning of health education (HE) and health promotion (HP). The two terms are sometimes interchangeable. Both health professionals and lay people promote and control health. For example, a dental hygienist/ therapist may educate a patient on oral hygiene as they have been taught as an undergraduate, the link between dental plaque/bacteria and periodontal disease and dental caries. A lay parent, despite no dental training, may still promote twice daily toothbrushing to her/his child. On a wider scale, HP is linked to government initiatives. HP can be delivered in various forms, such as via the media, health professionals or by national campaigning of certain groups and topics. Therefore, everyone is involved in HP and HE. On a global level, the oral disease has a high prevalence in populations that are disadvantaged, either by income and/or socially. Historically, HP and HE focused on individual behaviour that may contribute to ill-health. However, it has been recognised that achieving good oral health goes beyond risk-taking behaviour. Therefore, effective public health strategies and the collaboration of different organisations and health educators contribute to the reduction of poor oral health.

MODULE EIGHT
Pharmacodynamics, which is the heart of pharmacology, is the study of how drugs act to achieve a response. Drugs are chemical substances that are administered to alter or modify existing physiologic or pathologic processes. In conventional doses, most therapeutic agents are generally selective in their action and influence a narrow spectrum of biologic events. How does this happen? Tissue elements to which drugs bind are called receptors. They have highly ordered physiologic/ biochemical properties that permit only a very few particular compounds to combine with them, while prohibiting all others from doing so. Once bound, the receptor/drug complexes initiate other events to occur at the cellular level. The existence of receptors that respond to exogenously administered drugs implies that drugs often mimic or inhibit the actions of endogenous ligands (chemicals that bind) for these receptors. These receptors existed long before drugs were developed. They originally evolved to respond to specific endogenous ligands such as hormones and neurotransmitters. Their great specificity of binding to both endogenous ligands and exogenous drugs suggests that simple molecular modifications of a drug may drastically affect the activity of the drug. This can be beneficial or detrimental to the clinical use of the drug.

MODULE NINE
In infants, the age of the eruption of the first primary teeth (mandibular incisors) is typically around six months. A child’s first visit to the dentist occurs around the age of 12 months. The oral evaluation of a child should consist of infant risk assessment and anticipatory guidance—guidance that helps parents to understand expected evolving physical and intellectual development of the child. A key component of the first encounter with a child, in a paediatrician or dentist office, is the establishment of the child’s dental home (equivalent to the medical home). The purpose of the dental home is to provide an opportunity for the child, the parents, and the dentist to start anticipatory guidance as soon as possible and to begin necessary preventive programmes.

MODULE TEN
People older than 65 years are the fastest-growing segment of the population, a fact that will have a dramatic impact on general and oral health in the future. In 1900, less than 5% population was older than 65 years. As recently in 2010, however, 13% were older than 65 years—a percentage that is estimated to increase to over 20% by 2030. This demographic trend is even more significant for the “oldest old” population (individuals older than 85 years) who are projected to undergo a nearly fourfold increase in numbers from 2006 to 2050. First, advances in medicine have led to a significant increase in life expectancy, as are living longer than in previous generations. The average life expectancy in 1900 was only 58 years, but in 2013, was nearly 80 years. Another reason for the “greying” of our population is the ageing of the baby boomer generation. The first baby boomer turned 65 in 2011, beginning an exponential increase that will continue for nearly 20 years: Each day approximately 10,000 people will turn 65. The last baby boomer will turn 65 in 2030, creating a demographic where one in every five Europian will be older than 65 years. With this dramatic change in the landscape of our nation and the improved medical management of disease, oral health-care professionals must possess the tools and knowledge to manage older adults, their oral manifestations of systemic disease, and their age-related specific oral changes.

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