Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CDO3001

 
TITLE Special Care Dentistry

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Child Dental Health and Orthodontics

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit shall provide the teaching in Special Care Dentistry. It shall provide knowledge in the skills and attitude necessary to meet the oral health care needs of people with disabilities who are unable to accept routine dental care because of some physical, intellectual, medical, emotional, sensory, mental or social impairment, or a combination of these factors.

Study-unit Aims:

The study-unit shall provide the teaching and clinical skills required to provide patient centered dental and preventive care to patients of all ages who are dental phobics, medically compromised, and /or with intellectual or physical disabilities.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Describe the cultural, legal and social context of people with disability and other marginalised groups.
2. Access and barriers to oral care:
- Identify the social determinants of health in relation to health inequalities in people with disability and other marginalized groups.
3. Consent:
- Outline the appropriate consent process when providing care for people with communication, cognitive or sensory impairments.
4. Communication skills:
- Describe appropriate methods for communication for people with cognitive, sensory and/or other communication impairments.
5. Impact of Impairments:
- Describe common impairments, disabilities and systemic conditions in relation to their impact on oral health and oral function.
6. Clinical Management:
- Describe the factors ( medical, social, psychological and environmental) that impact on risk assessment and treatment planning for individual patients requiring care;
- Discuss behavioural and pharmacological approaches that facilitate dental treatment for individual patients requiring special care dentistry.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Discuss epidemiology, terminology, concepts and classifications of human function, disability and health.
2. Access and barriers to oral care:
- Recognise barriers and facilitators to oral health for people with disability and other marginalized groups.
3. Consent:
- Obtain valid consent or assent for oral health procedures appropriately.
4. Communication skills:
- Use appropriate methods of communication for people with cognitive, sensory and/or other communication impairments;
- Demonstrate culturally sensitive and inclusive language with patients, colleagues and caregivers.
5. Impact of impairments:
- Identify the key elements of impairments, disabilities and systemic conditions that may impact on oral health or oral function for individual patients;
- Demonstrate the need for inter-professional liaison in patient assessment.
6. Clinical Management:
- Design oral health education for individual patients and their caregivers;
- Describe simple clinical treatment using appropriate facilitation techniques for patients requiring special care, likely to present to a primary care service.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Special Care in Dentistry - 1st Edition - Elsevier
https://www.elsevier.com/books/special-care-in-dentistry/scully/978-0-4 Special Care in Dentistry - 1st Edition. Print Book & E-Book. ISBN 9780443071515, 9780702040290.

Clinical guide series : British Dental Journal - Nature
www.nature.com/bdj/series/index.html

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Co-Requisite Study-units: DNS3109, DNS3110

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Independent Study & Tutorial

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM2 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Audrey Camilleri
Gabriella Gatt
Silvana Mifsud
Kevin Mulligan

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit