Bachelor of Dental Surgery
Health Sciences and Social Services - Curative Health
Purpose and Rationale
The qualification aims to empower a dedicated dental graduate with the necessary knowledge, skills, and disposition to promote the health, specifically the oral health status, of individual patients and the community. The focus is on preventive, therapeutic, curative/surgical, and rehabilitative aspects of dental disease.
Outcomes
- Examination of the patient.
- Diagnosis.
- Treatment Planning. Establishment and maintenance of a healthy oral environment:
- Prevention of disease and maintenance of health.
- Self-care instructions.
- Control of pain and anxiety.
- Caries management.
- Endodontic therapy.
- Periodontal therapy.
- Surgical and Pharmacological therapy.
- Emergency situations.
- Occlusal therapy.
- Orthodontic therapy.
- Stomatology.
- Restorative/Prosthodontic therapy.
- Temporomandibular disorders.
- Traumatology.
- The dental graduate must be able to recognise signs of physical or emotional neglect and or abuse and make appropriate reports in consultation with a social worker. The Oral Health of the community:
- Oral epidemiology.
- Health promotion and disease prevention.
- Public oral health.
- Project management. Practice management and administration:
- Establishing a practice.
- Office systems.
- Record keeping.
- Personnel management.
- Ethics.
- Information management and critical thinking.
- Infection control.
- Prevention of occupational hazards.
Assessment Criteria
The dental graduate must be able to perform an examination that collects relevant biological, psychological, and social information necessary to evaluate the patient's medical and oral conditions. This includes recognizing and managing behavioral factors that affect oral health, interpreting findings from history, clinical and radiographic examinations to determine a diagnosis, and developing individual treatment plans for patients of all ages.
They must provide care for patients of all ages, emphasizing prevention of oral disease, maintaining systemic and oral health, and managing oro-facial discomfort and psychological distress. They should be able to manage caries, pulpal and periradicular diseases, periodontal disease, and conditions requiring pharmacotherapy and surgical procedures. Additionally, they should be able to diagnose and manage occlusal abnormalities, oral diseases, temporomandibular disorders, trauma to the dento-facial complex, and recognize signs of neglect or abuse.
In terms of community oral health, the dental graduate should interpret epidemiological surveys, participate in community-based projects to improve oral health, and apply public oral health principles in their working environment. They must also manage health promotion projects efficiently and effectively within given constraints.
Regarding practice management, they should be able to develop and manage a general practice or clinic, use sound business principles, record patient information, act as an effective employer and leader, and address ethical issues in a dental practice. They should also be proficient in acquiring and synthesizing information critically, using appropriate infection control measures, and preventing occupational hazards related to dentistry.
Assessment will be integrated, requiring the candidate to examine and assess the oral health status of various patients, develop comprehensive treatment plans, implement them, and evaluate outcomes using a variety of assessment procedures to monitor theoretical knowledge, critical thinking, practical skills, and clinical reasoning.
Qualification Details
- Type
- National First Degree(Min 480)
- NQF Level
- 08
- Min. Credits
- 800
- SAQA Source
- More Information
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