Module manager: Victoria Yorke
Email: V.C.Yorke@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
Successful completion of Year 1 modules
This module is not approved as a discovery module
You will develop your understanding of common dental diseases and be able to apply this to holistic clinical management. Within the simulated environment you will develop the communication skills, operative skills and techniques to both help prevent and manage dental caries and periodontal disease in adult and child patients. You will gain clinical experience observing, assisting and delivering dental hygiene care for patients from a wide range of backgrounds with a broad range of needs. You will be involved in the delivery of direct patient care under close supervision, where your professional behaviours and reflective learning practices will be applied.
This module aims to develop the students' knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable them to manage common dental diseases. Students will develop an understanding of a range of dental diseases and the treatment options available for their management There will be an emphasis on preventive and operative treatments within the scope of practice of a dental hygienist and therapist.
Students will learn in the simulated clinical skills classroom, working on dental phantom heads to develop operative techniques and the manipulation of dental materials.
Students will be actively involved in supervised direct patient care within the scope of practice of a dental hygienist throughout the year. Within the Leeds Dental Institute and outreach settings students will undertake patient assessment, planning of treatment and delivering dental care focusing on the importance of prevention, as well as operative management.
Students will develop their practice of professional behaviours in the simulated and real clinical environment through communication with patients, peers and tutors, working as a member of a team. There will be a focus on developing competence in communication skills to enable effective interaction with patients and delivery of care.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Explain a range of common acute and chronic dental diseases and evaluate a range of basic preventive and operative management options for adult and child patients.
2. Explain and perform patient assessment processes and interpret clinical information and formulate treatment plans to manage common dental diseases in patients, with supervision.
3. Demonstrate competency in communication skills with patients, carers and fellow health professionals.
4. Demonstrate safe and evidence-based clinical practice within the real patient environment under supervision within the scope of practice of a dental hygienist.
5. Demonstrate competency in the simulated clinical environment of the full range of clinical skills required of a dental therapist.
6. Apply the behaviours expected of a student dental professional in relation to teamworking, communication with patients, ethics and professionalism, self-management, and reflection on progress in the simulated and real clinical environments.
Demonstrate the communications skills required to work effectively in a clinical team developing a logical approach to patient management WR1 - communication:
WR3 - teamwork/collaboration,
WR5 - problem solving and analytical skills
Technical:
- Demonstrate appropriate infection prevention and control measures including PPE in the clinical skills environment and clinical settings.
- Demonstrate safe provision of dental hygiene procedures for adult patients in the clinical environment.
- Demonstrate safe provision of dental therapy procedures in a simulated environment.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills with patients, carers and members of the dental team in the clinical setting.
- Demonstrate professional clinical behaviours in clinical skills and real patient clinical settings.
Principles of safe working in the clinical environment.
- Mandatory training (e.g Fire safety, cross infection control, health and safety)
- Infection prevention and control
- Induction to outreach and paediatric clinics
- Patient Safeguarding
- Principles of information governance and digital data management
Oral and Systemic Health and Disease
- Introduction to systemic disease in relation to oral health and management.
- Applied clinical knowledge of normal oral anatomy
- Recognition of common oral diseases.
- Investigation and clinical significance of xerostomia
- Clinical aspects of periodontology and cariology (clinical presentations and management of simple cases)
Patient assessment
- Comprehensive history taking of adult patients relating to periodontal conditions
- Risk assessment for oral diseases
- Treatment planning of adult patients with diagnosed periodontal conditions
- Introduction to treatment planning of adults and children with dental caries and non-carious tooth surface loss
Prevention of Oral Disease
- Prevention of periodontal disease, caries and non-carious tooth surface loss.
- Practice behaviour change during clinical management
- Introduction to oral hygiene instruction, diet, smoking and alcohol advice.
- The use of topical treatments for the management of common oral conditions
Operative Techniques
- Simodonts for caries management
- Advanced periodontal clinical skills
- Caries removal and management of the pulp/dentine complex
- Tooth preparation and placement of indirect restorations
- Extraction of deciduous teeth
- Preformed crown placement and pulp treatment of deciduous molar teeth
Clinical Practice and Behaviours
- Effective communication in the clinical environment
- Demonstrating effective teamworking during direct patient care
- Provide periodontal treatment for adult patients under supervision within the scope of practice of a Dental Hygienist
- Recognition of the need to refer a patient for specialist advice
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Clinical Practice | 9 | 7 | 63 |
| Clinical Practice | 62 | 3.5 | 217 |
| Lecture | 33 | 1 | 33 |
| Practical | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Practical | 34 | 3.5 | 119 |
| Seminar | 16 | 2 | 32 |
| Simulated Practice | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Tutorial | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Independent online learning hours | 12 | ||
| Private study hours | 90 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 488 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 590 | ||
There is no compensation between elements of summative assessment; each element must be passed. In the event of failure of one or more elements, the module mark will be capped at 40 on successful resit of the failed element(s).
Coursework:
The Continuous Clinical Portfolio is an ongoing, continuous assessment process throughout the academic year. Students will receive verbal and written feedback on their gateway assessments, and clinical experience gradings through the Clinical Assessment and Feedback System (CAFS). Students will be required to reflect on their progress and the feedback they receive and to plan their ongoing development. Students will receive outcomes from the Clinical Progress Committee as to their continuing progress and any cause for concern to allow them to remediate before the end of the year.
Online formative learning activities throughout the year will help students to reinforce learning and prepare them for the summative assessments.
Written Assessment:
In preparation for the Written assessment students will have access to online tests with accompanying feedback throughout the year in preparation for the summative written assessment. Formative unseen clinical cases will also be delivered during groupwork teaching activities as part of the preparation for the clinical questions within the final summative assessment.
OSCE:
Students will have the opportunity to experience practice communication type OSCE stations during group teaching activities, they will receive verbal feedback on their performance as part of this experience.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Continuous Clinical Portfolio Sign-Off (Pass/Fail) | 0 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 0 | |
The Continuous Clinical Portfolio is a Pass for Progression element of the Clinical Skills and Practice 3 BSc module. The continuous monitoring and Sign-Off for individual students is managed by the School of Dentistry Clinical Progress Committee. A student must be Signed-Off by the Clinical Progress Committee to allow progress into the next year of the programme. This ensures that students have met the General Dental Council Safe Practitioner Framework behaviours requirements at the end of the programme to allow qualification. The Clinical Progress Committee holds meetings for all cohorts of students 4 times per year. This allows regular and timely monitoring capability and remediation as required. The Continuous Clinical Portfolio will comprise the following elements: - Satisfactory completion of clinical mandatory training requirements - Satisfactory completion of simulated clinical skills competency assessments - Satisfactory completion of clinical case reports across the range of clinical areas - Continuous clinical experience grading including: < Satisfactory clinical attendance record < Consistently satisfactory continuous assessment of applied knowledge and technical performance < Consistently satisfactory continuous assessment of behaviours in relation to interpersonal skills - communication and teamworking, professionalism, leadership and self-management < Consistently satisfactory patient evaluation comments < Achievement of minimum clinical experience requirements across the full range of clinical areas with real patients at the level of a Year 2 Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy student. - No outstanding issues reported by the School of Dentistry Professionalism Committee. - Absence of Health and Conduct Committee (Student Fitness to Practise) sanctions or limits to clinical practise (report presented to the Clinical Progress Committee from the Director of Student Education).
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam) | 1.0 Hrs 0 Mins | 0 |
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2.0 Hrs 0 Mins | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 100 | |
In-person closed book, time limited written examination
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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