Course Structure
The Doctor of Dental Surgery incorporates all aspects related to the provision of advanced general dental care to patients as well as teaches students to prepare, develop, execute and write for publication a small research project.
In the first three years, the course is structured around four, 8 week teaching blocks. Teaching Blocks 1 and 2 are in the first half of the year (and include one week’s vacation at Easter) and are followed by 1 week of revision and examination preparation, 1 week of assessment and 2 weeks of vacation/ supplementary assessment. Teaching Blocks 3 and 4 are in the second half of the year with 1 week’s vacation scheduled between the end of Teaching Block 3 and the commencement of Teaching Block 4. Teaching Block 4 is followed by 1 week of revision, 1 week of assessment then a period of vacation/supplementary assessment.
The course commences with the introduction of specialised oral health subjects to allow students to enter the clinic as quickly as possible to maximise the experience in all aspects and phases of clinical treatment.
The final year of the course is comprised of one year-long subject in which the students will spend 40 weeks in clinical settings including the planned University of Melbourne private dental clinic, community health centres and rural community clinics which will include provision of oral health care to the aboriginal community. In addition, students will learn how to run a private practice based on a small business model.
The subjects are outlined below:
YEAR 1
- Oral Structure and Function 1 (Blocks 1& 2) and 2 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Plaque related Diseases 1 (Blocks 1 & 2) & 2 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Introduction to Professional Dental Practice (Blocks 1& 2)
- Preclinical Dental Practice 1 (Blocks 1 & 2) & 2 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Clinical Dental Practice 1 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Dental Research Project 1 (Blocks 3 & 4)
YEAR 2
- Dental Medicine and Surgery 1 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 2 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Preclinical Dental Practice 2 (Blocks 1 & 2) & 3 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Clinical Dental Practice 2 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 3 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Dental Research Project 2 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 3 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Child and Adolescent Oral Health 1 (Blocks 3 & 4)
YEAR 3
- Child and Adolescent Oral Health 2 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 3 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Clinical Dental Practice 4 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 5 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Specialist Dental Practice 1 (Blocks 1 & 2) and 2 (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Oral Medicine and Special Needs Dentistry (Blocks 1 & 2)
- Oral Surgery and Special Needs Dentistry (Blocks 3 & 4)
- Dental Research Project 4 (Blocks 1 & 2)
YEAR 4
- Comprehensive Dental Practice (year-long of 40 weeks, comprised of general dental practice placements in urban community health centres (5 weeks), the planned University of Melbourne Dental Clinic (23 weeks), specialist practice/hospital clinics (5 weeks) and rural community health centres, including aboriginal oral health (7 weeks)