Melbourne Dental School

Orthodontics

Course Convener

A/Professor Paul Schneider

BDSc (Melb) MS (Minnesota) Cert Orth (Louisiana) Dip. American Board of Orthodontics FICD

Doctor of Clinical Dentistry degree in Orthodontics

The Melbourne Dental School offers the Doctor of Clinical Dentistry programme in Orthodontics for dental graduates wishing to develop their clinical skills and professional knowledge in this discipline. The course provides both the education and clinical training currently acceptable for specialist registration throughout Australasia.

The Doctor of Clinical Dentistry programme is a three-year full-time course where students spend approximately half the time in clinical sessions. Approximately twenty percent of the time involves participating in seminars based on the latest research. The remaining thirty percent of the course involves conducting research that forms the basis for a thesis of approximately 25,000 words. The format of the thesis is a literature review and two research papers to be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

International and local dentists with at least two years full-time clinical experience are eligible to apply for admission to this course. International dental graduates with the Doctor of Clinical Dentistry may gain specific registration with the Dental Board of Australia to practice as orthodontists in Australia.

Entry to the course is competitive, with approximately twenty applications for each place. Three or four places are offered each year. All applications must be submitted to the University before the closing date. Late applications will NOT be considered. Selection criteria include: undergraduate record, any further formal study, other academic pursuits and clinical experience. Short-listed applicants will be invited to attend an interview involving individual and combined assessments by a selection panel.

Further details about the Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Orthodontics

Course Objectives

The Doctor of Clinical Dentistry programme in Orthodontics aims to provide a course of education that allows the graduate student to acquire a thorough understanding of the science of craniofacial biology and its relevance to the development of normal and abnormal skull growth and occlusion, and to the prevention, interception and correction of dentofacial abnormalities by orthodontic means. The course aims to allow the graduate student to develop the ability for independent thought and the ability to solve problems using scientific principles.

Successful completion of the course provides a sound basis for entry into the expanding specialised area of orthodontics. On completion of the course, the graduate student should be able to:

  1. identify dentofacial abnormalities which require treatment
  2. identify aetiological factors of a malocclusion
  3. determine the most appropriate treatment following consideration of the underlying aetiological factors and the expectations of the patient
  4. provide orthodontic treatment based on scientific principles
  5. advise and consult with professional colleagues in other disciplines on orthodontic aspects of any dentofacial problem.

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Course Outline

The Doctor of Clinical Dentistry programme in Orthodontics is a three year full-time course which starts in late January of each year and runs throughout the year. Students undertake at least five clinical sessions, as well as case presentation and didactic seminars each week. The rest of the week is for preparation of tutorials or cases, or undertaking the research project. Further clinical tutorials fit in around the clinic timetable.

Clinical Sessions

Students in all years of the course undertake at least five clinical sessions per week in the new University of Melbourne Dental Clinic or the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne under the supervision of experienced orthodontists.

The clinical sessions include all aspects of orthodontic treatment as well as interdisciplinary management of patients in conjunction with paediatric dental, periodontic, prosthodontics, endodontic and oral and maxillofacial surgery units. There are also regular meetings and interdisciplinary clinical sessions with members of the surgical teams at the Royal Melbourne and Royal Children's Hospitals. Other interdisciplinary meetings within the Dental School are regularly scheduled.

Didactic Seminars

Formal seminars and literature review sessions take place each week.  The seminars and literature reviews are designed to cover two broad areas:

Students from all three years of the course attend all seminars and are rostered to research and present topics.

In addition to these formal seminars, a number of sessions are devoted to topics during which students from all years share ideas, for instance: the rationale for extractions in orthodontics; the management of the Class II malocclusion; the management of the Class III malocclusion; pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment timing, etc. A number of visiting teachers also present material.

Case Presentations

Each week students from all three years of the course take part in problem-solving for unseen cases. These sessions develop students' skills in listing diagnostic factors, specifying particular problems for individual patients, providing possible solutions for management of those problems and then providing a prioritised overall treatment plan. In most cases, records of completed orthodontic treatment and follow-up are provided as well.

Research Project

The research project forms one third of the total course requirement and involves the completion of original research and the submission of a research thesis of approximately 25,000 words.  The thesis represents approximately nine months of full-time effort including project development, conduct of the experimental work, data analysis and thesis and article writing.

In the first year, all students are enrolled in a research-design subject which introduces students to critical analysis of literature, planning a research protocol and writing a thesis.  This subject is intended to assist students to develop the necessary analytical and writing skills that are needed for thesis preparation and publication.

In the first year, students also select a research topic and complete a literature review, leading to the development of the research proposal which should be submitted for review by the end of the second semester.  The research topic may be one which follows on from previous projects undertaken in the School or it may be a project being taken in a particular area for the first time.  Supervision is available in a number of different areas inside and outside the School.

By the end of the second year, most of the data should be collected.  Ideally, the first semester of the third year is spent analysing and writing up the project.

Projects being undertaken by current students include:

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Assessment

At the end of the first semester, first year students will sit three 3 hour written examinations.  There will also be written exams at the end of first year and second year. 

The final examination consists of written and oral examinations, assessment of unseen cases and presentation of ten Board-style cases.  Generally three external examiners will run the formal examination week.  Usually, one examiner visits from overseas.

Clinical Supervisors

Surgical Teachers

Didactic Teachers

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