Module Directory

Promoting oral health and preventing oral disease in individuals and populations requires an understating of the wider issues, the so-called social determinants of health. This module expands on some of the themes in Underpinning Sciences and introduces concepts related to population health.

The aims of this module are:

• To stimulate an interest in the wider issues of health promotion and disease prevention.


• To explore the social, environmental, economic and political influences on health.


• To engender a sense of social responsibility and re-orientate the student dental professional’s perspective within the wider context of the social determinants of health.


• To enable professional and compassionate communication relating to oral health with associated stakeholder and service users.

By the end of the module, students will be expected to:

1. Discuss the complex interactions between oral health and general health and the social determinants of health


2. Describe the epidemiology of dental diseases


3. Understand and apply the principles of evidence-based oral health education in planning and delivery


4. Describe and demonstrate skills in empathetic, evidence-based behaviour change techniques


5. Describe the dental public health strategy and dental service provision in the UK, including funding options, and the role of DCPs in this


6. Be able to describe the ethical challenges associated with providing patient care within current healthcare systems


7. Describe the main principles relating to sustainable oral health care, both environmentally and in terms of patient compliance, and the factors that might affect implementing a sustainable approach


8. Demonstrate depth of knowledge and engage in discourse with dental professionals relating to promoting oral health and preventing oral diseases in individuals and the community


9. Interact with patients and the public to promote oral health and prevent oral diseases employing evidence-based practice


10. Communicate effectively by spoken, written and electronic means with colleagues from dental and other healthcare professions in relation to oral health promotion


11. Describe and evaluate the role of health promotion in terms of the changing environment, community and individual behaviours to deliver health gain


12. Describe the considerations of the management of resources in provision of care decisions including appropriate use of primary and secondary care networks


13. Describe the main principles relating to sustainable oral health care, both environmentally and in terms of patient compliance, and the factors that might affect implementing a sustainable approach

Professional body requirements

In order to meet accreditation requirements students will be required to pass all module assessment components

Indicative syllabus

• Social responsibility and the principles of oral health promotion


• Understanding inequalities in health


• A population approach: Introduction to epidemiology


• Evidence-based practise in oral health promotion


• Planning oral health promotion: community project workshop


• Evaluating oral health promotions: community project workshop


• Dental service policy, provision and funding


• Evidence-based behaviour change


• Nutrition and oral health


• Hygiene and oral health


• Substance misuse and oral health


• Trauma and oral health


• Tooth surface loss


• Treatment planning


• Caries risk assessment


• Dry mouth, the Challacombe scale and isolation techniques


• Diet analysis and advice


• Alcohol reduction


• Smoking cessation

This module will be delivered via:

• Lectures (142 hours) Online and classroom-based delivery
• Workshops (8 hours)

Student led activity comprises oral health education via engagement with the public in the local community and early years’ settings.