Course description
BDS Dentistry
Programme
Year 1
After a one week introductory course to prepare you for study at University and on the Dentistry Programme in particular, the remainder of the year is spent studying biomedical sciences and topics relevant to the practice of dentistry. Much effort has been put into making this year absolutely relevant to dentistry. Basic topics such as molecular and cell biology, and basic human systems specific to dentistry, will be covered. Throughout the year a course on applied dental science will introduce you to the clinical aspects of dental studies and show the relevance of the basic sciences. This popular course will introduce you to all aspects of clinical dentistry and help maintain your motivation in a tough year when dentistry can seem a long way off.
Some aspects will be studied with other healthcare students, in partcular ethics and communication skills, in the provision of 'interprofessional' education.
Year 2
The second year concentrates on the introduction and development of basic clinical skills. A new state-of-the-art clinical skills facility allows the learning of necessary skills in safe and non-threatening environment. You will treat patients with minor gum problems in the first term and in the second term you will begin the restorative care of your own patients to whom you will offer dental care for your whole time at King's.
Linked to the practical clinical courses will be biomedical science subjects such as anatomy of the head and neck, oral biology, and you will also develop an understanding of all aspects of the nervous system relevant to dentistry. During the year you will begin learning about all aspects of human disease and this strand of learning will continue for the remainder of your time on the dental programme. This will include topics such as pathology, microbiology, and general medicine.
Year 3
In the third year you continue to learn about all aspects of human disease and this is a major subject area in the year. You will spend a week at a peripheral general hospital developing the applied aspects of your learning in this subject.
Another major subject area for this year is the replacement of missing teeth. You will learn how this can be done using fixed and removable prostheses. There is a technical compoment to these courses to ensure you understand how they are constructed and how to deal with problems associated with their fit and function.
Much time each week is devoted to the clinical treatment of patients in restorative dentistry that will include specific teaching in conservative dentistry and prosthodontics. You will also begin to learn about and carry out the extraction of teeth and minor oral surgery.
This is a busy year in which you really begin to establish yourself as a dentist.
Year 4
In the fourth year you spend most of the week providing dental care for patients. You will continue to learn about and carry out more advanced precedures in restorative dentistry. During this year a major course in periodontology is provided to give you a strong foundation in the subject. You will be introduced to the operative procedures in the provision of implant dentistry.
Time is also spent in the clinic on the Denmark Hill campus providing comprehensive care to adult patients. This will continue in Year five. This is an opportunity to treat patients from a different demographic area than that of the main campus.
As you become more proficient at extracting teeth, patients will be treated under conscious sedation.
Learning continues in the human disease strand of the curriculum and you are introduced to an ongoing course in oral disease that will incorporate pathology and medicine directly relevant to disease in and around the mouth. You will be able to treat many patients with more complex medical problems during this year, with specialist teachers on hand to guide you.
As you are now more proficient in dealing with and treating patients, in this year you will begin the provision of dental care for children. This will include learning about orthodontics.
Year 5
The final year of the programme is very much a consolidation year of all you have learned up to this time. You will continue to provide comprehensive dental care for adult and child patients. A unique feature of this programme is the opportunity to work on a regular basis at purpose built clinics distant from the main campus. At these you will work directly with a dental nurse and other professionals complementary to dentistry, in particular hygienists, learning to work as a team leader in provision of dental care for your patients.
There is an opportunity each week to spend some time learning about a chosen topic to allow you to develop knowledge of an area in even greater detail than covered in the normal programme. This could include any area in dentistry and there is also the opportunity to learn a new language through the Modern Language Centre at King's.
The final year is designed to allow you to develop as a dentist and to ease the transition, upon qualification, into vocational training and general dental pratice. It also offers the opportunity to flavour the specialist areas of dentistry that may encourage you to specialise after a period of general professional training.
