Preventive Dentistry (ZHAS_026)
About Study Course
Objective
To provide knowledge about the risk factors of oral disease, to develop an understanding of the role of fluoride in prevention, to develop students' skills to diagnose, prevent and treat initial dental caries, also by assessing the associated risk factors, to learn to use preventive materials .
Prerequisites
Biology, chemistry, microbiology, dental anatomy, operative dentistry course.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course, students:
• describe the methods of recording caries and other diseases using different indices, thus diagnosing the illnesses at different stages of their development;
• present epidemiological data on oral diseases in Latvia and the world, understand their relation to different risk factors;
• the role and methodology of caries risk determination at individual and population level;
• understand the existing evidence-based prevention methods, will be able to evaluate information about new methods, as well as to critically evaluate information published in the literature on new caries and other disease risk factors and on new methods of classification and writing of caries and other diseases;
• identify and describe the principles of evidence-based dentistry, their application at individual, group and population levels.
Successful completing of the course, students will be able to:
• obtain data on the patient's general health, social factors, to analyze the diet, its connection with oral diseases, the history of fluoride use and oral hygiene habits, as well as to identify the patient's knowledge gaps,
• evaluate the state of oral hygiene,
• present to the patient the results of the caries risk assessment, providing individual recommendations for risk reduction,
• to evaluate the developmental stage and activity of the carious process,
• identify the patient's wishes, attitudes, interoperability and requirements, taking them into account when developing a prevention and treatment plan;
• evaluate the risk factors for xerostomia (reduced salivation).
• evaluate the risk factors for halitosis (bad breath).
• evaluate nutritional risk factors
• formulate a scientific question and look for appropriate evidence and guidelines, critically evaluate the literature found.
On successful completion of the study course, students will be able to synthesise the knowledge acquired to the long-term monitoring, treatment and to stop caries and other dental hard tissue pathology progression, combining and interpreting risk in determining the information obtained, considering the patient's wishes and possibilities, observing the situation in the long term, having the patient to regularly do check-ups, basing the frequency of visits on the risk of obtaining a disease, and using the most appropriate prevention methods and oral care products for the particular patient.
Students will be competent to apply evidence-based methods at both individual and population level.
Study course planning
| Study programme | Study semester | Program level | Study course category | Lecturers | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Hygiene, ZFH | 4 | First level | Required | Anda Mironova, Anda Brinkmane, Anete Strēle |
