About the course
FdSc Oral Health Sciences is based on the General Dental Council’s guidance document Developing the Dental Team and is kept under continual review to ensure that our students are ‘fit to practise’ upon qualification. The content of learning includes oral health, pathology and disease; wider issues affecting the health of the individuals and community, including environment and work-safety issues, heredity, lifestyle, education, socio-economic factors and media influences. We ensure that you consider these wider issues and adopt a holistic approach to patient care.
The overriding aims of our curriculum are to develop professionals who are able to meet the current dental health needs of individuals and society and foster the habit of lifelong learning to enable continuing professional development to meet the future needs of patients and society.
Our objectives are to:
1. Widen access to professional education so that individuals who aspire to become dental hygienists can practise as registered practitioners safely and competently;
2. Create flexible, inter-professional learning pathways to bridge the skill gaps of the NHS dental workforce while meeting the learning needs and aspirations of individuals; and
3. Develop and sustain personal effectiveness by developing self awareness, confidence, autonomy and the habit of lifelong learning and reflective practice.
Why study FdSc Oral Health Science at Essex?
Our School of Health and Human Sciences offers a multidisciplinary environment with an excellent reputation for research and teaching. We submitted with our Department of Sociology in the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE, December 2008) and were awarded joint first in the UK. Within our School, our educational provision meets professional regulatory requirements and achieves high standards. We do so by having staff that are multi-professional, including clinically-qualified lecturers, sociologists and social policy and management specialists, so they have clinical and academic credibility.
A unique feature of our School is that many of our staff work with local National Health Service (NHS) Trusts and other local agencies, which enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and practice. We specialise in applied, multidisciplinary research that addresses issues of national and international concern to health policy and practice and related fields. We have research interest groups in ‘Developing Professional Practice’ and ‘Applied Health Research’, and host the NIHR Research Design Service for the East of England.
Why study this subject?
Are you looking for a career in health where you can make a real difference? By studying courses within our School of Health and Human Sciences, you can follow your passion for a specific career in health, or discover a whole new world of opportunity in the rapidly expanding and growing health industry sector.
Our facilities
Our School of Health and Human Sciences has state-of-the-art clinical laboratories with the very latest equipment and IT facilities. This includes, at our Southend Campus, a dental skills lab with ‘phantom heads’ to practice on and a 20-chair dental education unit.
Study abroad/placement opportunities
Due to the practical and challenging nature of this course, it is not possible to undertake study abroad.
Hear what our students have to say
Graduate profile
Sarah Cheeseman, FdSc Oral Health Science ’11, United Kingdom
“I was very keen to study oral health at Essex because the placement rotation allowed for a varied experience in numerous areas of dentistry, and the teaching staff are widely recognised and respected. I found my introductory module very helpful, as I had no previous health care experience, and I also particularly enjoyed the Law and Ethics module.
“The facilities at our Southend Campus are fantastic – you get to learn the basics in the skills labs and with the phantom heads before trying your skills out for real on patients!
“After graduating, I quickly secured employment with dental practices and am now working as a dental hygienist at several different practices. The placement-based learning made me very attractive to employers, and enabled me to enter new roles confident that I will be able to cope under pressure within a dental surgery environment. My course at Essex truly helped to prepare me for work in the real world, and I have been able to put all of my skills and knowledge into practice.”
Introduction
Foundation degrees are work-related, higher education qualifications designed in conjunction with employers to offer accessible and flexible learning opportunities relevant to a student’s career. A foundation degree is shorter than a normal degree but is a higher education qualification in its own right; it can be used as a progression route to a full degree.
The successful completion of this programme leads to the award of a Foundation Degree in Oral Health Sciences, with 240 academic credits. This qualification is recognised by the General Dental Council and enables you to register as a dental hygienist.
This programme is full-time and you are expected to complete the minimum number of weeks required by the General Dental Council, which is 90 weeks. Term dates do not coincide with our normal University term dates due to this requirement and you are in placement throughout the summer. Any time missed by non-attendance, through sickness or other personal reason, will need to be made up in order to register.
The dates for holiday breaks are timetabled throughout the programme and these cannot be changed for individual students. The planned holiday periods include time at Easter, summer, Christmas and New Year.
The theory part of this programme is taught at our campus at Southend on Sea, which is ideally located next to the High Street and Southend Central Station. Practical skills are gained through a variety of clinical environments, including community and general dental practices across the county of Essex.
You attend five separate placements during this programme, spread across the county of Essex. You will have close supervision from a named Clinical Educator in the workplace to support and guide you; these may be dentists, dental hygienists or dental therapists. The Clinical Educators will also provide weekly tutorials to link academic learning with your clinical experience.
Please note that module information on our course finder provides a guide to course content and may be subject to review on an annual basis.
Year 1 core and optional modules
Personal Effectiveness;
Clinical Governance and Patient Safety;
Biomedical and Psychosocial Science for Dental Practice;
Health Policy, Law and Ethics;
Introduction to Oral Health and Diseases; and
Promotion of Oral Health and Prevention of Dental Diseases
Year 2 core and optional modules
Health and Illness;
Critical Appraisal and Research Skills for Dental Practice;
Management of Oral Diseases; and
Special Needs
Introduction
As a new undergraduate, you may find university-level learning, assessment and studying differs to school or college. Here at Essex, we understand and recognise this by having support in place, particularly during your first year when you may notice the change more.
If you are studying a science subject, then your modules are taught through lectures, classes and laboratory sessions. A typical timetable includes around eight to fourteen one-hour lectures per week with associated classes or laboratories. Computing, health sciences and psychology research involve extensive practical work.
First-year assessment is a combination of written coursework, end-of-term tests, practical and laboratory work (where appropriate) and end-of-year exams.
Teaching methods and styles
Within our School of Health and Human Sciences, teaching varies depending on the course you are undertaking. Our courses combine University, e-learning and work-based learning to help you enhance your practice skills and develop an understanding of the theory relevant to your work.
We work closely in partnership with the National Health Service and the independent health sector to provide placement opportunities on our courses. Your time at placement may be spent at health centres, hospitals, nursing homes or psychiatric units across Essex. We also work closely with the NHS East of England in the development and delivery of innovative and professionally relevant clinical programmes and modules.
Methods of assessment
Within our School of Health and Human Sciences, your assessment is by a combination of written coursework and end-of-year examinations. If you fail any of your first-year modules, you are often allowed to re-sit examinations in September. Although first-year results do not contribute to your final class of degree, you have to complete the first year successfully before you can enter the second. After the first year, your results count towards your final class of degree.
Career destinations
This Foundation degree will be suited to you if you are interested in a career in oral health practice, such as an oral health educator, a dental hygienist/therapist, a dental technician or a dentist. Successful completion of our programme enables registration with the General Dental Council as a dental hygienist.
Your employability and Essex
At Essex we take your employability seriously, helping you become a rounded individual with the ability to succeed, whatever your plans. You’ll find your department works with our Employability and Careers Centre to inform you about options to study or work overseas, your Faculty Employability Coordinator finds degree-related work placements, and our Students’ Unions ensures that, annually, over 700 students volunteer and more than 4,000 get involved in sports, clubs and societies.
At Essex you can gain new skills that look good on your CV, like paid placements through our frontrunners scheme, graduate-level paid internships, and opportunities to develop discipline-specific skills as part of your studies.
We help you understand your skills, and how to demonstrate these to an employer. You can get our extra-curricular employability award – the Big Essex Award – recorded on your transcript, receive one-to-one advice on careers, use our Essex CV guides on applying for work, learn from famous entrepreneurs and take part in workshops, and meet employers through on-campus events.
We develop your employability through fantastic opportunities, and give you the tools to explore the meaning of your unique experiences, so you are ready for your future.
Postgraduate opportunities
Within our School of Health and Human Sciences, we offer taught courses and research supervision for PhD, MPhil and Masters by dissertation. We also offer professional doctorates, which are awarded in named areas of health and social care.
Our unique range of taught courses include one-year standard and two-year pre-registration taught. By pre-registration, we mean that these courses lead to the additional qualification of eligibility to apply for registration with the appropriate regulatory body. We offer full and part-time studies, which provide you with a learning environment suited to your professional commitments. Many of our programmes are offered as part of interprofessional learning (IPL), encouraging professionals to learn with and from each other – an understanding that helps to ensure our students have the expertise to respond adequately and effectively to the complexity of their service user needs, and ensures that care is safe, seamless and of a high standard.
We have research interest groups in ‘Developing Professional Practice’ and ‘Applied Health Research’. Examples of current research projects are those addressing social exclusion and health inequality from both a micro perspective, focused on vulnerable residents living in bedsits, to analyses of national databases to identify causes of health inequality. We have a number of studies that focus on mental health and optimal treatment pathways or therapies, while patient benefit is the aim of much of our research, through better understanding and dissemination of the patient experience.
Qualifications
Please be aware that we are not able to accept applications for deferred entry for this course.
Entry is based on your ability to study at Foundation degree level, demonstrated by a range of Level 3 qualifications, eg NVQ Level 3, BTEC or Access to HE Diploma in Oral Health Care or health/science related subjects.
A-levels: 160 points, including CC, including one in a science subject.
National Dental Nurse Certificate (with a minimum of two years experience).
You must also have GCSE English Language and Mathematics, and one science related subject: C or above.
The course is only available to applicants classified as: ‘home’ or ‘EU’ students. In order to be classified as a home or EU student you must be:
a) ‘settled’ in the UK as a UK or EU citizen, or have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ granted by the Home Office. ‘Settled’ means being both ordinarily resident in the UK and without any immigration restriction on the length of your stay in the UK; and
b) ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the programme.
In addition, as access is supported by the NHS East of England, applicants must have satisfactory Criminal Record Bureau enhanced disclosure; and complete a satisfactory occupational health check (organised by our University).
We accept a wide range of other qualifications from applicants studying in the UK, EU and other countries. For further details about the qualifications that we accept, please e-mail us with information about the high school qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
You should be 18 years or over by 31 December in your first year of study and learners must have an identified supervisor/mentor prepared to support them and develop their clinical practice in the workplace.
Qualifications
Please be aware that we are not able to accept applications for deferred entry for this course.
Entry is based on your ability to study at Foundation degree level, demonstrated by a range of Level 3 qualifications, eg NVQ Level 3, BTEC or Access to HE Diploma in Oral Health Care or health/science related subjects.
A-levels: 160 points, including CC, including one in a science subject.
National Dental Nurse Certificate (with a minimum of two years experience).
You must also have GCSE English Language and Mathematics, and one science related subject: C or above.
The course is only available to applicants classified as: ‘home’ or ‘EU’ students. In order to be classified as a home or EU student you must be:
a) ‘settled’ in the UK as a UK or EU citizen, or have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ granted by the Home Office. ‘Settled’ means being both ordinarily resident in the UK and without any immigration restriction on the length of your stay in the UK; and
b) ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the programme.
In addition, as access is supported by the NHS East of England, applicants must have satisfactory Criminal Record Bureau enhanced disclosure; and complete a satisfactory occupational health check (organised by our University).
We accept a wide range of other qualifications from applicants studying in the UK, EU and other countries. For further details about the qualifications that we accept, please e-mail us with information about the high school qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
You should be 18 years or over by 31 December in your first year of study and learners must have an identified supervisor/mentor prepared to support them and develop their clinical practice in the workplace.
If you would like to apply for this course, you need to do this directly to the School of Health and Human Sciences. For details on our application process, please go to the Health and Human Sciences website.