Advanced Practical Theoretical Course for Dental Hygienists
The dental hygienist is key in terms of the promotion of oral health, and plays an important role in all stages of periodontal treatment, from diagnosis, monitoring the risk factors of the disease, non-surgical periodontal treatment, long-term loyalty and oral maintenance.
Dental hygienists are members of the oral health team managing the patient, along with the stomatologist or dentist, and it is essential that they have a broad overview of dentistry to be able to make referrals.
Objectives
- To update professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of periodontal and periimplant disease.
- To manage specific clinical procedures to resolve cases involving difficult access and technical complexity.
- To review the most important concepts of scaling and root planing.
- To learn the basic concepts of preventative dentistry.
- Medical emergency management, special patient management and medical commitment.
- To provide a comprehensive overview of medical-oral pathologies.
Competencies to be acquired by students
The course is divided into three intensive days and is designed to provide the student with theoretical knowledge, as well as skills based on the clinical practice of the learned concepts. This course provides tools to organise the treatment and follow-up of periodontal patients by establishing relationships with other dental specialisations.
Prospective students
This course is aimed at dental hygienists.
Course Coordinators
- Dr. José Nart
- Dra. Neus Carrió
Theoretical part
Periodontology module
- Non-surgical diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases.
- The role of the dental hygienist in surgical treatments.
The aim is to learn all the causal, diagnostic, prognostic and treatment plan concepts in periodontal stage I and to learn to perform root scraping and straightening with its different curettes and tools at the same time. Another fundamental objective is to look into greater depth into the sterilisation of instruments in the dental clinic; to learn the principles of periodontal surgery and the specific surgical tools used in periodontal surgery.
Preventative dentistry module
The aim is to provide an updated theoretical programme addressing topics such as diagnostic protocols and dental caries prevention protocols.
Special and medically compromised patient’s module. Medical-oral pathology:
The aim is to train dental hygienists who are aware of the medical and pharmaceutical pathologies that condition dental treatment in patients who are older or have disabilities. The aim is also to provide clinical knowledge of oral-medical pathology to teach participants to assist in diagnostic tests and to manage the most frequent alterations that may appear in the oral cavity.
Practical session
Seminars covering clinical cases
How to document step-by-step cases of periodontal patients.
Patient practices: University Dental Clinic
Work placements with patients. The objective is to implement all the concepts learned. Each student will have the opportunity to look more in-depth into the issues at hand and answer any questions they may have. Students will be able to work with a patient and will be supervised by a dentist, a student from the Master's Degree in Periodontology and a course instructor.
Practicum using phantoms
Instrumentation using phantoms:
- Identification of curettes, cutting edges and state of the instrument.
- Sharpening stone curettes.
- Radicular scraping and straightening using phantoms: insertion, stabilisation, fulcrum and activation.
- Operator positions, visibility, lighting and separation.
Seminars on photography:
● Recording, editing and photographic monitoring of patients' progress.
Prerequisites & admissions
- To be a dental hygienist.
