University of Portsmouth

BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy

Modules

Year 1

Core modules in this year include:

• Core Skills Training Framework – 0 credits
• Tutorials – 0 credits
• Foundation of Evidence-Based Practice – 20 credits
• Foundations of Dhdt Professional Practice – 40 credits
• Fundamentals of Dental Hygiene & Therapy Practice – 20 credits
• Integrated Clinical Practice – 0 credits
• Science Informing Practice – 40 credits
• UPDA Events – 0 credits

There are no optional modules this year.

Year 2

Core modules in this year include:

• Applied Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice – 40 credits
• Communication for the Dental Team – 20 credits
• Core Skills Training Framework Repeat Level 5 – 0 credits
• Dental Radiography – 20 credits
• Tutorials – 0 credits
• Engaging With Service Improvement – 20 credits
• Evidence-Based Decision Making – 20 credits
• Integrated Clinical Practice – 0 credits
• UPDA Events – 0 credits

There are no optional modules this year.

Year 3

Core modules in this year include:

• Behaviour Management – 20 credits
• Core Skills Training Framework Repeat Level 6 – 0 credits
• Tutorials – 0 credits
• Enhancing Dental Hygiene & Therapy Professional Practice – 40 credits
• Leading Safe and Effective Care – 20 credits
• Project – 40 credits
• UPDA Events – 0 credits

There are no optional modules this year.

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry, and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Work experience with patients in the community

To help you gain professional experience, you'll help to provide free dental health services to the public at the Dental Academy and work with patients in local community settings.

You'll have the chance to offer preventative and educational dental support within institutions such as school clinics and hostels for homeless people, enabling you to gain a better understanding of the social impact of good dental care.

Our community work experience projects include:

• outreach activity in community surgeries and maxillofacial departments in local hospitals
• oral health promotion
• supervised tooth brushing in infant schools
• helping staff to develop oral care plans in residential homes
• providing dental screening to offenders in the probation service
• providing dental checkups to elite athletes, including first-team players from Portsmouth Football Club

Both dental hygienists and dental therapists provide oral care that helps patients maintain a healthy mouth, gums and teeth. The treatments and procedures they carry out – such as scaling and polishing and taking dental X-rays – are designed to support good oral health and prevent dental problems before they develop.

In addition to this, dental therapists are also trained to do some of the same work as dentists, including fillings and extracting and placing preformed crowns on 'baby' teeth.

In adult patients, dental therapists can provide any dental work that doesn't require treatment to the nerve of a tooth, which makes them essential support to dentists and versatile and multi-skilled member of a dental team.

Register as both a dental hygienist and a dental therapist

On this BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy degree, you'll develop the knowledge, skills and professionalism you need to take on either of these roles, both of which are in high demand throughout the UK, in the NHS and in the private healthcare sector.

After you complete this course, you’ll be able to register with the General Dental Council (GDC) as a dental hygienist and a dental therapist and embark on your dental career straight away.

Looking to study just dental hygiene? Take a look at our BSc (Hons) Dental Hygiene degree.

What areas can you work in with dental hygiene and dental therapy degree?

When you complete the course, you'll be qualified to work in areas such as:

• general dental practice
• hospital dental services
• the Armed Forces
• the NHS
• health promotion
• owning and managing a dental business of your own

What jobs can you do with dental hygiene and dental therapy degree?

Roles our graduates have taken on include:

• dental hygienist
• dental therapist
• oral health educator
• practice manager
• practice owner

You could also continue your dental studies or do research at the postgraduate level.

Potential salary

As an NHS dental hygienist in 2021, you could expect a starting salary of £25,655, moving up to £31,534 (Band 5).

With more experience as a specialised dental hygienist, you could earn from £32,306 to £39,027 (Band 6) and with a role training others in dental hygiene, you could make up to £45,839 (Band 7).

As a dental therapist in the NHS in 2021, your starting salary would be between £25,655 and £39,027 (Bands 5-6). Once you have more experience, you could earn up to £45,839 (Band 7).

In private practice, hourly rates for dental hygienists and dental therapists range from approximately £16.56 to over £50.

Ongoing careers support

After you graduate, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability Service as you advance in your career.