Week 1

Aetiology and Pathogenesis

• Anatomy of the head
• Tooth and periodontal anatomy, and oral soft tissues
• Oral nomenclature
• Tooth types, nomenclature and formulae
• Eruption times
• Occlusion

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Identify tooth and periodontal structures
• Explain the Modified Triadan System of numbering teeth in the dog and cat
• Recognise normal occlusion

Week 2

Periodontology

• Aetiology and pathogenesis of dental disease
  • Gingivitis
  • Periodontitis
  • Gingivostomatitis
• Periodontal therapy
  • Scaling and polishing
  • Pocket control and therapy
  • Medications, homecare (brief), dental clinics (brief)

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Describe how gingivitis develops and its progression to periodontal disease
• Explain what gingivostomatitis is
• Outline the process of safe ultrasonic tooth scaling and its purpose

Week 3

Oral Pathology and Treatment

• Trauma and treatment options
  • Tooth fracture / discolouration / (sub) luxation
• Dental diseases and treatment options
  • Tooth resorption / caries / periodontal disease
• Malocclusion and treatment options
  • Traumatic / dental / skeletal malocclusions
• Other conditions and treatment options
  • Enamel defects / dentigerous cysts / persistent deciduous / root dilacerations and abnormal morphology / tumours

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Identify common pathologies associated with the teeth and oral cavity
• Describe some potential treatment options for common pathologies

Week 4

Oral Examination and Charting

• History taking and clinical examination – conscious oral examination
• Pre-operative tests
• Assessment under general anaesthesia – including anaesthesia induction, intubation, oral preparation, probing
• Charting – what to fill in, disease scoring and making your chart work
• Imaging and other investigations
  • Radiography – parallel and bisecting angle techniques
  • Biopsy

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Confidently undertake a thorough conscious examination of a patient’s teeth
  and oral cavity
• Set up for and assist with assessment of the teeth and oral cavity in an
  anaesthetised patient
• Accurately complete a dental chart which documents all pathology discovered
  upon examination

Week 5

Instrumentation and dental surgery

• Instruments – use, care and maintenance
• Dental machine and other powered equipment – use, care and maintenance
• Ancillary equipment – use, care and maintenance
• Preparation for and veterinary nursing assistance with surgery
  • Pre-, intra- and post-operatively, including analgesia
• The role of intraoperative radiography

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Differentiate between different instruments used for dental and oral procedures, and state what they are used for
• Describe the proper use, care and maintenance of a range of dental instruments and equipment
• Explain the benefits of oral radiography in veterinary patients and outline the basic, fundamental principles of the parallel and bisecting angle techniques

Week 6

Dental clinics, products and homecare

• What is an effective dental clinic
• Types of patients attending dental clinics
• Resources for dental clinic consultations
• Products and interventions available to help with maintaining oral health
• Oral homecare regimes
• Effective dissemination of theoretical and practical oral hygiene advice
• Client concordance and follow-up

Learning objectives
After completion of this week, participants should be able to:

• Debate what makes a dental clinic effective
• Explain the range of resources required to run an effective dental clinic, and the purpose of these resources
• Describe how a range of products and interventions used to maintain optimal oral health work
• Outline how to achieve and maintain client compliance with recommended
  oral homecare regimes

The course will be fully tutored by Claire Bloor and will consist of 15 hours of CPD given in various formats, including tutorials, tasks, case scenarios, forum discussions and quizzes.