The University of Queensland

Program

As a first-year UQ dental student, you will be introduced to dental practice and oral rehabilitation and undertake courses in oral biosciences and biomedical foundations in oral health. The remaining four years of the program consist of three years of applied dental science and one year (34 weeks) of extramural clinical practice.

Clinical work begins in second year and is broadened in the third and fourth years of study. You will be assigned patients and will be responsible for the dental care of these patients. Clinical work in areas such as general dental practice, operative dentistry, orthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics is undertaken at the UQ School of Dentistry.

Year 1

• Simulated clinical practice commences in the first week of the program
• Complete units in biological science, chemistry and oral biology
• Introduction to the nature of dental practice

Years 2, 3 and 4

• Clinical work commences, in areas such as general-practice dentistry, orthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral medicine, oral pathology, oral radiology, oral surgery and endodontics
• Advanced studies in biological sciences

Year 5

• 39 week placement, occurring as a series of rotations through clinics in rural, school, hospital and community-based settings
• Apply and further develop diagnostic and clinical skills in a relatively independent, supervised environment with access to experienced practitioners

Clinical placements
You will gain experience in the areas of oral medicine and oral and maxillofacial surgery in Brisbane dental teaching hospitals. You will undertake an extended placement (40 weeks) in your final year in a range of clinical settings, including the Oral Health Centre as well as government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island health service clinics throughout Queensland.