UCL Eastman Dental Institute

What will I learn?

Syllabus

Scientific Basis of Oral Surgery

This will provide the core teaching for the degree programme and will encompass the scientific basis of the clinical speciality as well as the principles of oral diseases and patient management. It will include:

• Anatomy, physiology, development and pathology of the teeth and supporting tissues, the jaws and orofacial tissues.
• Applied surgical anatomy of perioral structures
• The cranial nerves – a correlation between anatomy and clinical examination
• Anatomy and physiology of the thorax and abdomen relevant to patient assessment.
• Bone biology and pathology – application to grafting procedures
• Applied pathology of oral mucosal lesions, odontogenic tumours, cysts of the jaws and related soft tissue lesions
• Oral premalignancy and malignancy
• Oral microbial disease
• Properties and applications of relevant biomaterials
• Anaesthesia, analgesia and sedation
• Management of medical emergencies and the unconscious patient
• Pharmacology of the main agents encountered in the practice of dentoalveolar surgery, including drugs being taken by patients and those which may be prescribed in the practice of Surgical Dentistry.
• The principles and pitfalls of antibiotic therapy
• Antibiotic prophylaxis

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is that part of dental surgery which deals with the diagnosis, the surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects of the jaws and associated structures.

The course will provide a theoretical knowledge of a wide range of OMFS and related disciplines. Clinical teaching, attending at operating lists and supervised clinical practice. Postgraduates will participate in diagnostic, treatment planning and treatment sessions in relation to OMFS.

It will include :

• Theory and principles of simple and complex exodontias & management of tooth impactions
• Prevention, diagnosis and management of complications of exodontias
• Surgical endodontics
• Management of benign intra-oral lesions and biopsy techniques
• Management of minor salivary gland pathology and intra-oral salivary calculi
• Management of traumatic injuries to the teeth and their related structures
• Control and management of orofacial and craniomandibular pain
• Diagnosis, treatment & management of trauma
• Diagnosis, treatment planning & management of craniofacial deformities
• Prevention, diagnosis and management of oral/dental disease
• Recognition of oral manifestations of human diseases and an understanding of their management
• Sedation, local and general anaesthesia
• Medical and surgical problems related to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• Management of emergencies and resuscitation techniques
• Management of the medically compromised patient
• Radiology and imaging
• Pharmacology and therapeutics relevant to Oral Surgery
• Epidemiology
• Cross infection and sterilisation
• Communication, interpersonal skills and team leadership

The relationship of Oral Surgery to Other Dental Specialties

This will encompass the clinical teaching and supervised clinical practice of the programme. Postgraduates will participate in diagnostic, treatment planning and treatment sessions in relation to Oral Surgery. It will include:

a. Radiological investigation of the oral surgery patient
An introduction to the principles and theory of diagnostic radiological techniques, radiation protection and radiographic interpretation.

b. Sedation/general anaesthesia and oral surgery treatment
Theoretical and practical knowledge of sedation techniques. It will also identify the indications and contra-indications for the use of sedation and general anaesthesia in the oral surgery patient. Resuscitation and advanced life support skills will also be a feature.

c. Oral Surgery– oral and maxillofacial surgery interactions
The relationship with OMFS. It will develop skills in identifying the need for referral and the transition of patients from an oral surgery environment to that of the OMFS specialist.

d. Oral Surgery – oral medicine interactions
Oral medicine skills for the oral surgeon, including biopsy techniques, management of simple oral medicine complaints. It will identify the role of the oral surgeon in the prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of oral cancer and pre-cancer.

e. Oral Surgery– orthodontics interactions
The management of patients requiring simple orthodontic surgery, including management of impacted canine teeth, exposure of teeth, auto-transplantation and extractions. Management and surgery for soft tissue conditions such as high fraenae.

f. Special Needs patients requiring oral surgery
The management of medically compromised patients requiring oral surgery. It will develop skills in the treatment planning and provision of treatment to these groups of patients.

Clinical log book

This will involve the maintenance of a record of clinical management undertaken. It will consist of:

• A log book of all patients treated, detailing the clinical experiences gained

Research project and report

This requires the postgraduates to undertake a research project in an area relevant to oral surgery and to prepare a dissertation of approximately 15,000 words which must include a review of the relevant literature.

Maxillofacial Technology

This will consist of lectures and laboratory-based practical work. The following topics will be covered:

• Basic technology
• Fixation techniques
• Suturing and replacement of hard and soft tissues
• Orthognathic technology

Module structure

Programme specification

An outline of the structure of the MSc in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and its assessment is available in the Programme Specification (MS Word).

Aims & Objectives

The general educational aims for this programme are as follows:

1. To offer education and training in OMFS that will provide a sound foundation for specialist practice and progression towards higher surgical training.
2. Contribute to the development of OMFS in other countries especially where healthcare challenges are different from the United Kingdom. We recognize our trainees contend with a higher prevalence of untreated disease, limited financial and technical resources, limited expertise and support for our specialty.
3. Encourage students to develop independence of thought in discussion and patient care.
4. Provide an intellectually challenging environment in the clinic, classroom and laboratory.
5. Exploit scientifically based advances in surgical knowledge and technology.

On completion of the requirements for this programme the postgraduate should be able to demonstrate the following skills/knowledge/accomplishments:

1. A theoretical knowledge of the widest range of OMFS and related disciplines.
2. The clinical and practical skills appropriate to a trainee entering higher surgical training including; history taking, the clinical examination, the choice of appropriate investigations and their interpretation, treatment planning and surgery.
3. The essential skills in dentoalveolar surgery appropriate to a programme in surgical dentistry. Additional clinical experience to consolidate these skills will be acquired as a resident SHO in OMFS (some postgraduates may already possess this experience).
4. Academic skills such that they can give clinical presentations, prepare posters and deliver papers at professional meetings.
5. Have fundamental knowledge of research methodology and statistics so that they can write clinical and research papers suitable for peer reviewed journals.
6. Appropriate communication skills for both colleagues and patients.
7. Complementary skills such as computer literacy including word processing, graphic presentation, statistical analyses and literature search. Be able to locate and retrieve clinical and research publications to enable evidence based clinical management
8. Understanding of teamwork and time management.
9. The standard of knowledge and experience required to pass the MFDSRCS.
10. We anticipate at the completion of the MSc the trainee will also be amply qualified to pass a Membership in surgical dentistry of one of the Royal Colleges.

Assessment

Summative Assessment

The programme follows a modularised structure. The modules have a credit weighting and are separately assessed. This includes an assessed research project (dissertation) and other forms of assessment such as written papers (MCQ, MSA, essays) and practical/clinical/oral examinations.

Formative assessment

Clinical, practical and academic skills are assessed throughout each graduate's time at the Eastman. Some of this assessment is “formative” i.e. it does not contribute to the final degree result but does aid the learning experience. The following formative assessments are employed:

• Mock written, practical and oral examinations timetabled throughout the programme.
• Recording of all clinical work in a logbook which the graduate must present at intervals.
• In addition graduates general performance is assessed by the Programme committee.

Teaching methods

Timetabling

Due to the nature of the programme the timetable varies during the academic year. However, a typical week on the programme is likely to comprise the following sessions:

Note: 1 session = 3 hours

Normal working hours are 09.00 – 17.00, Monday – Friday however on occasions some activities may take place outside these core hours.

Programme director: Mr Colin Hopper
Programme coordinator: Dr Rachel Leeson

Mr Peter Ayliffe
Dr Anwar Bamber
Dr Bilquis Banu
Dr Abid David
Dr Mehri Eghtessad
Dr Charlotte Feinmann
Mr Nick Kalavrezos
Mr Tim Lloyd
Dr Sajeda Meghji
Dr Sean Nair
Mr Tony Snowdon
Ms Maggie Witcher