Division of Dentistry officers

Head of the Division of Dentistry
Professor Nick Silikas

Deputy Head of the Division of Dentistry
Professor Julian M Yates

Undergraduate Pastoral Officer
Dr Shiva Grizelj

Director of Undergraduate Dental Education
Professor Reza Vahid Roudsari

Director of Research
Professor Tanya Walsh

Director of Graduate Education
Professor Siobhan Barry

NHS Officers

Dental Hospital Officer: Division Medical Director
Professor William Newman

Dental Hospital Officer: Division Deputy Medical Director
Professor Craig Barclay

Dental Hospital Officer: Division Deputy Medical Director
Dr Mariyah Nazir

Getting started

The General Dental Council

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the body that regulates the practice of dental professionals in the UK and validates the appropriate degree courses; that is, it determines the broad requirements and the standards that it expects dental graduates to achieve. You can find more information here: https://www.gdc-uk.org/

An approved registrable qualification is essential for admission to the Dentists’ (or Dental Therapists’) Register entitling one to practise Dentistry (or Dental and Hygiene Therapy).

For those registered on the Dentistry programme, the University of Manchester grants one such first qualification: the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). The award of the Bachelor of Medical Science, B.Med.Sc (Dent), is available after completion of a minimum of 3 years, intended for students who are unable to or who do not wish to complete the BDS Programme. The B.Med.Sc (Dent) qualification is not registrable with the GDC.

For registration as a dentist, the General Dental Council requires that undergraduate studies extend over a period of at least five years from the date of the satisfactory completion of any necessary pre-dental studies.

For those registered on the Dental Hygiene and Therapy programme, the Division offers a degree of Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSc DH&T), the successful completion of which entitles the graduate to apply for registration as Dental Therapist. No exit awards are available on this programme.

For registration as a dental therapist, the General Dental Council requires that undergraduate studies extend over a period of at least three years from the date of the satisfactory completion of any necessary pre-programme studies.

Using the Programme Handbook

The purpose of the Division of Dentistry Programme Handbook is to set out information that is essential to you as a student and to guide you through the five years of study for the award of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), or three years for the award of Bachelor of Science in Dental and Hygiene Therapy (BSc DH&T). In conjunction with the Student Charter, the Dental School Agreement, and Handbook of Assessment, the Programme Handbook provides not only practical information on fees and registration, but also sets out what you must achieve in terms of work, attendance, and professionalism in each year of the programme. Many of these requirements are contained in the formal Regulations towards the end of this handbook, but these should be read in conjunction with the items on programmes of study, examinations and other explanatory texts which are written in less formal language.

The Division of Dentistry is situated on the ground floor of Coupland 3 Building. The term ‘Dental School’ is also used to describe the building. The Division is an integral part of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health within The University of Manchester and is responsible for the design, the teaching, and the assessment of the entire BDS and BSc DH&T programmes. It also provides excellent facilities for research.

The University Dental Hospital of Manchester (UDHM) houses the clinical dental departments and the Dental Hospital. A significant part of the clinical training will take place in this building, which is also known as the “in-reach placements”. Students will also be taught in other parts of the University, for example at the Stopford Building as well as other hospitals within Greater Manchester (including Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, and Trafford General Hospital). Students will have clinical placements in outreach clinics in their senior years within North West England.

The general structure of our Programmes, together with the aims and objectives are described in this Handbook, but it is also vital that you should consult the various course handbooks that are appropriate to your study. These handbooks describe in detail the courses that you will be pursuing, what you will be studying, and how you will be assessed.

Finally, it may be helpful to introduce you to some of the commonly used terminology within the Division. The “Programme” or “Programme of Study” refers to the whole five-year BDS or three-year BSc DH&T.

The Director of Undergraduate Dental Education, Professor Reza Vahid Roudsari, is the Programme Director, and is responsible for the overall teaching, learning, and assessment strategies and the monitoring of student progress. In practice, many aspects of these responsibilities are delegated to other individuals and committees.

The curriculum itself is managed by the Undergraduate Programme Committee (UPC), on which there are representatives responsible for different years of our Programmes and student representatives. No part of the curriculum can be changed without the approval of the UPC, just as the Committee cannot initiate a change without consulting the staff responsible for teaching that part of the programme of study.

All formative, summative, and continuous assessments on the two programmes are managed by the Assessment and Examination Group (AEG). Professor Hugh Devlin is the Division Assessment Lead and chairs the AEG. All decisions made relating to assessment of students are discussed at the AEG. The membership includes staff representation from different years of the programme as well as a student rep. Dr Tamsin Cooper and Dr Manas Dave are deputies to Professor Hugh Devlin and are in charge of Students’ Clinical Progression and Staff Organization respectively.

Students are expected to meet with their academic year leads (or their nominees) at least twice a year for a Student Development Review (SDR) meeting. The SDR meetings are held face to face or online and are one-to-one. At the SDR meeting, students’ academic achievements, clinical progression, and well-being is discussed. The aim of the SDR meeting is to identify any issues that might affect students’ progress or well-being at the very stage so that the students can be supported. If your SDR reviewer is concerned about your progress or well-being, they will set SMART objectives for you to meet by the set deadline. They also have the right to refer you to the Student Progress Committee (SPC) so that your case can be discussed.

The primary aim of the SPC will be to provide you with support. Normally you are invited to attend the SPC so that you can update the committee on your progress. In select cases, the SPC may find this appropriate to start the Fitness to Practice (FtP) procedure by referring you to the Concerns Review Panel (CRP). You can read more on Faculty BMH FtP procedures here: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=64361

There is an expectation from the GDC that students’ behaviour should be measured against the principles set out in ‘Focus on Standards’. This can be found at: https://standards.gdc-uk.org/

The Student Progress Committee (SPC) considers matters concerning a student’s conduct and health as directed by:

1. The University of Manchester regulations and policies, such as those on attendance, academic malpractice including plagiarism, conduct and discipline, and criminal offences. These include issues raised by Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced checks and self-disclosures.
2. The GDC’s guidance and regulatory framework relating to undergraduate dental students. For example, paragraph 5a) of the GDC document Student Fitness to Practise places the responsibility on education providers to ‘‘identify as soon as possible students whose behaviour or health gives concern for the safety of patients or colleagues’’.

There is also a Staff / Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) with student representation from every year of both BDS and BSc DH&T programmes. This Committee has wide-ranging terms of reference that allows it to discuss any aspect of the curriculum and assessment, along with course evaluation and any other relevant issues. Professor Julian Yates, Deputy Head of Division, chairs the SSLC meeting.

Welcome from the Director of Undergraduate Dental Studies

Prof Reza Roudsari DDS, MSc, PGDip, MFDS, FDS (Rest Dent), PhD, PGCertEd Prof Roudsari is a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Specialist in Prosthodontics. He is the Director of the Undergraduate Dental Education for the Division of Dentistry. In addition to his undergraduate leadership and teaching commitments, Prof Roudsari treats patients who require advanced restorative care at the Dental Hospital and teaches postgraduate students on the MSc programme in Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics.

I am delighted to welcome you to the Division of Dentistry. Both our BDS and BSc DH&T programmes are nationally and internationally well-known. We have a reputation to produce professional, knowledgeable, and independent clinicians with good clinical skills. Studying dentistry or dental therapy is hard but at the same time very fulfilling. We will push you to your limits and during the process, we help you become the best version of yourself.

Most of your tutors have been students of Manchester, and for some, not even that long ago. They have gone through the same programme that you will and have experienced the same training as you will. They are all successful and reputable clinicians in the outside world but they chose to come back for a day or two to look after you. They do this out of pure heart and because they want to make sure you become the amazing dentists and dental therapists of the future.

Dentistry is most commonly a hands-on professions, hence, we introduce clinical dentistry to you at the very early stage. While most programmes wait until their students are in their third year to introduce them to the clinical aspects of dentistry, we bring this to you in your week 2! We believe in ‘practice makes perfect’ so what better way to make you perfect than giving you lots of time and ample of opportunities to practice.

Dentistry is a small world. Once you graduate you will realise that everybody knows everybody. In only a few short years, you will be my colleagues. We will be discussing patients and planning treatments together. The ocean of clinical dentistry is vast and no one can be perfect at everything. We need each other to look after our patients. You will realise this in your undergraduate years and will experience it every day once you graduate. For this reason, we treat you as colleagues and expect the same mutual respect.

Please don’t forget that we are always here for you. If you need help or support, simply ask. I am looking forward to working with you in the upcoming academic year.

Best wishes
Reza

Registration

Both new and returning students will be able to register online. To register, go to My Manchester (http://my.manchester.ac.uk) using your central username and password and select ‘Registration’. You should be able to complete online registration simply by following the instructions as they appear on screen.

It is essential that you self-register prior to your Induction Week.

Only when you have registered fully will you be able to access your courses on Blackboard (Bb), The University of Manchester’s virtual learning environment (VLE) and your personalised online timetable.  Blackboard is where you will find much of your course information, learning resources and some programmed activities such as group discussions and online assessments.

You may find it helpful to refer to the Students’ Welcome Guide, available at: https://www.welcome.manchester.ac.uk/get-ready/become-a-student/guide-to-my-manchester/

If you are going to start your first year, please make sure you check the ‘Get ready to start with us’ here: https://www.welcome.manchester.ac.uk/

Tuition fees

You will have received confirmation of your fees in your offer letter, but you can also check tuition fees online: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/finances/tuition-fees/fee-amounts/

Contacts

How to contact us

The formal means of communication in the Division of Dentistry is the University email system. All undergraduate students are provided with an email address ending with student.manchester.ac.uk. All students in the clinical years are provided with a Manchester university Foundation Trust (MFT) email address ending with mft.nhs.uk.

When communicating to us, please make sure you use your university email. All correspondence containing patient personal information should be done via your MFT email or as a ‘chat bubble’ in HIVE. You can use your university email for clinical related matters provided you remove all patient personal information.

When writing an email, please ensure you choose a relevant title in the Subject bar of the email. The spam filtering system of the university may filter your email if you leave the subject heading blank.

When addressing staff, please refrain from using their first names unless you have their prior approval to address them with their first name.

Email signature

All students must have an email signature. The email signature should follow the following format:

[prefix (optional)] [first name] [last name] [previous degrees (optional)
[BDS / BSc DH&T] Year [year of study] Student
[student or society roles (if any)] Division of Dentistry | School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester M15 6FH

Here is an example:

Mr Simon Smith
BDS Year 4 Student
——————————
BDS Year 4 Student Rep
Division of Dentistry | School of Medical Sciences
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
The University of Manchester | Oxford Road | Manchester M15 6FH

Who to contact

Staff at the Division of Dentistry are always available to help and support you. If you need help or assistance with any aspect of your studies, clinical activities, or personal life, it is important that you contact the right people. This way, we ensure you get the support that you require in a timely and effective manner.

The table below is designed to help you navigate your way to reach the people who can help you with your query:

Step 1: Check online resources
The University of Manchester has a large database of support available to its students via: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/
Step 2: Contact the front line staff at the Division of Dentistry
Administrative matters	For all administrative enquiries; for example to report an absence, request a forms, submit a milestone, ask about a timetabling issue, etc, please contact: SMS Programmes UG Dentistry sms.programmes-ugdent@manchester.ac.uk For all administrative enquiries relating to exams as well as to request your transcript, please contact DentistryExams dentistry.exams@manchester.ac.uk
Clinical matters	For all clinical and patient related matters, contact your clinical tutor. Usually, the same clinical tutor will be working with you for the duration of the academic year.
Your study and wellbeing	For all other matters related to your studies, exam strategies, well-being, and mental health, contact your EBL tutor. Your EBL tutors are also your Academic Advisors. They can help you or put you in the direction of people who can help you.
Step 3: Contact senior front line staff at the Division of Dentistry
Administrative matters	For more complex queries that front line staff cannot assist, please contact your academic year leads or assessment leads: BDS Y1: Dr Bal Panesar bal.panesar@manchester.ac.uk BDS Y2: Dr Mark Shupac mark.shupac@manchester.ac.uk & Dr Lynne Dover lynne.dover@manchester.ac.uk Basic Sciences: Dr Darragh Downey Darragh.Downey@manchester.ac.uk BDS Y3: Dr Hanieh Javidi hanieh.javidi@manchester.ac.uk BDS Y4: Prof Alison Qualtrough alison.qualtrough@manchester.ac.uk & Dr Andhna Ohri Aradhna.Ohri@manchester.ac.uk BDS Y5: Dr Damian O’connor Damian.O’connor@manchester.ac.uk BSc DH&T Y1: Ms Samantha Power Samantha.Power@manchester.ac.uk BSc DH&T Y2 & Y3: Ms Anna Lewis Anna.Lewis@manchester.ac.uk Clinical progression, iDentity, Milestones: Dr Tamsin Cooper tamsin.cooper@manchester.ac.uk Exams and summative assessment: Prof Hugh Devlin hugh.devlin@manchester.ac.uk Clinical skills and gateways: Dr Daniela Lai daniela.lai@manchester.ac.uk Curriculum Revision and Programme Update Lead: Dr Benjamin Trill benjamin.trill@manchester.ac.uk
Clinical matters	There is a Lead Tutor assigned to each day of the week on the Restorative clinic. If your clinical tutor cannot help with your clinical query, please contact one of the Lead Tutors: Mondays: Dr Wafa Kashbour wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk Tuesdays: Dr Benjamin Trill benjamin.trill@manchester.ac.uk Wednesdays: Dr Farah Yassir farah.yassir@manchester.ac.uk Thursdays: Dr Wafa Kashbour wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk Fridays: Dr Tom Booth Thomas.booth-3@manchester.ac.uk Ground Floor Restorative Lead: Dr Wafa Kashbour wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology Lead: Dr Anita Sengupta anita.sengupta@manchester.ac.uk Outreach Lead: Dr Elizabeth Morris elizabeth.morris@manchester.ac.uk Oral Surgery Lead: Dr Tamsin Cooper tamsin.cooper@manchester.ac.uk Paediatric Dentistry Lead: Prof Siobhan Barry siobhan.barry-2@manchester.ac.uk Oral Medicine Lead: Prof Raj Ariyaratnam senathirajah.ariyaratnam@manchester.ac.uk Medicine and Surgery Lead: Prof Mark Greenwood mark.greenwood@manchester.ac.uk Clinical Skills Lead: Dr Daniela Lai BDS daniela.lai@manchester.ac.uk, Samantha Power BSc Samantha.power@manchester.ac.uk & Lindsay Allen BSc lindsay.j.allen@manchester.ac.uk
Your study and well-being	For more complex matters, you may want to contact your academic year leads or the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer. Undergraduate Pastoral Officer: Dr Sheva Grizelj sheva.grizelj@manchester.ac.uk Disability support: DASS queries dc.sms@manchester.ac.uk School level student support: Student support med.sps@manchester.ac.uk
Step 4: Contact the Division Officers
For all matters	If your query is too complex to be handled by the front-line staff and senior staff, consider contacting one of the Division officers directly: Director of Undergraduate Dental Education: Professor Reza Roudsari reza@manchester.ac.uk Deputy Head of the Division of Dentistry: Professor Julian Yates julian.yates@manchester.ac.uk Head of the Division of Dentistry: Professor Nick Silikas Nikolaos.Silikas@manchester.ac.uk

How we contact you

The official means of us communicating to you is via your University email address; therefore, you are required to check your email on daily basis.

We also post notifications on the Blackboard (Bb), which are relevant to your year group or your programme. We expect you to check the Bb regularly for such updates.

Social Media Channels

Different Divisional Student Societies and the Programme use a number of social media platforms in the means of a ‘newsletter’. Please note that such media are not considered official means of us communicating to you and are merely used as reminders to available information or for the purpose of entertainment.

Here are the links to such social media platforms:

Name: Manchester Molars
Owner: Director of Undergraduate Dental Education
Purpose: Video blog of the UG Director, used as a video newsletter
Platform: YouTube
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@manchestermolars8955

Name: Weekly Wisdom
Owner: Director of Undergraduate Dental Education
Purpose: Blog of the UG Director, used as a newsletter
Platform: YouTube
Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gAJClJAhsJqpDFWGi-sSCZbKHZslcJpkhV3-eA_pH1w/edit?usp=sharing

Name: MDSS
Owner: Manchester Dental Students’ Society
Purpose: It is the aim of the Students’ Society (MDSS) to promote intellectual and social interaction among student dentists of The University of Manchester and staff of the Division of Dentistry. Meetings and social and sporting events are held throughout the session. Free elections to the General Committee and Executive are held annually. Past students of the School who possess a recognised dental degree or diploma are eligible for life membership: application to be made to the Hon Secretary.
Platform: YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
Link: https://mdss.co.uk/

Expectations, professionalism, and attendance

Regulations concerning work and attendance of students

The subject of work and attendance in relation to students in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health is complex; because of the special vocational character of the training given in the undergraduate programmes. The various professional bodies have a particular concern in this training because of the statutory responsibilities laid on them with regard to maintaining proper professional standards, in their respective professions.

The Division of Dentistry, therefore, as well as being responsible to the University in so far as it offers programmes for the degrees of BDS and BSc DH&T, also has responsibilities to the profession and in particular the General Dental Council, to ensure that its students have acquired the requisite knowledge and skill. Because of the vocational nature of this professional training, it is to be expected that students will not seek merely to attain minimum standards of work and attendance but will rather equip themselves to the best of their ability with the knowledge and skills that form the basis of their professional practice throughout their lives.

There are further aspects of a student’s attention to his or her studies that are of considerable importance in the dental programmes. This is the academic, technical and clinical competence of the student and also the appropriate attitude to the care of those patients with whom he or she comes into contact. This is hereafter referred to as “performance”.

Matters relating strictly to attendance at components of the dental programmes will be dealt with by use of the procedures laid down by the Senate Regulations. However, where performance on a clinical or practical course is a consideration, a different procedure or “code of practice” will be followed; this has been designed to determine whether or not a student has performed satisfactorily in clinical or practical work for the purposes of Regulation 1(c) of the Regulations for the degree of BDS or BSc DH&T.

It is with these considerations in mind, therefore, that student dentists should approach the question of performance and attendance, and should note in particular the following points:

(a) Students are required to comply with the Ordinances and Regulations for the degree of BDS and BSc DH&T that contain certain stipulations as to satisfactory performance and attendance.

(b) Lectures, Symposia, Practical Classes (including clinical practice), Tutorials and Seminars: Students are expected to attend 100% of all courses and registers of attendance will be kept. The University policy on monitoring of attendance can be located at http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=20846

The courses, however, are not intended to be exhaustive, and students should broaden their knowledge by further reading.

(c) Clinical practice:

Students must show a high degree of diligence in their attendance and performance during the periods of clinical practice specified in the timetable. Satisfactory performance is, in the nature of things, a matter for the professional judgment of teachers. In any case where a report of unsatisfactory performance is made, a student may be required to attend extra courses to repeat the relevant part of the course or not be signed up as having completed the course satisfactorily, or in extreme cases, be excluded from the programme.

(d) (i) Where a report of unsatisfactory attendance at courses is

made, the procedures specified in the Senate Regulations on Work and Attendance will be followed.

(ii) Where a report of unsatisfactory performance on courses is made, the code of practice relating to performance on clinical and practical courses will be followed.

Professional and personal behaviour

Throughout the BDS and BSc (DH&T) Programme a student will be expected to demonstrate that he/she is a suitable person for admission to the dental profession. Members of a profession enjoy many privileges, and in return membership carries several responsibilities. These responsibilities that relate to both professional and personal life do not commence upon graduation. The Programme of Study on which you are about to embark brings you into close contact with patients and involves you directly in their care. Student dentists should consider themselves to be members of the dental profession from the beginning of their studies and conduct themselves accordingly, in the manner to be expected of a qualified dentist.

You must also read the Faculty document on Professionalism: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=63640

The dentist-patient relationship is one that is founded on trust, and on the understanding that care will be provided to the highest standard and in complete confidence. At all times the profession and its members must strive to maintain that trust:

The principles of practice in Dentistry

As a dental professional, you are responsible for doing the following:-

1. Put patients’ interests first
2. Communicate effectively with patients
3. Obtain valid consent
4. Maintain and protect patients’ information
5. Have a clear and effective complaints procedure
6. Work with colleagues in a way that is in patients’ best interests
7. Maintain, develop and work within your professional knowledge and skills
8. Raise concerns if patients are at risk
9. Make sure your personal behaviour maintains patients’ confidence in you and the dental profession

The General Dental Council has responsibility for maintaining standards within the profession and is empowered to erase or suspend the registration of dentists guilty of such misconduct. It is able to do so even if the ‘misconduct’ happened before registration, e.g. as a student, and if it happened outside the University or term time.

The monitoring of professionalism in the clinical environment is performed through the iDentity assessment scheme, in addition to the ‘Professionalism Traffic Light Scheme’ where appropriate.

The traffic light scheme can also be used to record professional behaviour in non-clinical environments. The monitoring of professionalism outside the clinical environment is performed through the ‘Professionalism Traffic Light System’. All members of the dental team are able to report to the School areas of concerning (Amber or Red Cards) or exemplary (Green Card) professional/behavioural performance. Students displaying professionalism/behaviour that is concerning will meet with the respective Academic Year Lead / Course Lead to discuss any issue(s) which may be referred on to Concerns Review Panel for consideration under the Fitness to Practise Procedure (see page 41).

Successful completion of the programme of study leads to the award of a University degree and the right to be considered for acceptance on to the Dentists Register. A graduate’s application for registration is supported by the Head of School, who is required to confirm that the applicant is of good character and both physically and mentally fit to practise dentistry.

Further guidance may be found in the document Student Charter & Dental School Agreement which is located on Blackboard.

The latest GDC Focus on Standards document has nine key principles.  The eighth principle reads “Raise concerns if patients are at risk”.  A subsection of that section (8.4) reads “Make sure if you employ, manage or lead a team that there is an effective procedure in place for raising concerns, that the procedure is readily available to all staff and that it is followed at all times”.

Further guidance follows in section 8.4:

8.4.1      You must make sure there are written procedures in place to enable staff members to raise concerns.  This means:

• Being aware of and adhering to current laws and regulations
• Supporting staff members who raise concerns
• Taking steps to tackle any shortfalls in the standards and performance of staff; and
• Having systems in place for supporting staff who may be having problems with their health, behaviour or professional performance

8.4.2      When a member of your team has raised a concern, you must:

• Take the concerns seriously
• Maintain confidentiality when appropriate
• Investigate promptly and properly and make an unbiased assessment of the concern
• Keep the staff member who raised the concern advised of progress, explain any action taken or reasons for not taking action; and
• Ensure that you monitor the action you take to solve the problem

The School has a policy on raising concerns which applies to both staff and students.  This document is available on the School website.  If any student has a concern about another student or a member of staff, which may mean that patients are at risk, that student must report that concern immediately.

Characteristic professional behaviour

Patients quite rightly expect that their dentist will behave appropriately and provide them with a high standard of care. The GDC also expect that “students recognise the importance of professionalism and can demonstrate the attributes of professional attitudes and behaviour at all times from the beginning of their training (GDC, 2015). As such, as a student dentist you will be expected to display the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours to practice in an ethical and appropriate way, putting the patient’s needs first and promoting confidence in the dental team. This will include, but is not limited to:

• Being honest and acting with integrity
• Treating all patients and colleagues with dignity and respect at all times
• Treat patients fairly and without discrimination
• Treating patients in a safe and hygienic environment
• Put patient’s interests before your own at all times
• Listening to your patients and communicating effectively with them.
• Achieve a high standard of professional knowledge
• Being trustworthy and transparent in all your dealings with patients and colleagues
• Maintain confidentiality at all times
• Recognise and address shortcomings in your knowledge and skills
• Finding out about laws and regulations that affect your work and following them
• Gain valid consent before undertaking treatment

In addition, as a member of a team and a health care professional, a dentist is expected to work with colleagues in ways that serve the interests of the patients. Throughout the course a student dentist will be expected to demonstrate an ability to work with others and to:

• show respect for their colleagues
• show respect for members of staff and other health care professionals
• show respect for all members of the dental team

Performance on clinical and practical courses

Satisfactory performance on clinical and practical courses is essential preparation for the professional examinations and is, therefore, a prerequisite for sitting these examinations, as specified in the regulations for the BDS and BSc DH&T degree. The following code of practice has been devised to determine whether these regulations have been met.

1. Satisfactory performance on a course means the carrying out of prescribed work and any specified procedures to a standard satisfactory to the Sign-Up Committee after report from the teachers are received and processed. Each year of study in the Division of Dentistry has its own requirements, and these are set out in the Handbook of Milestones and Gateways as well as the Handbook of Assessment. Students should familiarise themselves with them.

2. Performance during clinical and practical courses will be monitored with a view to the identification and early correction of deficiencies. The nature of such monitoring will vary between different courses but the overarching process for this monitoring occurs at Student Development Review (SDR) and/or at the Sign-Up meetings. With short block courses the opportunity for monitoring performance is limited by the duration of the course, and in such cases, it may be necessary for a student, against whom a report of unsatisfactory performance has been made, to attend extra sessions or to repeat the course on a subsequent occasion.

• The SDR meeting reviews attendance (clinical and non-clinical), progress with the completion of Milestone (refer to Handbook of Assessment), satisfactory professionalism, and acceptable clinical progression using iDentity. The remit of these meetings is to identify students who are not developing at the required rate and may require remediation.
  • Professionalism in non-clinical areas is monitored using the ‘Professionalism Traffic Light System’ (see Error! Reference source not found.)
  • Progress toward completion of Clinical Gateways and Milestones is monitored via collection and processing of the relevant form submitted to the Division
  • iDentity (also known as iDentistry) is a database recording clinical activity on clinics and the data can be accessed by students via the following web link to assist with their own development: https://identistry.manchester.ac.uk/

If there are concerns regarding a student’s progression, a Student Progress Committee (SPC) will be formed to discuss the findings. The main aim of the SPC is to support the student, however, in serious cases or in the case of repeat offenders, they may decide to start the Fitness to Practice (FtP) proceedings: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=50549

• Sign-up meetings are formal meetings ahead of the examination period to ensure that students have met (or are on target to meet) the criteria that is prerequisite to sitting the examinations. The criteria for each Year of Study are provided in the Handbook of Assessment and will be communicated to students during their induction week at the commencement of each year of study.

3. Students will be encouraged to ascertain for themselves how they are progressing on the programme by means of the Academic Advisor system operated by the Division. This system is facilitated by a Division database termed CEDAR (Centralised Electronic Dental Academic Record) and can be accessed via the following website: https://apps.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/cedar/

It should be borne in mind; however, that the latest information recorded relates to courses held during the previous period of study and it should not be taken necessarily as a guide to current performance. The Undergraduate Pastoral Officer is available for consultation with any students who are concerned about their progress on the programme. The Undergraduate Pastoral Officer is responsible for the provision of support and guidance to students where doubts exist as to their fitness to practice, either as result of health issues or behavioural problems.

4. It may not always be possible, for all courses, to issue formal warnings that performance may be unsatisfactory, since ability to do so depends on the stage at which a deficiency becomes apparent. Any warnings will normally be given by the person in administrative charge of the course concerned and will be notified forthwith to the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer.

5. As early as possible before a professional examination, a ‘Sign-up’ meeting of representatives of the courses involved in the examination will be held to determine whether a student’s performance on the courses concerned has been satisfactory. Students whose performance is judged to be unsatisfactory will be notified, in writing, that their candidature for the examination has been invalidated.

6. A student who has been notified that his/her candidature for a professional examination has been invalidated by reason of unsatisfactory performance may present to the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer, not later than fourteen days from such notification, a written statement giving reasons why his/her performance on the courses concerned has not been satisfactory, together with a request to appear before the Student Progress Committee (SPC) in order to present such reasons. Any part of the aforesaid statement that questions the collective judgment of the teachers concerned on a student’s academic, professional or technical performance shall not be acceptable to the SPC.

Dress code

The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) has adopted a dress code to ensure that all students are appropriately dressed when they are in clinical situations on NHS premises or in other professional circumstances such as Clinical OSCEs and Structured Oral Exams.

You must adhere to the dress code when you are in these situations; failure to do so may result in you being asked to leave the session and missing out on an assessment or learning opportunity.

Please also note for infection control and patient safety issues you will need to adhere to the NHS Trust Dress Code wherever you are placed.

Please read the Faculty of FBMH Policy which contains the dress code on pages 9-13: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=63640

Please refer to the Manchester Muslim Dental Student Guide for practical information on how to observe the dress code for students who are practicing Islam: https://www.manchesterisoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/The-Manchester-Muslim-Dental-Student-Guide-1.pdf

Social media and networking

The regulator of the BDS and BSc DH&T programmes, the General Dental Council (GDC), as with many other professional bodies, emphasises the appropriate and professional use of Social Media and Networking sites in this guidance: https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/guidance-documents/guidance-on-using-social-media.pdf?sfvrsn=de158345_2

The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health also offers advice, guidance and a set of standards for healthcare students about the benefits, and potential dangers, of using social media and networking, and suggests ways in which their personal and professional interests, and those of others, can be protected while in the online environment.  Please read pages 13-21 of this guidance: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=63640

Managing your health

Your well-being

It is important that you look after your health, both whilst you are on the Programme and for the rest of your life. You will be learning to advise patients about keeping themselves healthy – the same advice applies to you:

• Eat well
• Sleep well
• Exercise
• Talk to friends and family
• Take time out to relax
• Steer clear of recreational drugs and only take alcohol in moderation
• Seek help and support when you need it either from your GP and/or the Programme/University

And just like your patients, you need a good doctor. You must never treat yourself, nor ask a friend or family member to do so, as those close to you cannot be impartial. There may be questions they do not like to ask you or concerns you do not like to disclose to them. Make sure you register with a GP locally so that you have a reliable source of medical advice when needed.

If your health is interfering with your studies, or you feel it has the potential to, talk to the Student Pastoral Support (SPS) Team about the problems so that we can make sure you are getting all the appropriate support. You can find the SPS website here: https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/

If you need to see people within the Division, these are the teams and peoples who can help:

Undergraduate Pastoral Officer
Dr Sheva Grizelj sheva.grizelj@manchester.ac.uk

Disability support
DASS queries dc.sms@manchester.ac.uk

School level student support
Student support med.sps@manchester.ac.uk

Confidentiality

Be reassured that seeking help for a health problem, be it physical or mental, is a sign of insight and is therefore seen as a positive strength not a sign of weakness.

It is very rare for any illness to cause a medical student or doctor to be a risk to patients, or to themselves. These are the only circumstances when the normal rules of confidentiality of your medical record would not apply.  In this case it would be the ethical duty of those aware of the situation to refer you for appropriate help. Whilst you are on the Programme this normally means referral to the University’s Occupational Health Service and/or to the University’s Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) for advice.

Long term medical conditions

Help, support and guidance is available through the University if you have a condition affecting your physical or mental health that has a significant, adverse and long-term effect on your ability to study. The University’s Disability Advisory and Support Service will be able to discuss with you any reasonable adjustments that may be made to help you. The Programme may also suggest a case conference involving you, the University Occupational Health Service and the Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS)  to discuss how best to support you throughout your studies.

Mental Health Difficulties

Minor emotional problems or mental health problems are very common, even amongst dentists and dental students, and it is important that you know where to turn for help.

The University has a Counselling Service which offers both useful self-help resources (on-line and face to face workshops) and one-to-one appointments. It usually has a shorter waiting time than is the case for services available through your GP but you should also talk to your own doctor to discuss other treatment options, including (but not restricted to ) medication if appropriate.

If you are receiving appropriate care but your condition is still affecting your ability to study, speak to the Student Pastoral Support Team. We will do all we can to support you. If your symptoms have a significant, adverse and/or long-term effect on your ability to study (i.e. more than one year), you may be eligible for support from the University’s Disability Advisory and Support Service. You should be reassured that in all but the most extreme and uncommon circumstances (such as a severe psychotic disorder which persists or relapses despite treatment), your place on the Programme will be unaffected. Please read staff and student mental helath and well-being strategy here: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=59229

Physical Illness and Blood Borne Viruses

If you have concerns that a physical illness or condition will (or has the potential to) impact on your ability to study and/or attend the Programme, you are encouraged to seek confidential advice from the University Occupational Health Service.

This includes situations where you have either contracted, or have potentially contracted, a blood borne virus. In this case, you will be counselled and if appropriate referred for further specialist treatment.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Instances of drug and/or alcohol abuse are taken seriously by both the GDC and the Dentistry Programmes. If you are involved in either, it is important that you recognise that you have a problem and seek help.

The Student Pastoral Support (SPS) Team is likely to be your first port of call in this instance. Alternatively, you may access confidential help and advice directly from the University Occupational Health Service. Be aware that the Service has an ethical duty to inform the Programme if your drug and/or alcohol use may have implications for the safety of patients.

The Programme and University will do all we can to support you, offering both advice and practical help. Misuse of drugs or alcohol may be associated with underlying stress, anxiety or depression that can be treated.

You may be asked to comply with monitoring arrangements, including regular review meetings and random drug and/or alcohol screening, for which you may be expected to pay.

If abuse is recurrent and persistent, or if you behave violently or criminally because of drugs and/or alcohol (either related to your studies or in your private life), you may be deemed a risk to patients and may ultimately have your studies suspended and/or be considered under the Faculty of BMH Fitness to Practise procedure: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=64361 (see page 41)

Please read: Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health Misuse of Non- Prescription Drugs and Alcohol Policy: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=29039

Violent Behaviour

Violent behaviour with or without the influence of alcohol or drugs is similarly a very serious matter – students who act violently either inside or outside the University, for whatever reason, may be a risk to patients, colleagues and staff.

Behavioural Problems

A student dentist or dental therapist should maintain a high standard of behaviour at all times – as an ambassador of the Division of Dentistry and of the University of Manchester, and of the profession. Any behaviour that reflects badly on these institutions is not acceptable. However, behaviour that specifically involves offences against the person, such as violence or the threat of violence, or indecency, may result in severe action being taken, even if the incident takes place outside the domain of the University. Students exhibiting such behaviour could clearly be at risk to patients, colleagues and staff, now and in the future.

Dishonesty

The dentist-patient relationship is founded on trust. Dishonest behaviour, whether actioned as part of University life (e.g. cheating in examinations, plagiarism) or within their personal life, will cast doubt a dental student dentist’s integrity. It will call into question their fitness to proceed to qualification or their fitness to be admitted on to the Dentists Register upon qualification.

Physical illness

All students must be able to attain the objectives and fulfil all the requirements of the programme, as laid out in the course handbooks. The University’s policy is to help students with special needs but where these are so severe that they prevent the student fulfilling course requirements or they impede patient care, it may be necessary to withdraw from the programme.

In addition, the acquisition of a transmissible disease or infection, blood borne or otherwise, which might jeopardise the health of patients, may require withdrawal from the programme. Failure to take appropriate action in the knowledge that such infection or illness exists or having reasons to suspect may exist will be considered as unsuitability for membership to the profession.

In cases where a sharps injury has occurred, students should adhere to the recommendations of the appropriate Occupational Health department. Failure to do so may lead to suspension from the programme until confirmation from Occupational Health has been received indicating your fitness to continue on the programme.

Fitness to Practise

If your health repeatedly impacts on your ability to meet the demands of the Programme, or in extremely rare circumstances where your health might pose a risk to patients or fellow students, then you would be considered under the Faculty of BMH Fitness to Practise procedure (see page 41). We must stress that every effort is made to ensure that you are helped with appropriate support and treatment to enable you to complete your studies.

Planning Elective Surgery During the Term Time

If you need to have or planning to have elective surgery whilst you are on Programme, you need to consider:

• Likely recovery times (including the risk that complications may delay your recovery)
• Attendance requirements for the programme
• University and NHS Trust policies around fitness to learn in the clinical environment including infection control and patient safety

We strongly advise you to speak to the Student Pastoral Support (SPS) team, either at the University or within your clinical education campus to make sure you have thought about all the implications of the timing or surgery on your studies before you set a date.

The Student Occupational Health Service can discuss with you the likely recovery times from your operation and the restrictions that may apply with regard to being in a clinical environment. For example, the bare below the elbows rules for infection control prohibit students from being on placement whilst in a forearm cast.

Illness around assessment times

If you are ill, or cannot attend due to significant personal circumstances, on the day of an examination, you must notify the Dentistry Exams Office immediately: dentistry.exams@manchester.ac.uk

You must then complete a mitigating circumstances form and submit it along with suitable evidence (e.g. doctor’s letter or hospital note) giving the reasons why you were unfit to sit the examination. This should be submitted no later than the working day following the missed examination. If your mitigating circumstances are accepted you will take your assessment at the next resit opportunity.

Attendance requirements

The requirements

The Programme keeps the overall academic, attendance and personal records of all students. We are responsible for notifying education funding organisations of any changes to your studies, including absences for long periods of time and to keep records of your attendance in line with GDC requirements. The University also regularly reports on student attendance to the UK Visa and Immigration Service for students that are studying on a Student (or Tier 4) Visa.

You are required to attend the Programme full time during the semester dates. You are expected to take full advantage of all available teaching and learning opportunities; you must be prepared for changes to your published timetable. We expect you to attend all timetabled sessions (and stay for the entire session). You should also be prepared to attend meetings with members of staff, when required, sometimes at short notice. As such it is important to keep the University up to date with your contact details, and to check your University timetable and email account daily.

The GDC has a requirement that to qualify as a dentist or dental therapist you need to have trained for a specific number of hours across your Programme. Full attendance (100%) is expected. It is your responsibility as a dental professional, and as a demonstration of your professionalism, to ensure your attendance is 100%.

You must therefore make every attempt to attend all learning activities and should inform the Programme of any circumstances or disability that could affect your ability to complete any component of the Programme. Absence without valid reason will be considered unprofessional and may result in disciplinary action.

In exceptional circumstances, you may ask permission to leave the session early (permission granted at the discretion of the tutor) – the tutor might then mark you absent if they feel you are missing important session content.

Approved Absence

All requests for absence should be submitted to the relevant Academic Year Lead(s). The requests will be discussed by the Programme team and the decision communicated back to you. All absences, approved or not, must be recorded via CEDAR system and will count towards the overall attendance record, irrespective of the reasons for absence.

Jury Service

If you receive a summons to carry out jury service, you must notify your Academic Year Lead(s) and the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer as soon as possible. The Central University SPS Team will provide a letter which can be used to request postponement from undertaking jury service until your foundation training has been completed. However, it should be noted this cannot be guaranteed. Your Academic Year Lead will advise you about your studies to minimise any effect of a period of absence.

Religious Observance and Festivals

Places of worship for religious observance for the major world religions are located around the campus and Oxford Road corridor. The independent Chaplaincy Service offers pastoral and spiritual support for all students and staff, regardless of faith, and has links with all the world religions. Please see this link where you can get in touch with the Chaplains and see where the prayer rooms are: http://multifaithchaplaincy.org

Please note that there is a prayer room on the second floor of the Dental Hospital.

Regular Daily or Weekly Religious Observance

The Programme expects students to attend all components of the Programme and cannot normally accommodate changes to individual timetables to account for regular daily or weekly religious observance.  This parallels your responsibilities when you become a dentist or a dental therapist. If you would like to discuss specific issues relating to regular daily or weekly religious observance, please contact: sms.programmes-ugdent@manchester.ac.uk as early as possible and before the start of the academic year. Please note that we cannot in any way guarantee that modifications can be made to your timetable.

Major Religious Festivals

We also recognise that there may be occasions when some students feel unable to attend due to the need to observe particular religious festivals. In this case you are asked, at the latest by the start of the academic year, to inform the Programme in writing of any date(s) when you intend to be absent from the University due to requirement to observe mandatory religious holy day(s). We are aware that precise dates may not be available at the beginning of each academic year, but it is vital that you provide as much information as soon as possible and then confirm the exact date with the School at the earliest opportunity. These dates will be noted and kept as part of your student record. All absences will be recorded in the normal manner.

Please note that it may not be possible to make alternative arrangements for students who are unable to attend scheduled classes due to mandatory religious festivals and who have notified the Programme in the correct manner at the start of the academic year.

Please also see the University of Manchester Policy on Religious Observance for Students: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=43243

Reporting Unexpected Absence

If you miss any session due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. illness, bereavement) you must log into CEDAR and complete and submit an absence form to explain the reason for your absence.

If your absence affects a clinical timetabled sessions, you must inform your clinical partner, your supervising tutor, and the student desk (or outreach reception) before 09.00 on the day.

If your attendance is of concern, the Programme has a duty to discuss this with you. You will receive email reminders of the attendance requirements and the absence reporting process, and may be invited to attend a SDR meeting to explore the reason for your absence, discuss and agree any support the programme can offer to enable you to improve your attendance.

Penalties for Poor Attendance

Continued poor attendance, or absence without a valid reason, can reflect an underlying unprofessional attitude and can impede your progress on the Programme. If your attendance falls below the requirements for any given component then you will be given formal notice that you must discontinue your studies and are not permitted to sit the examinations. As a result of this, you may then be required to return to repeat a component or the entirety of the year or be excluded from the Programme.

If you have to discontinue your studies as a result of this, you have the right to submit an academic appeal against that decision within ten working days of notification of the decision. Should you be successful in your appeal, you will be permitted to re-start the component and/or take the examination at the next available opportunity. Please note that we are limited by clinical capacity and often we may not be able to place you on the missed rotations within the same academic year. This will result in you needing to repeat the academic year in the following September.

You must keep a record of your own attendance – if your absences all occur within a short space of time, there may not be the opportunity to receive a warning; it is your responsibility to ensure your attendance remains in line with programme regulations, for each component, including all timetabled teaching and clinical sessions. You can see your individual absence record on CEDAR.

If you are repeating a year following interruption (for whatever reason), suspension or because your studies were discontinued because of a failure to comply with specified programme requirements you will be referred to the Student Progression Committee (SPC) who will decide to which year of the Programme you will return, and whether the required assessments will be taken at first or second attempt.

Notes:

1) If your studies are discontinued because of a failure to comply with specified attendance requirements, the Student Progression Committee (SPC) will consider the reasons given for non-attendance when deciding whether assessments should be taken at first or second attempt in the repeat year.

2) If you are repeating a year because of failure to comply with specified attendance requirements, then failure to meet the attendance requirements in your repeat year (in the absence of accepted mitigating circumstances) will result in your exclusion from the Programme.

If you (i) have taken two or more years, consecutively, out of the Programme or (ii) have not satisfactorily completed all required elements of an academic year of study within the previous two academic years, for reasons of suspension, interruption, health, conduct or poor attendance you will be referred to the Student Progression Committee (SPC) who will decide to which year of the Programme you will return and which assessments you will take. Such students may be required to repeat, at first attempt, the last year of the Programme they successfully completed, in order to ensure their knowledge and skills are at the required level to progress.

Guidelines on ill health

These guidelines set out the procedures to be followed by the students who fall ill and are absent from the university for brief periods and/or who believe their illness may have affected their academic performance. Students are reminded that they must register with a local GMP (General Medical Practitioner) and must visit their GMP for treatment of ill health where necessary.

Students should always consult their GMP if their illness is severe, if it persists or if they are in any doubt about their health.

Self-Certification

This procedure applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught students undertaking programmes of study at the University of Manchester, including those undertaking a placement period. It covers teaching and learning activities, but does not extend to exams or assessment; absence from such activities due to student illness or other unforeseeable or unpreventable circumstances would be considered under the University’s Policy on Mitigating Circumstances: https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/tlso/policy-guidance/assessment/reaching-decisions-from-assessment/mitigating-circumstances/

Student Self-Certification of Absence from Learning is for students who miss learning opportunities or who are unable to engage fully with their studies, due to short-term illness or personal circumstances.

In cases where students are prevented from attending learning activities or engaging with their studies for up to and no more than seven calendar days, they should contact their relevant School or Programme Office on the first day of absence and complete a Student Self-Certification of Absence Form to cover medical or personal absences. This form should be submitted by email to the relevant School or Programme Office as soon as possible.  The forms can be downloaded here: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=48680

The University does not normally require medical/supporting documentation for periods of absence of up to seven calendar days; however, if students have multiple or reoccurring periods of absence of up to seven calendar days, Schools should advise students to consider applying for mitigation under the Policy on Mitigating Circumstances.

You can read the full procedure for self-declaration of abscess here: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=48679

Repeated self-certification will normally result in the student being referred to the University Student Health Service for assessment.

Medical Certification

For illness of more than one week

If you are ill for longer than one week, you should obtain a consultation with your GMP and ask for a doctor’s note. It is important that you inform your academic year lead within two days of your sickness (where possible) and inform them of the impact of your illness on your studies. Please note that you may require further support and you may need to apply to mitigation; therefore, inform your academic year lead as soon as practically possible.

When you visit your GMP for treatment or because you are concerned about your health

As stated above, you should always consult your GMP if your illness is severe or if you are in any doubt about your health. If you do this you may ask your GMP to certificate your illness. Some practices may make a charge for this.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Clearance

The Programme requires you to undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (and/or police check equivalent for those who have been residing overseas) on entry to the Programme, and reserves the right to request subsequent checks.

You will be contacted before you join the Programme, into either Foundation Year, Year 1, and at the start of your final year (BDS Year 5 or BSc DH&T Year 3), with information on what you need to provide. It is important that you act on any requests as soon as possible and follow the instructions carefully.

Not doing so will impact on your ability to participate in the Programme and you may be excluded.

If a positive disclosure is made, the School would need to investigate whether the disclosure affects your suitability to commence the Programme and you would be invited for an initial meeting to discuss this. See the University’s guidance for applicants with a criminal conviction: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=17995

If you have not received your certificate by the start of the Programme, you would be asked to sign a declaration that you understand you are commencing your studies subject to satisfactory DBS clearance. In such a situation, you would not be permitted to enter into a clinical environment until the full DBS check (or equivalent) clearance process is complete. This could affect your progression on the Programme.

Please note that it is your responsibility to keep a copy of your disclosure certificate for your own records when it is received from the DBS.

The University does not receive a copy of the certificate and will therefore not be able to provide you with a copy. If you do not receive your certificate you will need to contact the Disclosure and Barring Service directly: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service

Once you have commenced the Programme (including during any interruption or intercalated degree), you are responsible for informing the Programme immediately if you are being investigated in relation to any crime or if you receive any charges, convictions, cautions, warnings or reprimands – or other criminal penalty.

Please note that DBS and the GDC have a memorandum of understanding to share information between them, therefore, your DBS record will be shared with the GDC automatically: https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/who-we-work-with/gdc—dbs-mou.pdf?sfvrsn=dba46ab9_2

At the start of each year of the Programme you must complete an internal Criminal Record Self Declaration Form (CRD).

You will be provided with the electronic CRD form by the Programme and instructed to complete this at the appropriate time. You must disclose, on the CRD form, all information relating to any charges, convictions, cautions, warnings or reprimands.

This includes any criminal offence, police caution, penalty notice for disorder, or fixed penalty notice which you may have received either in this country or in other countries since last signing the CRD form or completing a DBS check, and also disclose any information relating to criminal proceedings against you that might be in progress at the time of signing the CRD form.

Please note that you do not need to tell the Programme about payment of a fixed penalty notice for road traffic offences.

Your annual CRDs will be retained on your file in line with the Programme’s retention schedule, however, these would not be sufficient proof to inform a third party who may have requested you undergo a DBS check.

Any information you provide is treated in accordance with the Data Protection Act and may not necessarily lead to a reconsideration of your position on the programme; however, failure to disclose, at the time or on the CRD form, any information which may be provided to us at a later date, for example by the DBS or the Police, through the enhanced disclosure or the Common Law Police Disclosure, or by any other means, will be viewed most seriously and will result in your referral to the Concerns Review Panel for consideration under the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Fitness to Practise Procedure (see page 41).

If you are in any doubt, or need to inform the Programme of a criminal matter, please contact the Fitness to Practise Manager for guidance via med.ftp@manchester.ac.uk.

Please be aware that final year students must undergo an enhanced DBS disclosure prior to their registration with the GDC. Contrary to any advice you may receive, cautions and convictions do not become ‘spent’ or ‘void’ in the normal manner. Therefore we strongly recommend that you seek independent legal advice, separate to that provided by the duty solicitor, if you are offered a caution to resolve an issue.

You will be required to disclose if you have a conviction or caution to the GDC, as part of the process of applying for registration, and should do so as soon as the application process opens in your final year of study.

The Programme will not pay for subsequent checks for placements with third parties. If a third party requests a current DBS enhanced check for an activity relating to for instance, an Elective placement (undertaken as part of the Programme only), the School will facilitate and process the application, but you must cover the cost.

As in August 2022 the costs of a DBS Check facilitated by the University via the online Atlantic Data service (including admin fee) are as follows:

All in One Remote ID Check Route £45.71
Post Office ID Check Route £44.87, plus £11 paid to Post Office for check
Overseas Professional Verifier Check Route £55.87

Please note that the above fees are subject to an increase for September 2023 and therefore the above fees should be treated as a guide.

If the check undertaken for the purpose of an elective came back with a positive disclosure, this would be dealt with by the Programme in the same way as described above.

Fitness to Practice (FtP)

It is a General Dental Council (GDC) requirement that, when a University places the names of students on a pass list to graduate for the degrees of BDS or BSc DH&T, the University is confirming that those students are fit to practise.

In order to be deemed fit to practise, students must comply with the standards, principles and values outlined in the GDC Standards. Please also read the GDC guidance on Student Professionalism and Fitness to Practice: https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/guidance-for-students/student-professionalism-and-fitness-to-practise-guidance-for-students0353906a222e457388ebe358d7124643.pdf?sfvrsn=5ddbc404_5

The Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health has a Fitness to Practise Procedure to consider matters where the health and/or conduct of a student on the Programme gives rise to concern about their fitness to practise in connection with that Programme and/or registration with the relevant professional regulator.

Please read Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Fitness to Practise Procedure: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=64361

Further information can be obtained from the School of Medical Sciences Fitness to Practise Team, via med.ftp@manchester.ac.uk or 0161 275 1458 or or the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Appeals and Complaints Team, via FBMHappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk or 0161 275 1305

Concern Review Panel (CRP)

Concerns regarding a student’s fitness to practise will be referred to the CRP who will review in conjuction with the available evidence and consider what the next course of action should be – this could include training, monitoring, further investigation or a referral to a FTP Committee. The CRP is usually held without the student being present, however they may request to meet the student for further clarification. For further details on the composition and remit of the CRP, please refer to the FBMH FtP procedure: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=64361

Fitness to Practice Committees

The CRP may refer the case to an FTP Committee at either School or Faculty level. The student will be invited to attend the Committee and to submit a statement and evidence.

For further details on the composition and remit of the CRP, please refer to the FBMH FtP procedure: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=64361. The outcomes available to these Committees are listed in the Procedure – please note that only a Faculty level Committee can make the decision to exclude a student from the Programme.

Please note that referral to the FtP committee MUST be reported to the GDC upon registration.

BDS Year 1

	Dr Bal Panesar BDS, MFDS Dr Panesar is a Clinical Lecturer and Lead for the BDS Year 1 programme. He is also the lead for the Law, Ethics, and Professionalism (LEP) module
	Dr Darragh Downey BA, MSc, PhD Dr Downey is a Lecturer and the Lead for the Biosciences teaching for Division of Dentistry. Dr Downey’s research interest is in neuroscience.

Staff list

There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

The Year 1 Lead is Dr Bal Panesar.	bal.panesar@manchester.ac.uk
For issues concerning bioscience/EBL please contact the Biosciences Coordinator Dr Darragh Downey	darragh.downey@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning anatomy classes please contact Dr Stefan Gabriel NB: based in Stopford Building 1.202A	Stefan.Gabriel@manchester.ac.uk

The contacts above are happy to take queries but don’t forget to check on your Virtual Learning Environment – Blackboard. On Blackboard are announcements and much of the information you will need during your course. You can also email staff directly.

Introduction

Welcome to The University of Manchester (or welcome back if you have progressed from the Foundation Year)! We are delighted you have chosen Manchester for your studies and hope that this is the start of a great career. As you know this programme is demanding but the staff are here to guide and support you through the challenges to a successful graduation and the start of lifelong learning. This handbook is a brief guide and reference source to help you. First, here is some key advice from previous students:

• Time management is critically important.
• Start the online learning components as early as possible in the year or you may run out of time. Failing to meet the completion deadlines may result in you not being signed up to sit your May/June examinations.
• Make sure you attend all sessions on time for all your sessions and sign in.
• You are a student dentist so do make sure that you behave professionally no matter where you are – on or off-campus.
• It is a good idea to always have your library card with you.
• Don’t buy textbooks before you’ve checked them out in the library or the Resource Centre.
• Make sure you have all your health screening and immunisations done through Occupational Health here so that you get your Clinical Placement Certificate. Without it you can’t be allowed to start on patients in year 2!
• Check your university email (not personal email), timetable and Blackboard daily.
• If you are in any doubt about anything, please ask and listen carefully to the response!

Affirmation

During a Welcome event, held in the Whitworth Hall early in Semester 1 you will be asked to take the following affirmation that will be repeated at the end of the programme at graduation.

“I affirm that I will:

• make the care of patients my first concern;
• treat every patient politely and considerately;
• respect patients’ dignity and privacy;
• listen to patients and respect their views;
• give patients information in a way they can understand;
• respect the right of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their care;
• keep my professional knowledge and skills up to date;
• recognise the limits of my professional competence;
• be honest and trustworthy;
• respect and protect confidential information;
• make sure my personal beliefs do not prejudice patient care;
• act quickly to protect patients from risk if I have good reason to believe that I or a colleague may not be fit to practise;
• avoid abuse of my position as a dentist;
• work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients’ interests.
• In all these matters I will never discriminate unfairly against patients or colleagues.
• I will always be prepared to justify my actions to them.”

“I so affirm”.

You need to purchase your own white coats. Please make sure that you attend in smart clothes, and you wear your white coats for the welcome event at Whitworth Hall.

Attendance & absence

Attendance at all activities is compulsory. One hundred percent (100%) attendance in each of the areas is expected. It is your responsibility to ensure that your attendance has been recorded. Attendance is continually monitored and being late is recorded as being absent. A warning letter is issued when a student’s absence patters becomes a concern. Students who receive warning letters will be interviewed by the year lead under the Student Development Review (SDR) meeting. Those students who do not have extenuating circumstances or have not improved their attendance following a previous warning are referred to the Student Progress Committee (SPC). You must therefore read the guidance on attendance requirements (see Attendance requirements).

Absence from EBL session 3 activities will result in loss of coursework marks, unless there is a documented and approved reason for the absence (e.g. ill-health). Please note that ‘sleeping in’ is not a reasonable excuse! Please think before you phone-in sick. Ask yourself whether analgesics or other simple remedies would make it possible for you to attend. Ask yourself whether you are genuinely ill or just tired from having a good time? If it is the latter and you choose not to come in, there is a possibility you will be genuinely ill later on in the course and very quickly your absences can creep up; you may end up before the Student Progress Committee because of your absence levels or because you’ve failed your examinations.

Occupational Health

A first appointment has been made for you with the occupational health unit and will appear on your Blackboard timetable. It is crucial that you keep this appointment. With the pressure of numbers accessing their service it is not possible to rearrange the time set. It is your responsibility to complete the screening and immunisation programme. Occupational Health will then issue you with a Clinical Placement Certificate to certify that you are safe, from a health perspective, to start clinical work with patients.

Failure to complete the screening/immunisation process may cause delay to you being able to see patients in year 2.

Programme of Study

Enquiry based learning (EBL)

On arrival in Year 1, you will be assigned to an EBL group (a small group of students plus 1 academic tutor). Tutors will either be a bio-scientist from the School of Biological Sciences or may be a dentally trained academic from the Division of Dentistry. You will stay in this group until Christmas. In Semester 2, the groups will be swapped around, and you will have a different tutor. You will cover a range of biosciences in these EBL groups over the year (anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, microbiology, physiology, pathology) by discussing cases and scenarios. These subjects will provide the crucial foundations for developing your understanding of dentistry.

Times for EBL are slightly different for the first 2 weeks (see individual timetables) but thereafter, the general pattern is:

1st session in week 1, 1 hour to start the case;

2nd session in week 2, lasting 1 hour 30 minutes

3rd session in week 2, 1 hour.

You will cover 5 cases in Semester 1 and 6 cases in Semester 2.

Session 3s

On the last Friday of each EBL case, you will undertake a group activity that is assessed. The activity will take 40-50 minutes and is based on content covered in the preceding weeks, either from self-study or from the symposia. You will be marked on the group-work and on time management as well as how well the task has been completed. Marks are accumulated over the year and count towards the coursework component for the year.

Symposia

You will have a two-hour symposium every Tuesday 9.00-11.00am. These are lectures/discussions given by academics and clinicians from the University. They are designed to supplement your learning in biosciences and clinical topics, giving an overview of complex topics or providing specialised detail. The symposia leaders will be happy to take email queries after the events if you need further direction.

Anatomy and Biology Practicals

You will be placed in a group for anatomy and practicals. You will have a weekly two-hour session in the dissection room in Stopford Building with an anatomy demonstrator and on most weeks, a practical in the Stopford teaching labs.

Tooth morphology course

In your semester 1, you will take the tooth morphology course. The course comprises of lectures followed by practical sessions. The practical sessions are aimed at giving you skills needed to restore teeth in your future skills. The first few sessions consist of drawing exercises to put your knowledge of occlusal morphology into practice. You will be given your own Sculpt kit. The kit consists of 64 computer generated posterior cavities. You will be guided through restoring these cavities using composite resin material and hand instruments.

At the end of the course, you must successfully pass a practical Gateway. Further information can be found in the Handbook of Assessment.

Local anaesthetic course

The course is aimed at giving you the foundation required to carry out dental local anaesthesia safely in a simulated environment. This course will prepare you for your first local anaesthetic injection in your BDS year 2.

Online learning

There are some mandatory e-learning courses that you must complete online.

• Trust e-learning: skills & knowledge to ensure you can safely work in an NHS hospital
• Health & Safety skills & knowledge for safe working around the university
• Academic Malpractice course and test – you must achieve a score of 100%

You may already be skilled in IT and can go quite fast through much of the NHS IT course. These are essential skills which you will use during the dentistry programme at Manchester and throughout your future career.

The learning for these 3 courses is all by self-study through the on-line material and tests. So you must organise yourself to have these completed in good time to meet the deadline. Remember that you will get busier as the year progresses and want time to revise near the exams. So please don’t leave it till the last minute. You must successfully complete these courses to progress to year 2 so you are strongly advised to start as soon as possible.

Working as a dental nurse

Anyone considering working as a dental nurse whilst enrolled on the BDS programme should please see the guidance on this:

https://www.nature.com/vital/journal/v6/n4/full/vital1045.html#3-Can-student-dental-professionals-act-as-dental-nurses

“Student dental professionals may act as a dental nurse provided they:

• Have reached an appropriate point in their own training
• Satisfy the health and vaccination requirements specified for a ‘dental nurse in training’
• Have undertaken at least the equivalent of the trainee dental nurse’s induction
• Work under the supervision of an appropriate named registrant.”

You are strongly advised to register with a protection society and ask them directly. They will also cover you if anything went wrong. You can search different companies online. Here are links to pages of some of them:

Dental Protection: https://www.dentalprotection.org/uk/benefits-renewal/student-dentist

MDDUS: https://www.mddus.com/join/dental-student

DDU: https://www.theddu.com/join-ddu/dental-student

BDS Year 2

Dr Mark Shupac BDS Dr Shupac is a Clinical Lecturer and the co-lead for BDS Year 2. Dr Shupac is a general dentist with special interest in Restorative dentistry. Dr Shupac also leads the clinical part of the Clinical Skills teaching for Dentistry.

Dr Lynne Dover BDS, MFDS Dr Dover is a Clinical Lecturer and the co-lead for BDS Year 2. Dr Dover is a general dentist with special interest in Restorative dentistry and Orthodontics.

Dr Darragh Downey BA, MSc, PhD Dr Downey is a Lecturer and the Lead for the biosciences teaching for Division of Dentistry. Dr Downey’s research interest is in neuroscience.

Staff list

There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

The Year 2 Leads are Dr Mark Shupac and Dr Lynne Dover.	mark.shupac@manchesrter.ac.uk Lynne.dover@manchester.ac.uk
For issues concerning bioscience/EBL please contact the Biosciences Coordinator Dr Darragh Downey	darragh.dopwney@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning anatomy classes please contact Dr Stefan Gabriel NB: based in Stopford Building 1.202A	Stefan.Gabriel@manchester.ac.uk

Occupational Health

You cannot participate on clinics without a Clinical Placement Certificate. This should have been completed in Year 1. You must bring a copy to the Undergraduate office, and the dental hospital staff and your tutors will be informed.

This must be done by the first week of December.

Programme of Study

Enquiry Based Learning (EBL)

EBL in Year 2 follows the same pattern as in Year 1. In Semester 1 you will be assigned to an EBL group (8-10 students plus 1 academic tutor). Tutors will either be a bioscientist from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health or may be an academic from the Division of Dentistry.  You will stay in this group until Christmas.  In Semester 2, the groups will be swapped around and you will have a different tutor. You will cover a range of biosciences in these EBL groups over the year (anatomy; biochemistry; cell biology; molecular biology; microbiology; physiology; pathology) by discussing cases and scenarios.

The pattern of sessions for each case is as follows:

1st session in week 1, 1 hour to start the case;
2nd session in week 2, lasting 1 hour 30 minutes
3rd session in week 2, 1 hour.

The last session is an assessment exercise that counts towards your coursework (see below). You will cover 5 cases each Semester. Session 3 will be assessed as in Year 1, and will contribute to your coursework mark.

In the final week of Semester 1 you will give an oral presentation on a bioscience-related topic provided to you in mid-November. The talks will be given in front of other Year 2 BDS students and will be assessed by EBL tutors. The mark you receive contributes to your coursework mark.

Symposia

‘Symposia will be held to supplement your learning.  A timetable will be posted on Blackboard. Symposia are held on Monday 9-11 and many of the practicals before Christmas are held in 1MUL in the Stopford Building on Thursday 3.00-5.00.’
The symposia leaders will be happy to take email queries afterwards if you need further direction.

Anatomy and Histology Practical’s

Anatomy sessions will be held on Tuesdays, 3.00-5.00pm in the Dissecting Room, 3MUL, Stopford Building.  During these sessions you will study gross anatomy of the thorax, bones and joints, and the nervous system.

Histology sessions and workshops will be held on Wednesday 11am-12pm.

Histology sessions will take place in Microlab 2, Stopford Building.

Workshops will either take place in 2MUL or the DR classrooms (both in Stopford). The main topics this year will be the cardiorespiratory and nervous systems. Pathology sessions will be held in the Clinical Sciences Building, M.R.I.’

Prevention into Practice

The “Prevention into Practice” module builds on the work on prevention in the first year, by putting it into practice to support oral health improvement for individuals and groups across Manchester. Students will learn about how dental professionals can be part of work to improve the health of individual patients, communities and populations. To achieve this, students will develop their knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• critically appraise the evidence for preventive interventions;
• understanding how the social determinants of health influence risk of disease;
• understanding how to support behaviour change in individuals;
• understanding how dental professionals can work in partnership with other agencies to improve the health of local communities and individuals.

Dates	Activities
Induction week	Attend workshops and lectures to prepare for the rest of the module.
September to November	Work on a coursework assignment (2,000 words) and submit it electronically by the first Friday in November.
September to April	Arrange an outreach visit with a partner student. This will be to an allocated community oral health improvement team working in Greater Manchester.
After your visit	Work with others who attended the same team to make a presentation which shares your learning with the rest of the year group. Deliver the presentation at a reflective wrap-up session in April.

Clinical skills Course

These sessions will be held in the clinical skills classroom. You will be working (individually or in pairs) on phantom heads and by the end of the year you will have placed various types of direct restorations in plastic teeth. You must pass the competency assessments (also known as gateways) before you can do any restorative treatments on patients in the clinics.

There is a separate workbook for this course.

New Restorative Theory Course

This course will take place on a Tuesday afternoon and will cover a wide range of topics in the restorative field and will include both didactic and interactive elements.

BDS Year 3

Miss Hanieh Javidi BDS, MFDS, MDPH, MClinDent (Orth), MOrth, FDS (Orth) Miss Javidi is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Consultant in Orthodontics, as well as the Lead for the BDS Year 3 programme.

Dr Darragh Downey BA, MSc, PhD Dr Downey is a Lecturer and the Lead for the biosciences teaching for Division of Dentistry. Dr Downey’s research interest is in neuroscience.

Staff list

There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

The Year 3 Lead is Miss Hanieh Javidi.	hanien.javidi@manchester.ac.uk
For issues concerning bioscience/EBL please contact the Biosciences Coordinator Dr Darragh Downey.	Darragh.Downey@manchester.ac.uk
For administrative issues, please contact the SMS team.	sms.programmes-ugdent@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the clinical skills course contact Dr Daniela Lai.	daniela.lai@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the Ground Floor clinic, please contact your own supervising tutor first. For anything else, there is a Lead Tutor assigned to each day of the week. You can see who they are in the contact list. For anything else please contact the Ground Floor Restorative Lead, Dr Wafa Kashbour	wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues with your outreach placement, please refer to your placement handbook for the contact details. For anything else, please contact the Outreach Lead, Dr Elizabeth Morris.	elizabeth.morris@manchester.ac.uk
For issues regarding your OH&D teaching, contact Dr Sarah Lampitt. For specific issues contact the leads of the programme Prof Siobhan Barry (paeds) or Dr Hanieh Javidi (ortho)	Sarah.Lampitt@manchester.ac.uk siobhan.barry-2@manchester.ac.uk hanien.javidi@manchester.ac.uk

Programme of Study

Enquiry based learning (EBL)

In Year 3 you will be allocated to an EBL group (10-12 students plus an academic facilitator). Some tutors may not be clinicians but they will have an understanding of the literature associated with the cases.

Cases will be uploaded on to Blackboard at the beginning of the academic year. You are encouraged to have a look at the case beforehand. Groups may decide how to allocate the chair for each case. Attendance will be recorded. Whilst there is no formal assessment, you will receive feedback twice a year.

Symposia

Symposia will be held on Thursdays (usually from 9am until 11am) to supplement your learning. The timetable will be posted on Blackboard. All symposia will be podcast unless the lecturer opts out for a specific reason.

Clinical Sessions

You will have restorative clinical sessions on the ground floor clinic and you will be expected to complete milestones (please see the Handbook of Milestones & Gateways). Sessions start with a 3-week period of introduction to the clinics. After the introduction period you will be timetabled onto a variety of clinical activities. Attendance is compulsory. These session include:

• Restorative treatment clinics: These are your own restorative clinics to treat patients on the ground floor clinic of the Dental Hospital. You will be working in pairs. You will have your own supervising tutor. Dr Wafa Kashbour leads the Ground Floor clinic at the Dental Hospital.
• Postgraduate clinics placement: You may be placed at select postgraduate clinics on 4-week rotations. The aim of these clinics are for you to learn clinical and patient management skills by observing a qualified dentist. Although you will be mostly assisting on these sessions, there will be opportunities for you to carry out work within your competence; for example composite fillings or single-rooted endo.
• Outreach placement: You may be placed at an outreach placement for a duration of 4 to 6 weeks. The outreach clinics are NHS Commissioned Dental Services (CDS) that provide care to both adult and child patients. The CDSs are placed between a primary care dental practice and a dental hospital; therefore, the level of work carried out in these practices are typically more complex than what is done in a primary care dental practice. The aim of this placement is to provide you with the opportunity to learn communication and patient management skills.
• New patient assessment clinics: You may be timetabled to a new patient assessment (triage) clinic for a duration of 4 to 6 weeks. In these clinics you are paired with a Final year BDS students. The aim of these sessions are to assess patients on the undergraduate waiting list, request and interpret the relevant special investigations, formulate a treatment plan and place them on the appropriate waiting list for the Ground Floor Clinic treatment. You are allowed to pick select patients seen on these clinics for your own treatment.

Clinical Skills sessions

You will have time in the Clinical Skills facility completing tasks as outlined in the workbooks. Please refer to the Handbook of Milestones & Gateways for details of the gateways you will be expected to complete in your clinical skills sessions.

Oral Health & Development (OH&D)

During semester 1, you will be allocated to a PBL group (10-12 students plus an academic facilitator). In your groups, you will work through cases which cover the themes of Paediatric dentistry, Orthodontics, and Dental Public Health. Whilst there is no formal assessment, there will be informal tests at the end of each case to help you assess your understanding of the material covered.

During semester 2, all students will be allocated to a series of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic based seminars and clinical skills sessions.

Oral Surgery/Oral Medicine

All students will be allocated time to cover learning in each of these areas. Students will also be allocated to Oral Surgery Consultation clinics to aid their learning.

Radiography Placement

Students will begin week long placements at the end of Year 3 and throughout Year 4. Two students at a time go through the X-Ray Department.

Law, Ethics, and Professionalism (LEP) module

The aim of this module is to give you an understanding of the legal issues, ethics, and professionalism needed for any practicing dentist. The sessions are interactive. In each session you will be managing a common scenario which occurs in the dental practice setting, for example complaint handling, managing staff and duty of candour.

This module is led by Dr Bal Panesar. There is a handbook on Blackboard for reference and further information.

BDS Year 4

	Professor Alison Qualtrough BChD, MSc, PhD, FDS, MRD (RCS Ed) Professor Qualtrough is a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and the Academic co-Lead for the BDS Year 4 programme.
	Dr Aradhna Ohri BDS, MFGDP(UK) Dr Ohri is a Clinical Lecturer and the Academic co-Lead for the BDS Year 4 programme. Dr Ohri is a general dental practitioner with special interest in restorative dentistry.

Staff list

There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

Year 4 Leads: Professor Alison Qualtrough & Dr Aradhna Ohri	alison.qualtrough@manchester.ac.uk & Aradhna.Ohri@manchester.ac.uk
Medicine and Surgery Lead: Professor Mark Greenwood	mark.greenwood@manchester.ac.uk
Critical appraisal Lead: Dr Phil Riley	phil.riley@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the Ground Floor clinic, please contact your own supervising tutor first. For anything else, there is a Lead Tutor assigned to each day of the week. You contact see who they are in the contact list. For anything else please contact the Ground Floor Restorative Lead, Dr Wafa Kashbour	wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk
Oral Medicine Lead: Professor Raj Ariyaratnam	senathirajah.ariyaratnam@manchester.ac.uk
Oral Surgery Lead: Dr Tamsin Cooper	tamsin.cooper@manchester.ac.uk
Radiology Lead: Dr Anita Sengupta	Anita.Sengupta@manchester.ac.uk
Outreach Lead: Dr Elizabeth Morris	elizabeth.morris@manchester.ac.uk
Lead for Internationalization: Dr Neil Patel	neil.patel@manchester.ac.uk

Programme of Study

Problem based learning (PBL)

In Year 4 you will be allocated to a PBL group (10-12 students plus an academic facilitator) which meets on select Wednesdays. Some tutors may not be clinicians but will have an understanding of the literature associated with the cases. You will stay in this group all year. Groups will meet either at 11.30am or 12.30pm for an hour.

Cases will be uploaded on to Blackboard at the beginning of the academic year. You are encouraged to have a look at the case for the week the preceding weekend. Groups may decide how to allocate the chair for each case. Attendance will be recorded. There is no formal assessment as such but you will receive feedback twice a year.

Symposia

Symposia will be held to supplement your learning. The timetable will be posted on Blackboard. All symposia will be podcast unless the lecturer opts out for a specific reason

Critical appraisal

The critical appraisal module is intended to introduce you to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of research papers to help you in your future evidence-based practice. You will learn about different study designs and biases associated with each. There will be 3 lectures spread out over the semester, with online materials to supplement your learning. Self-directed learning is expected but you will also have access to a methodological tutor who you can contact if you have any questions. Assessment is in the form of an assignment released in December and to be submitted in January.

Restorative Clinical Sessions

You will be timetabled to attend regular clinical sessions on the Ground Floor Restorative Clinic.

In the fourth year you will be expected to complete milestones (see the Handbook of Milestones) and to treat patients for comprehensive care. Sessions will commence with a 30-minute seminar which have been designed to underpin your learning. Attendance at seminars is compulsory.

Clinical Skills Refresher course

At the start of the year, you will be timetabled on three sessions in the clinical skills classroom when you will have the opportunity to refresh your clinical skills prior to returning to the Ground Floor Clinic.

All students will take competency tests in indirect restoration preparation (G11) and molar root canal treatment (G10) in the clinical skills classroom. Any preparations considered to be unsatisfactory must be repeated.

Paediatrics

Students may be allocated to the paediatric department. This placement is subject to availability and may be differed to your final year of studies due to COVID backlog.

Human Diseases

A large element of teaching in the fourth year is related to Human Diseases which can be divided into:

• Medicine and Surgery
  • A series of lectures
  • Attendance at a week-long placement at North Manchester General Hospital

(detailed information is in the medicine and surgery handbook)

• Oral Medicine
  • This takes the form of teaching on oral medicine clinics. You will be allocated to two blocks, one of five weeks and one of three weeks
• Radiology
  • Symposia, including radiation protection
• Oral surgery
  • Clinical sessions on the oral surgery department

Outreach clinics

We are piloting an outreach placement scheme with BUPA Dental Care. Provided the success of the pilot scheme, the placement will be introduced to the BDS Year 4 students from Jan 2024.

As it will take time to bring new dental practices on board this scheme, the priority of placement goes to students who have done better in their summative assessments.

Undergraduate Exchange programmes

The Division currently runs two international exchange programmes for BDS Year 4 students. We have collaborated with the Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, USA and Nippon Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.

The Division Lead for Internationalisation, Dr Neil Patel, will communicate the conditions to join these programmes to you during the academic year.

BDS Year 5

Dr Damian O’Connor BDS Dr O’Connor is an experienced General Dental Practitioner, Educational Supervisor for Dental Foundation Programme, Divisional Lead in Foundation Training and the Academic Lead for the BDS Year 5.

Staff list

Congratulations on reaching year 5! There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

Year 5 Lead: Dr Damian O’Connor	Damian.O’connor@manchester.ac.uk
Undergraduate Pastoral Officer: Dr Sheva Grizelj	sheva.grizelj@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the Ground Floor clinic, please contact your own supervising tutor first. For anything else, there is a Lead Tutor assigned to each day of the week. You contact see who they are in the contact list. For anything else please contact the Ground Floor Restorative Lead, Dr Wafa Kashbour	wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk
Oral Medicine Lead: Professor Raj Ariyaratnam	senathirajah.ariyaratnam@manchester.ac.uk
Oral Surgery Lead: Dr Tamsin Cooper	tamsin.cooper@manchester.ac.uk
Radiology Lead: Dr Anita Sengupta	Anita.Sengupta@manchester.ac.uk
Outreach Lead: Dr Elizabeth Morris	elizabeth.morris@manchester.ac.uk
Paediatric Dentistry Lead: Prof Siobhan Barry	siobhan.barry-2@manchester.ac.uk

Programme of Study

Problem based learning (PBL)

In Year 5 your PBL cases will be aligned to help you prepare for your Unseen exams. You will improve your skills on treatment planning for a range of adult and child patients, considering complexities around their medial, social and health background.

The PBL sessions will be facilitated by clinicians, usually at the first 30 minutes prior to the start of your clinical sessions, however, some of them may be organized to be run prior to your symposia on Fridays.

Symposia

Symposia will be held to supplement your learning and will be heavily targeted to prepare you for independent practice. The timetable will be posted on Blackboard. All symposia will be podcast unless the lecturer opts out for a specific reason. They usually run from 10AM until 12PM on Fridays, however, you may have additional symposia on Friday afternoons. Please refer to Blackboard for the list of symposia.

Clinical Governance

The clinical governance (audit) component of your studies will prepare you for this subject when practicing as an independent practitioner. It is crucial for you to learn how to quality assure your work and your systems; therefore, you are expected to undertake an audit project to understand how the cycle works. This is a pass-only project and a requirement for your sign-up. For further information please refer to the Handbook of Assessment.

The School will provide you with list of potential Audit projects to choose from. Your clinical tutors can help you structure your project. Every year we recruit 10 Dental Core Trainees (DCTs) at the Dental Hospital whom have to complete an audit project as part of their own training. Collaboration with DCTs or other Trust trainees (for example speciality registrars) is encouraged when they do have capacity.

Restorative Clinical Sessions

You will continue to gain your experience in managing and treating restorative patients. Two sessions per week will be allocated to you for this purpose.

Please note that you must complete all your observed and written milestones to graduate. Carefully plan the number of sessions that you will need to complete your milestones successfully. If there are any untoward events that disrupt your plans, then draw this to the attention of your clinical supervisor, so that remedial steps can be taken.

Draw up a provisional treatment plan with your clinical supervisor. Don’t forget that you work with mixed cohorts of BDS and BSc DH&T students as a team. Your Integrate Dental Team (IDT) contains a range of BDS and BSc DH&T student colleagues available to help you with the stabilization phase of your treatment plan.

It is essential that diagnosis and treatment plans are made at the beginning of any restorative work and life is such that treatment plans occasionally need to be modified as treatment progresses. This is not an issue to get concerned about as the nature of dentistry is such that this does happen.

Advice from tutors may occasionally differ and it is therefore not helpful to “tutor hop”. It is likely, however, that different tutors may be involved in the overseeing of your case if the patient needs to come in on different sessions. Where this does happen, it is best to make sure that both tutors are aware of the case as a whole and at what stage of the treatment you are at.

Extra sessions are very difficult to accommodate therefore effective time management will be important for you. There will be ample time to complete your presentation cases if you make this a priority.

Sedation

You are timetabled for a mixture of sessions with the focus on observing inhalation and intravenous sedation.

• Inhalation sedation will be the paediatric dentistry sedation suite on the second floor of the hospital.
• Intravenous sedation will be in the new Dental Sedation suite on the second floor in the MRI.
• You will attend in pairs. One of you will have to do the operative treatment but the other should focus on the sedation you should swap roles throughout the session for each patient.

Oral Surgery

You will attend a number of sessions throughout the year in Oral Surgery at the dental hospital for the treatment of patients under local anaesthetic. Most of the patients will require removal of teeth by extraction or surgically (MOS).

Also attending these sessions will be the third and/or fourth year students. They obviously have less experience than you. You will lead the dental team here. Where appropriate, you will undertake the treatment and the third or fourth year will assist you and learn from you. As the more junior students gain experience, they should undertake the procedure with you assisting and guiding them.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Experience of the largely medically based speciality of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery used to be undertaken as block attachments. This year you will be timetabled for a number of full day’s attendance at the MRI. The activities on these days will compromise ward rounds, outpatient clinics and inpatient theatre sessions.

You will see a range of patients and procedures from those with a complex medical history receiving dental extractions to those receiving major head and neck surgery.

Each day you are timetabled, you should attend the Head and Neck Surgical Unit on the Second Floor of the Purple Zone of the MRI. This will usually be led by one of the specialist registrars or consultants accompanied by Dental Core Trainees (DCTs). The ward rounds are usually busy and involve visiting more than one ward. However, do get involved, ask questions and talk to staff about the patients and what they are doing.

When attending the wards or clinics or theatres for the first time, introduce yourself to the members of staff, preferably the sister in charge. You will need to wear your tunics with your name badge.

The outpatient clinics take place in the OMFS clinic on the First Floor on the Purple Zone and the operating list takes place in either Theatre 10 on the Second Floor of the Purple Zone or in Theatre 4 of the Elective Treatment Centre (etc which is accessed from the second floor of the purple zone.

MRI Activities and Venues

Day	Staff	Venue
Monday	Mr R Sacco	Undergraduate XLA (all day) Dental Sedation Suit
	Dr Clark	Day case general anaesthetic list (all day), ward 12, Trafford General Hospital
Tuesday	Dr Patel	MOS/ Implants list, (AM only), Dental Sedation Suit
	Dr Petersen	Paediatric GA list (all day), Children’s Resource Centre, Trafford General Hospital. (this is 1:4)
Wednesday	Dr Andresen	MOS IV Sedation, (all day) Dental Sedation Suit- not running at present
	Prof Yates/ Dr Cooper	Day case general anaesthetic list, (PM) Ward 55, Eye Hospital
Thursday	Dr Badr	MOS IV Sedation, (all day) Dental Sedation Suit
Friday	Dr Petersen	Inpatient GA, (AM) Elective Treatment Centre, MRI

Consultant Clinics

For three sessions during the course of the year you will be timetabled to attend a consultant’s clinic. This may be in the Dental Hospital or in another hospital. Please see your timetable for further details. You are encouraged to make the most of these clinics as you will see patient’s being managed holistically.Orthodontics Clinics

Students will attend the Orthodontic Clinic on the second floor of the Dental Hospital.

Paediatric Clinics

Students will attend the Paediatric Clinics on the second floor of the Dental Hospital.

New patient assessment (triage) clinics

You will be timetabled on blocks of 4-6 weeks to attend the new patient assessment (triage) clinics on the Ground Floor Clinic on the Dental Hospital. You will be paired up with a BDS Year 3 student. Your role will be to assess new patients referred to the undergraduate restorative clinic, arrange for the relevant special investigations, interpret the results and formulate a treatment plan with the guidance of your clinical tutor. The BDS Year 3 student will be there to help you with your tasks and also to learn communication, professionalism, and patient management techniques from you.

These sessions are also used to manage any undergraduate patients who call in pain/discomfort. You are also expected to deal with any dental emergencies on these sessions. These could be lost temporary crowns, over-extended dentures, irreversible pulpitis, dental trauma, etc.

Your attendance at these sessions is mandatory and you must stay for the entire length of the session.

BSc DH&T Year 1

Ms Samantha Power CEB DipDH, FAETC Ms Power is a Clinical Teaching Fellow and the Lead for the BSc DH&T Year 1. She qualified as a Dental Hygienist from Manchester in 1990 and has over 20 years’ experience educating dental hygienists and therapists. She teaches both academically and clinically mainly focusing on periodontology and other areas of the curriculum.

There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

The Year 1 Lead is Samantha Power.	samantha.power@manchester.ac.uk
For issues concerning bioscience/EBL please contact the Biosciences Coordinator Dr Darragh Downey.	darragh.downey@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning anatomy classes please contact Dr Stefan Gabriel NB: based in Stopford Building 1.202A	Stefan.Gabriel@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the clinical skills course contact Ms Lindsay Allan or Sam Power	Lindsay.allen@manchester.ac.uk samantha.power@manchester.ac.uk

The contacts above are happy to take queries but don’t forget to check on your Virtual Learning Environment – Blackboard. On Blackboard are announcements and much of the information you will need during your course.

Introduction

Welcome to the University of Manchester! We are delighted you have chosen Manchester for your studies and hope that this is the start of a great career. As you know this programme is demanding but the staff are here to guide and support you through the challenges to a successful graduation and the start of lifelong learning. This handbook is a brief guide and reference source to help you. First, here is some key advice from previous students:

• Time management is critically important.
• Start the online learning components as early as possible in the year or you may run out of time. Failing to meet the completion deadlines may result in you not being signed up to sit your May/June examinations.
• Make sure you attend all sessions on time for all your sessions and sign in.
• You are a student dental hygiene therapists so do make sure that you behave professionally no matter where you are – on or off-campus.
• It is a good idea to always have your library card with you.
• Don’t buy textbooks before you’ve checked them out in the library or the Resource Centre.
• Make sure you have all your health screening and immunisations done through Occupational Health here so that you get your Clinical Placement Certificate. Without it you can’t be allowed to start on patients!
• Check your university email (not personal email), timetable and Blackboard daily.
• If you are in any doubt about anything please ask and listen carefully to the response!

Affirmation

During a Welcome event, held in the Whitworth Hall early in Semester 1 you will be asked to take the following affirmation that will be repeated at the end of the programme at graduation.

“I affirm that I will:

• make the care of patients my first concern;
• treat every patient politely and considerately;
• respect patients’ dignity and privacy;
• listen to patients and respect their views;
• give patients information in a way they can understand;
• respect the right of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their care;
• keep my professional knowledge and skills up to date;
• recognise the limits of my professional competence;
• be honest and trustworthy;
• respect and protect confidential information;
• make sure my personal beliefs do not prejudice patient care;
• act quickly to protect patients from risk if I have good reason to believe that I or a colleague may not be fit to practise;
• avoid abuse of my position as a dentist;
• work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients’ interests.
• In all these matters I will never discriminate unfairly against patients or colleagues.
• I will always be prepared to justify my actions to them.”

“I so affirm”.

You need to purchase your white coat. Please attend the welcome event at Witworth Hall in smart attire, wearing your white coat.

Attendance & absence

Attendance at all activities is compulsory. One hundred percent (100%) attendance in each of the areas is expected. It is your responsibility to ensure that your attendance has been recorded. Attendance is continually monitored and being late is recorded as being absent. A warning letter is issued when a student’s absence patters becomes a concern. Students who receive warning letters will be interviewed by the year lead under the Student Development Review (SDR) meeting. Those students who do not have extenuating circumstances or have not improved their attendance following a previous warning are referred to the Student Progress Committee (SPC). You must therefore read the guidance on attendance requirements (see Attendance requirements).

Please note that ‘sleeping in’ is not a reasonable excuse! Please think before you phone-in sick. Ask yourself whether analgesics or other simple remedies would make it possible for you to attend. Ask yourself whether you are genuinely ill or just tired from having a good time? If it is the latter and you choose not to come in, there is a possibility you will be genuinely ill later on in the course and very quickly your absences can creep up; you may end up before the Student Progress Committee because of your absence levels or because you’ve failed your examinations.

Occupational Health

A first appointment has been made for you with the occupational health unit and will appear on your Blackboard timetable. It is crucial that you keep this appointment. With the pressure of numbers accessing their service it is not possible to rearrange the time set. It is your responsibility to complete the screening and immunisation programme. Occupational Health will then issue you with a Clinical Placement Certificate to certify that you are safe, from a health perspective, to start clinical work with patients.

Failure to complete the screening/immunisation process may cause delay to you being able to see patients.

Programme of Study

Enquiry based learning (EBL)

On arrival in Year 1, you will be assigned to an EBL group (a small group of students plus 1 academic tutor). Tutors will either be a bioscientist from the School of Biological Sciences or may be a dentally-trained academic from the Division of Dentistry. You will cover a range of biosciences in these EBL groups over the year (anatomy; biochemistry; cell biology; molecular biology; microbiology; physiology; pathology) by discussing cases and scenarios. These subjects will provide the crucial foundations for developing your understanding of dentistry. On the last Thursday of each EBL case you will required to give a presentation to the remainder of the group. The presentation is based on content covered in the preceding weeks, either from self-study or from the symposia.

Symposia

You will have a two hour symposium every Tuesday 9.00-11.00am. These are lectures/discussions given by academics and clinicians from the University. They are designed to supplement your learning in biosciences and clinical topics, giving an overview of complex topics or providing specialised detail. The symposia leaders will be happy to take email queries after the events if you need further direction.

BSc Departmental Lecture/Seminars

Departmental lectures are given several times a week by the BSc tutors to facilitate and expand your learning. These cover a variety of topics from basic sciences to law and ethics and are tailored specifically to BSc students.

Anatomy and Biology Practicals

You will be placed in a group for anatomy. You will have a weekly one hour session during semester 1 in the dissection room in Stopford Building with an anatomy demonstrator and additional practical sessions covering topics such as microbiology and histology.

Clinic/clinical skills

Throughout year 1 you will have sessions in the clinical skills facility and a few in clinics. In some sessions you may be working alongside student colleagues who are studying to be dentists. In groups, you will try out the roles of operator, nurse and patient. This will help you to develop a team approach and also see the patient’s perspective. In the clinical skills facility you will start learning clinical procedures on plastic teeth. These clinic/clinical skills sessions have been popular. Key elements to this part of the programme will be:

• integrating learning between bioscience and clinical sciences
• an evidence-based and preventive approach which uses research to show how best to prevent dental problems and to treat them if prevention fails.

Tooth morphology course

In your semester 1, you will take the tooth morphology course. The course comprises of lectures followed by practical sessions. The practical sessions are aimed at giving you skills needed to restore teeth in your future skills. The first few sessions consist of drawing exercises to put your knowledge of occlusal morphology into practice. You will be given your own Sculpt kit. The kit consists of 64 computer generated posterior cavities. You will be guided through restoring these cavities using composite resin material and hand instruments.

At the end of the course, you must successfully pass a practical Gateway. Further information can be found in the Handbook of Assessment.

Local anaesthetic course

The course is aimed at giving you the foundation required to carry out dental local anaesthesia safely in a simulated environment. This course will prepare you for your first local anaesthetic injection in your BDS year 2.

Online learning

There are some mandatory e-learning courses that you must complete online.

• Trust e-learning: skills & knowledge to ensure you can safely work in an NHS hospital Reza to chase with trust
• Health & Safety skills & knowledge for safe working around the university
• Academic Malpractice course and test – you must achieve a score of 100%

You may already be skilled in IT and can go quite fast through much of the NHS IT course. These are essential skills which you will use during the dentistry programme at Manchester and throughout your future career.

The learning for these 3 courses is all by self-study through the on-line material and tests. So you must organise yourself to have these completed in good time to meet the deadline. Remember that you will get busier as the year progresses and want time to revise near the exams. So please don’t leave it till the last minute. You must successfully complete these courses to progress to year 2 so you are strongly advised to start as soon as possible.

Working as a dental nurse

Anyone considering working as a dental nurse whilst enrolled on the BSc programme should please see the guidance on this: https://www.nature.com/vital/journal/v6/n4/full/vital1045.html#3-Can-student-dental-professionals-act-as-dental-nurses

“Student dental professionals may act as a dental nurse provided they:

• Have reached an appropriate point in their own training
• Satisfy the health and vaccination requirements specified for a ‘dental nurse in training’
• Have undertaken at least the equivalent of the trainee dental nurse’s induction
• Work under the supervision of an appropriate named registrant.”

You are strongly advised to register with a protection society and ask them directly. They will also cover you if anything went wrong.

You are strongly advised to register with a protection society and ask them directly. They will also cover you if anything went wrong. You can search different companies online. Here are links to pages of some of them:

Dental Protection: https://www.dentalprotection.org/uk/benefits-renewal/student-dentist

MDDUS: https://www.mddus.com/join/dental-student

DDU: https://www.theddu.com/join-ddu/dental-student

BSc DH&T Year 2

Ms Anna Lewis BSc (OHS) Ms Lewis is a Lecturer on the BSc DH&T degree programme, and currently the BSc Senior Years Lead.

There are several people are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

The Year 2 Lead is Ms Anna Lewis	anna.lewis@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the clinical skills course contact Ms Lindsay Allan or Sam Power	Lindsay.allen@manchester.ac.uk sam.power@manchester.ac.uk

Introduction

This course is delivered over forty-three weeks subsequent to successful completion of Year One.

The course units are Dental Diseases, Practical Procedures in Prevention, Practical Procedures in Periodontology, Practical Procedures in Restorative, Preventive Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry and Dental Radiography.

Aim of the Second Year Course

The aim of this course is to further develop the range of skills acquired in the first year and develop the ability to undertake clinical procedures and specific practical procedures.

Objectives of the Second Year Course

On successful completion of the second year course the student will have:

1. Further developed the range of skills developed in the first year.
2. An understanding of the academic knowledge required to underpin their practical skills.
3. The communication skills necessary for work in a clinical environment.
4. Sufficient practical skills in Periodontology and Restorative Dentistry in order to provide basic treatment.
5. Knowledge of the physics, harmful effects, quality assurance programmes and regulations applying to ionising radiation.

Programme of Study

BSc Departmental Lecture/Seminars

Departmental lectures/seminars are held several times a week by the BSc tutors to facilitate and expand your learning. These sessions are designed exclusively for the BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy degree.

Symposia

Symposia’s are held to supplement your learning. The timetable will be posted on Blackboard. All symposia will be podcast unless the lecturer opts out for a specific reason

Prevention into Practice

The “Prevention into Practice” module builds on the work on prevention in the first year, by putting it into practice to support oral health improvement for individuals and groups across Manchester. Students will learn about how dental professionals can be part of work to improve the health of individual patients, communities and populations. To achieve this, students will develop their knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• critically appraise the evidence for preventive interventions;
• Enable an understanding how the social determinants of health influence risk of disease;
• Enable an understanding how to support behaviour change in individuals;
• Enable an understanding how dental professionals can work in partnership with other agencies to improve the health of local communities and individuals.

Please refer to Blackboard for further information on this module.

Clinical Skills Course

These sessions will be held in the clinical skills classroom. You will be working on phantom heads and will place various types of direct restorations in plastic teeth and, will carry out a pulpotomy and an extraction on specially designed plastic teeth. You must pass the competency assessments (also known as gateways) before you can do any restorative treatments on patients in the clinics.

There is a separate handbook for this course.

Clinical sessions

You will start seeing restorative patients on the ground floor clinic. You will be working as part of a dental team, known as the Integrated Dental Teams (IDTs). The lead clinician in your allocated IDT is responsible for treatment planning of the patients. However, you will also be seeing patients referred to you from Consultants, specialist dentists and Dental students.

The BSc clinics are run as referral treatment clinics and, as such patients should as much as possible attend with a referral and treatment plan already in place.

In BSc Year 2 you will primarily be undertaking periodontal treatments. Treating restorative patients will begin in January once you have successfully passed the restorative clinical skills gateway.

This involves comprehensive caries and periodontal risk assessment, targeted oral hygiene instructions, treatment and maintenance of periodontal disease and treatment and maintenance of carious lesions.

You will work under close supervision of your clinical tutors and in partnership with your IDT lead clinician, keeping them up to date with the progress of the treatment.

Periodontal case patient

During your periodontal clinical treatment sessions, you will treat a patient who has at least 1 BPE code 3. You will prepare and write up your management of this patient in a case report, ready for submission in March.

The presentation should include pre- and post- operative photographs, study models (where appropriate), copies of relevant radiographs and full clinical records. The treatment plan signed by the dental clinician should also be included.

Candidates will be expected to produce a hard copy and an electronic version in .pdf format of each of their cases for the external examiners ahead of the examinations. Candidates will be notified well in advance of an inflexible deadline for submission of these cases to the BSc Lead. Failure to submit the appropriate case ahead of this deadline will lead to exclusion from the examination and as a result, the candidate will receive a fail grade for this component. The cases must bear candidate number and case number on the front cover only. The remaining document must comply with the Data Protection Act, ensuring that no patient identification would be possible.

Each presentation case will be given a grade out of 100 based on predefined marking criterion.

Radiography

Radiography (the use of X-Rays) is an invaluable aid to diagnosis and treatment planning.

However, ionising radiation (including X-Rays) is harmful, and even dental X -rays pose a small risk to patients, staff and the general public. The Ionising Radiation Regulations apply to anyone using X-Rays, and adequate training is a mandatory requirement of registration by the General Dental Council.

Radiography and radiology (interpretation of X-rays), are vertically integrated throughout years 1-3 of the BSc programme. At the end of the programme you will be:

• Competent in taking excellent intra-oral radiographs.
• able to decide when radiographs are appropriate in patient management
• understanding of the physics, harmful effects, quality assurance programmes and regulations applying to ionising radiation
• Confident in diagnosing common dental disease from intra-oral radiographs, and to know when to refer for second opinion on other abnormalities outside of your knowledge base.

The General Dental Council expects the same level of knowledge on safety from dental care professionals as it does for dentists. As such, you will be taught and assessed in these topics with dental students. At other times you will have practical lectures specifically timed to your own training programme.

BSc DH&T Year 3

Ms Anna Lewis BSc (OHS) Ms Lewis is a Lecturer on the BSc DH&T degree programme, and currently the BSc Senior Years Lead.

Staff list

Congratulations on reaching year 3. There are several people who are best placed to help you with any issues whilst you are at The University of Manchester. All staff are based in Coupland 3 Building unless stated otherwise.

Year 3 Lead: Ms Anna Lewis	anna.lewis@manchester.ac.uk
For specific issues concerning the Ground Floor clinic, please contact your own supervising tutor first. For anything else, there is a Lead Tutor assigned to each day of the week. You contact see who they are in the contact list. For anything else please contact the Ground Floor Restorative Lead, Dr Wafa Kashbour	wafa.kashbour@manchester.ac.uk
Oral Medicine Lead: Professor Raj Ariyaratnam	senathirajah.ariyaratnam@manchester.ac.uk
Radiology Lead: Dr Anita Sengupta	Anita.Sengupta@manchester.ac.uk
Outreach Lead: Dr Elizabeth Morris	elizabeth.morris@manchester.ac.uk
Paediatric Dentistry Lead: Prof Siobhan Barry	siobhan.barry-2@manchester.ac.uk

Introduction

This course is delivered to students successfully completing the Second Year Course. The course units covered are: Practical Procedures for Integrated Care and a Research Project.

Aim of the Third Year Course

The aim of this course is to further develop the skills acquired in the first and second years and develop the ability to offer patients all treatments which may be delivered by professions complementary to dentistry, with an understanding of the principles of evidence-based health care.

Objectives of the Third Year Course

On successful completion of the third-year course, the student will have:

1. A detailed knowledge and understanding of the relevant literature associated with dentistry and dental health.
2. An understanding of research and research methods.
3. The knowledge and skill to deliver appropriate preventive advice to patients of different age and ethnicity.
4. The knowledge and skill to deliver appropriate preventive advice to patients of different age and ethnicity. The knowledge and skill to deliver appropriate preventive advice to patients of different age and ethnicity.
5. The ability to apply effectively a broad range of skills in providing treatment for a wide range of complex procedures in a safe and effective manner.
6. The ability to work as part of the dental team.

Methods of Learning and Teaching

All teaching will take place in the Division of Dentistry and the associated Outreach Clinics. Learning and teaching will involve lectures, seminars, practical clinical sessions, demonstrations and directed self-learning.

Students will undertake clinical practice on patients attending the Dental Hospital and Outreach Clinics. This teaching will focus on integrated patient care.

 

Programme of Study

BSc Departmental Lecture/Seminars

Departmental lectures/seminars are held several times a week by the BSc tutors to facilitate and expand your learning. These sessions are designed exclusively for the BSc Dental Hygiene and Therapy degree.

Symposia

Symposia will be held to supplement your learning and will be heavily targeted to prepare you for independent practice. The timetable will be posted on Blackboard. All symposia will be podcast unless the lecturer opts out for a specific reason. They usually run from 10AM until 12PM on Fridays.

Clinical governance

The clinical governance (audit) component of your studies will prepare you for this subject when practicing as an independent practitioner. It is crucial for you to learn how to quality assure your work and your systems, therefore, you are expected to undertake an audit project to understand how the cycle works. This is a pass-only project and a requirement for your sign-up. For further information please refer to the Handbook of Assessment.

Critical appraisal

The critical appraisal module is intended to introduce you to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of research papers to help you in your future evidence-based practice. You will learn about different study designs and biases associated with each. There will be 3 lectures spread out over the semester, with online materials to supplement your learning. Self-directed learning is expected but you will also have access to a methodological tutor who you can contact if you have any questions. Assessment is in the form of an assignment released in December and to be submitted in January.

Student support

Peer Mentoring Support

For those on the Year 1 of the BDS or BSc DH&T programme, in week 1 you will be introduced to your mentor who is a more senior student who will be able to help with all sorts of queries and will meet with you and a group of other student colleagues 4-5 times throughout the first year.

People who can help

If you are struggling with any aspect of your course then please do get in contact with a member of staff. If it is an academic matter then talk to your EBL tutor or the Bioscience coordinator (Dr Darragh Downey) who will be happy to give advice regarding study skills. For personal issues, your EBL tutor or the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer are available. For organisational issues then please contact your named admin contact for your year in the first instance.

Tutor meetings

The EBL tutor will have a one-to-one meeting with each of their students early in the semester to ensure they are settling in and progressing well. This is part of an on-going academic advisement process throughout the BDS programme. The outcome of the meeting is recorded in the Student Development Review (SDR) from.

The role of the tutor includes:

• Encouraging students to productively reflect on their academic development; through the use of a personal portfolio.
• Helping students access information and guidance to meet their needs.
• Assisting students to plan their work.
• Advising on constructive strategies for their learning and on preparing for assessments.
• Giving feedback as appropriate.
• Proactively monitoring both academic performance and overall personal development.
• Helping students both to identify the skills being acquired and to recognise progress.
• Maintaining contact with students via formal and informal sessions or through e-communications.
• Ensuring insofar as is possible that any student facing academic and/or personal difficulties accesses suitable and timely support staff and facilities.

Tutor meetings will normally take place twice during the first semester and once or twice during semester 2. Before the meeting the student is asked to reflect on aspects of their progress and experience as a basis for discussion. Usually action points will be noted and objectives formulated. Academic Advisement must be a partnership between tutor and student. It is the responsibility of students to engage with their tutor by responding to emails and by attending meetings having suitably reflected and prepared.

Academic Advisement Support

Throughout the undergraduate programmes every student has access to an Academic Advisor under the umbrella of the Student Development Review (SDR). The Academic Advisor is your Academic Year Lead or their nominees (typically your EBL tutor), whom role can be summarised as:

• To be the first port of call for advice or direction to further support on academic and pastoral matters;
• To monitor both academic performance and engagement in a proactive manner and advise on constructive strategies to enable improvement;
• To offer advice on general progress and development;
• To listen and offer confidential help and advice about pastoral/non-academic matters and to signpost to other student services for further assistance if necessary.

Much student learning takes place in small group teaching sessions throughout the programme. In years 1 and 2 enquiry-based learning is guided by a tutor who oversees the work of the group and also supports the students academically and pastorally in the role of academic advisor. During the induction week of year 1, each student will be introduced and begin to work with their Tutor, then have weekly contact thereafter during the first and second academic years. The academic advisor will have a one-to-one meeting with the student once in each semester during which to reflect together on progress. Prior to these meetings, students will be expected to provide the Academic Advisor with a summary of their activities along with their reflections on patient care. The structure of these confidential meetings will also provide opportunities to discuss issues of a personal nature, which might be affecting the student’s well-being and/or performance and/or fitness to practise. During the meeting the Academic Advisor will facilitate the student developing an action plan and will provide support and guidance as required which may include referral to the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer or University Support Services.

The academic advisor meeting is subsumed within an SDR (Student Development and Review) meeting with the year lead or another experienced tutor. The SDR forms the basis for the sign-up meeting which considers each student’s progress and whether they will have achieved sufficient activity and performance and fulfilled the requirements to be signed up as eligible to sit the examinations.

Students are able to request a change of Academic Adviser at any time. This request should be made to the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer and students will have an opportunity to feedback on why they feel that a change of Academic Adviser is necessary.

Additional support

Students also have the option of approaching the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer for confidential^[1] listening, advice and support about any issue. They may also be referred for further support to other agencies within the University, Student’s Union or external agencies e.g. general medical practitioner. Additional support may be provided by designated personal advisors within the School.

The University Policy on Advising can be located at: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=24234

More information can be found here: http://www.regulations.manchester.ac.uk/academic/policy-on-advising/

Mitigating circumstances

What is mitigation?

1. Sometimes circumstances or events beyond your control may adversely affect your ability to perform in an assessment to your full potential or to complete an assignment by the set deadline. In such cases mitigation may be applied and students should contact the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer and complete the relevant mitigation form.

2. Mitigation will not result in the changing of any marks. Instead, mitigation may result in some marks being disregarded and the assessment being excused because it was adversely affected.

Approaching your School

3. The Division of Dentistry will consider granting an extension for self-certified illness within the two week period before a submission deadline. You should approach the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer as soon as possible if you consider that some serious illness or misfortune has adversely affected your ability to complete one or more assignments even within the extended deadline, or if you believe that the results you might obtain from one or more assessments will be adversely affected.

4. You should first seek advice from the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer as to whether the adverse circumstances are sufficient to warrant consideration by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. You should also seek advice as to whether it is in your interest to consider alternative remedies such as a deadline extension, re-scheduling of an assessment within a current assessment period, or sitting an examination at the next available opportunity. In very serious cases, you might even be best advised to interrupt your studies for a period.

5. The purpose of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel is to determine whether there is substantiated evidence of circumstances eligible for mitigation and, if so, to determine if they might, or did, have an adverse effect on the your performance and, if so, it will judge how significant that effect was or would have been. It is then the role of an Examination Board to consider the effects of this and apply the recommendations of the Mitigating Circumstances Panel. It is the responsibility of the Division of Dentistry to ensure that procedures are applied consistently and equitably, while there is also some need for flexibility to ensure the Schools meets any discipline-specific or professional requirements.

Nature of mitigating circumstances

6. It is important to remember that, in order to qualify for consideration, the adverse circumstances or events must be unforeseeable or unpreventable as far as you are concerned, and sufficiently disruptive to have a significant adverse effect on your academic performance or your ability to complete assignments by the due date.

7. Circumstances or events that merit consideration may include: suffering a serious illness or injury; the death or critical /significant illness of a close family member/dependant; a significant family crisis leading to acute stress; and unplanned absence arising from such things as jury service or maternity, paternity or adoption leave. Students should be aware that this list is not exhaustive and that these examples do not automatically confer mitigation; each case is treated on an individual basis. Students should also be aware that if they attend for an examination they are indicating that they are in all respects able to complete the examination and have no intention to apply for retrospective mitigation i.e. the student is ‘fit-to-sit’ the examination.

8. Circumstances or events that would not normally merit consideration include: holidays or other events that were planned or could reasonably have been expected; assessments that are scheduled close together or on the same day; misreading the timetable for examinations or otherwise misunderstanding the requirements for assessment; inadequate planning or time management; failure, loss or theft of a computer or other equipment, including inability to print off work for whatever reason; consequences of paid employment (except in some special cases for part-time students); exam stress or panic attacks not diagnosed as illness; and minor disruption in an examination room during the course of an assessment.

Claiming mitigation

9. If you wish your circumstances to be considered by the Mitigating Circumstances Panel, you should complete the Notification of Mitigating Circumstances form and submit it to the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer by the published deadline. You will also need to submit some independent third-party supporting or corroborative documentation. The nature of such documentation will vary according to the nature of the circumstances, but it must be sufficiently independent to confirm the veracity of the case you are making (e.g. a letter or medical certificate signed by a medical practitioner, a document from an outside agency etc.). Information of a confidential nature should be included in a sealed envelope.

10. The Mitigating Circumstances Panel will need to agree that your circumstances were unforeseeable and unpreventable and that the effect on your academic performance would have been significant. Mitigation will depend on how serious the adverse circumstances were.

11. You must submit the form as soon as possible and always before the beginning of an examination period (except for circumstances arising during the course of that assessment period). Late requests for mitigation will not be considered without a credible and compelling explanation as to why the application was not made at the appropriate time.

12. Requests submitted as a result of circumstances that arose during that course of the assessment should be submitted as soon as possible after the event and in time for the relevant meeting of the Examination Board if possible, or for subsequent Chair’s action on behalf of the Examination Board (subject to consultation with the External Examiners).

13. Requests made after the publication of results will be treated as appeals under Regulation XIX, but again there should be a credible and compelling explanation as to why you did not bring the circumstances to the attention of the School at an earlier stage.

14. Panels operate under delegated powers from the Examination Board (as defined under the Panel terms of reference), their decisions will not normally be subject to review unless some procedural irregularity has occurred. Students have no right of appeal against the decision of a Mitigating Circumstances Panel, although they can appeal against the final decision of an Examination Board, or equivalent body, under Regulation XIX (Academic Appeals Procedure) if appropriate.

The University Policy on Mitigating Circumstances can be located at: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=4271

The University Academic Appeals Procedure can be located at: http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=1872

Assessment

Please refer to the Handbook of Assessment which contains detailed information on your formative and summative exams.  You can find this handbook on Blackboard within the BDS/BSc UG Dentistry Community area.

Learning resources

On an enquiry-based course you will need to quickly develop skills in searching out and accessing appropriate resources. To help with this there is an induction session and on-line help with library skills. As part of these skills you will need to learn how to avoid malpractice in making use of what others have written and be able to cite and list references. The section on Citing and Referencing in Harvard Style gives guidance on how to do this.

Our advice about textbooks follows: We strongly recommend that you don’t discard books you have used recently for your A-level studies but bring them with you. Use them to revise relevant knowledge as you go along, whilst adding to it and building on it in the coming year. Equip yourself after you arrive with a starter kit of books. There is an online list of recommended texts with links to the library catalogue. When you find you are using a particular book more frequently, you will want to invest in your own copy. Set aside some of your money for purchase of some of these books later in the year.

Academic malpractice

Introduction

1. As a student, you are expected to cooperate in the learning process throughout your programme of study by completing assignments of various kinds that are the product of your own study or research. For most students this does not present a problem, but occasionally, whether unwittingly or otherwise, a student may commit what is known as plagiarism or some other form of academic malpractice when carrying out an assignment. This may come about because students have been used to different conventions in their prior educational experience or through general ignorance of what is expected of them.

2. This guidance is designed to help you understand what we regard as academic malpractice and hence to help you to avoid committing it. You should read it carefully, because academic malpractice is regarded as a serious offence and students found to have committed it will be penalized. At the very least a mark of only 30% would be awarded for the piece of work in question, but it could be worse; you could be awarded zero (with or without loss of credits), fail the whole unit, be demoted to a lower class of degree, or be excluded from the programme.

3. Academic malpractice includes plagiarism, collusion, fabrication or falsification of results and anything else intended by those committing it to achieve credit that they do not properly deserve. In addition to the advice that follows, your Division will give you advice on how to avoid academic malpractice in the context of your discipline. It will also design assessments so as to help you avoid the temptation to commit academic malpractice. Finally, you should take note that work you submit may be screened electronically to check against other material on the web and in other submitted work.

Plagiarism

4. Plagiarism is presenting the ideas, work or words of other people without proper, clear and unambiguous acknowledgement. It also includes ‘self-plagiarism’ (which occurs where, for example, you submit work that you have presented for assessment on a previous occasion), and the submission of material from ‘essay banks’ (even if the authors of such material appear to be giving you permission to use it in this way). Obviously, the most blatant example of plagiarism would be to copy another student’s work. Hence it is essential to make clear in your assignments the distinction between:

• the ideas and work of other people that you may have quite legitimately exploited and developed, and
• the ideas or material that you have personally contributed.

5. To assist you, here are a few important do’s and don’ts:

Do get lots of background information on subjects you are writing about to help you form your own view of the subject. The information could be from electronic journals, technical reports, unpublished dissertations, etc. Make a note of the source of every piece of information at the time you record it, even if it is just one sentence.

Don’t construct a piece of work by cutting and pasting or copying material written by other people, or by you for any other purpose, into something you are submitting as your own work. Sometimes you may need to quote someone else’s exact form of words in order to analyse or criticize them, in which case the quotation must be enclosed in quotation marks to show that it is a direct quote, and it must have the source properly acknowledged at that point. Any omissions from a quotation must be indicated by an ellipsis (…) and any additions for clarity must be enclosed in square brackets, e.g. “[These] results suggest… that the hypothesis is correct.” It may also be appropriate to reproduce a diagram from someone else’s work, but again the source must be explicitly and fully acknowledged there. However, constructing large chunks of documents from a string of quotes, even if they are acknowledged, is another form of plagiarism.

Do attribute all ideas to their original authors. Written ‘ideas’ are the product that authors produce. You would not appreciate it if other people passed off your ideas as their own, and that is what plagiarism rules are intended to prevent. A good rule of thumb is that each idea or statement that you write should be attributed to a source unless it is your personal idea or it is common knowledge. (If you are unsure if something is common knowledge, ask other students: if they don’t know what you are talking about, then it is not common knowledge!)

6. As you can see, it is most important that you understand what is expected of you when you prepare and produce assignments and that you always observe proper academic conventions for referencing and acknowledgement, whether working by yourself or as part of a team. In practice, there are a number of acceptable styles of referencing depending, for example, on the particular discipline you are studying, so if you are not certain what is appropriate, ask your tutor or the course unit coordinator for advice! This should ensure that you do not lay yourself open to a charge of plagiarism inadvertently, or through ignorance of what is expected. It is also important to remember that you do not absolve yourself from a charge of plagiarism simply by including a reference to a source in a bibliography that you have included with your assignment; you should always be scrupulous about indicating precisely where and to what extent you have made use of such a source.

7. So far, plagiarism has been described as using the words or work of someone else (without proper attribution), but it could also include a close paraphrase of their words, or a minimally adapted version of a computer program, a diagram, a graph, an illustration, etc taken from a variety of sources without proper acknowledgement. These could be lectures, printed material, the Internet or other electronic/AV sources.

8. Remember: no matter what pressure you may be under to complete an assignment, you should never succumb to the temptation to take a ‘short cut’ and use someone else’s material inappropriately. No amount of mitigating circumstances will get you off the hook, and if you persuade other students to let you copy their work, they risk being disciplined as well (see below).

Collusion

9. Collusion is any agreement to hide someone else’s individual input to collaborative work with the intention of securing a mark higher than either you or another student might deserve. Where proved, it will be subject to penalties similar to those for plagiarism. Similarly, it is also collusion to allow someone to copy your work when you know that they intend to submit it as though it were their own and that will lay both you and the other student open to a charge of academic malpractice.

10. On the other hand, collaboration is a perfectly legitimate academic activity in which students are required to work in groups as part of their programme of research or in the preparation of projects and similar assignments. If you are asked to carry out such group work and to collaborate in specified activities, it will always be made clear how your individual input to the joint work is to be assessed and graded.

Sometimes, for example, all members of a team may receive the same mark for a joint piece of work, whereas on other occasions team members will receive individual marks that reflect their individual input. If it is not clear on what basis your work is to be assessed, to avoid any risk of unwitting collusion you should always ask for clarification before submitting any assignment.

Fabrication or falsification of results

11. For many students, a major part of their studies involves laboratory or other forms of practical work, and they often find themselves undertaking such activity without close academic supervision. If you are in this situation, you are expected to behave in a responsible manner, as in other aspects of your academic life, and to show proper integrity in the reporting of results or other data. Hence you should ensure that you always document clearly and fully any research programme or survey that you undertake, whether working by yourself or as part of a group. Results or data that you or your group submit must be capable of verification, so that those assessing the work can follow the processes by which you obtained them. Under no circumstances should you seek to present results or data that were not properly obtained and documented as part of your practical learning experience. Otherwise, you lay yourself open to the charge of fabrication or falsification of results.

12. If you commit any form of academic malpractice, teaching staff will not be able to assess your individual abilities objectively or accurately. Any short-term gain you might have hoped to achieve will be cancelled out by the loss of proper feedback you might have received, and in the long run such behaviour is likely to damage your overall intellectual development, to say nothing of your self-esteem. You are the one who loses.

Anti-plagiarism software:

13. The Division has adopted the policy of checking all written work with Via Turn-it-in. To enable these checks to be carried out it is essential that students follow these instructions:

Please note the University Guidance on Plagiarism; your work will be subject to electronic checking for plagiarism and collusion.

You can read the full policy on Conduct and Discipline of Students here:

https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=6530

You can read the full policy on Academic Malpractice procedure here:

https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=639

Citing and Referencing in Harvard Style

Harvard (author-date) Citing in Text

The author’s surname and year of publication are inserted in the text wherever a source is cited.  The way this is done will depend on whether the author’s name occurs naturally in the sentence or not.

“… Bloggs (1990) demonstrated the importance of suspended sediment in determining the pollution profile of rivers.  However, additional factors such as channel hydraulics have been shown to be equally influential (Smith, 1992) and these ideas have been pursued by other American scientists (Graf, 1994; Outcalt, 1996; Wolman, 1999)….”

Also include a page number or page range if you are referring to a specific section of the publication.

It has been argued (Scully 2006, p. 7) that the main considerations are… or:

It has been argued by Scully (2006, p. 7) that the main considerations are…

You do not have to give a page number if you are referring generally to the whole document:

Kidd (2003) has taken a broader approach in her work on the subject…

Harvard (author-date) Referencing

Referencing means giving a full description of each source you have consulted, in a bibliography at the end of your work.

In the Harvard style it is organised alphabetically by the first author’s last name.

You can see the full guidance here:

https://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/referencing/referencing-harvard

Example of a list of References

Albadri, S. and Mackie, I.C. (2007) Diagnostic dilemma of an ulcer in a child. Dental Update. 34(4), pp. 235-236.	Journal article Both electronic and print journals can be referenced this way
Soames, J.V. and Southam, J.C. (2005) Oral Pathology. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.	Book
BeGole, E.A. (2005) Statistics for the Orthodontist. In: Graber, T. M.et al. eds. Orthodontics: current principles and techniques. St. Louis:Elsevier Mosby. pp. 391-404.	Chapter from an edited book
Vandersall, D.C. (2007) Plaque Index. Concise Encyclopedia of Periodontology. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Munksgaard, pp. 123-124.	Encyclopaedia entry
British Standards Institution. (1987) BS 6747: 1987. British Standard specification for orthodontic resins. Milton Keynes: BSI	British Standard
Wagner, M. (1998) A competency based curriculum. In: Clinical Competencies in Dentistry Conference, December 18, Crown Plaza Hotel, Edinburgh. London: The Medical and Dental Education Network, pp.19-22.	Conference paper
Anderson, R. (2002) The cost-effectiveness of out-of-hours dental services. PhD Thesis. University of Wales College of Medicine.	PhD thesis. For a Masters level work, you’d write ‘MSc Dissertation’, for example.
Scully, C. (2004a) Oral and maxillofacial diseases: an illustrated guide to the diagnosis and management of diseases of the oral mucosa, gingivae, teeth, salivary glands, bones and joints. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Scully, C. (2004b) Oral and maxillofacial medicine: the basis of diagnosis and treatment. Edinburgh: Wright. Office for National Statistics. 2006. Hospital and family health services England and Wales.	Use ‘a’ and ‘b’ etc for multiple items by the same author in the same year. Include the ‘a’ and ‘b’in your citations too, to identify the different works.
Office for National Statistics. (2006) Hospital and family health services England and Wales. Annual Abstract of Statistics. No. 142, figure 9.1. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan	Statistical table. If you reproduce the table in the body of your assignment, give the citation after the table title.
British Orthodontic Society, The. 2007. Snoring and sleep apnoea. [WWW] <URL: http://www.bos.org.uk/public-patients-home/orthodontics-for-adults/sleep-apnoea [Accessed 12 September 2014.]	Website

Student Complaints

How to file a complaint

Most complaints can be resolved informally and, where practical, a complaint should be dealt with as close as possible to the point at which it arises. The complaint should therefore be made to an appropriate member of staff who seems best placed to deal with the matter (e.g. Undergraduate Pastoral Officer, Course Co-ordinator, Director of Dental Education, Head of School). A student should normally expect to receive a written or verbal acknowledgement within five working days and a full response within fifteen working days of receipt of the complaint.

If the student is not satisfied with the response at the informal stage, he or she may initiate a formal complaint by completing a Complaints Form and submitting it to the Faculty Office to:

Faculty Appeals and Complaints Manager

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

University of Manchester

Simon Building, Room 3.21,Brunswick Street

Manchester M13 9PL

Students seeking help in using this procedure, or if they are uncertain as to whom their complaint should be referred, should seek advice from any of the following:

(i) the Office of Student Support and Services; and,

(ii) the Students’ Union Advice Centre.

(Students should also refer to Regulation XVIII – Student Complaints Procedure.)

Academic Appeals

The purpose of this process is to safeguard the interests of all students. It may be used only when there are adequate grounds for doing so (as specified in Regulation XIX – Academic Appeals) and may not be used simply because a student is dissatisfied with the outcome of his or her assessment or other decision concerning their academic position or progress.

Before initiating an appeal, a student is strongly advised to discuss the matter with the Undergraduate Pastoral Officer, Course Co-ordinator, Programme Director or other appropriate person in the School. If the matter remains unresolved, the student may invoke the formal appeal procedure, with appeals being directed to Sally Bray in the Faculty Office at the address provided above.

The student may seek advice and guidance in preparing the appeal from the Students’ Union Advice Centre, or from his or her Faculty or School Office, or from the Office of Student Support and Services. For more information on student support available on appeals and complaints please click here:

https://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/study-support/

Exhibitions and Prizes

Various prizes and awards are available in the Division of Dentistry and are periodically reviewed. The details shown below will therefore be subject to amendment:

BDS Programme:

The Society of Manchester Dental Alumni (SOMANDA) sponsor the following Prizes:

• Years 1-5 SOMANDA Performance Prizes: A Prize is awarded for the highest ranked individual based upon Division of Dentistry End of Year Assessments in years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the BDS programme.
• Year 5 SOMANDA John Lowry Prize in Oral Surgery: A prize awarded for the best overall performance in Oral Surgery.

The Division of Dentistry may award prizes in the following areas based upon overall performance in Year 4 or 5 of the BDS programme:

• Operative Dentistry (Edgar Houghton Prize)
• Periodontology
• Prosthodontics
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Orthodontics
• Biomaterials
• Oral Medicine
• Dental Public Health
• Dental Protection Prize for highest performance in the CAT coursework project
• Tom Pitt-Ford Prize in Endodontology
• Friends of the Hebrew Universities Prize
• Hans Kurer Prize awarded by the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners
• BDA Performance Prize – best performance throughout the BDS programme
• Preston Prize and Medal – best performance at the Final Examinations

BSc Programme:

The Society of Manchester Dental Alumni (SOMANDA) sponsor the following Prize:

• Year 3 SOMANDA BSc DH&T Prize: A Prize is awarded for the highest ranked individual based upon Division of Dentistry end of year assessment in Year 3 of the BSc programme.

The Division of Dentistry may award prizes in the following areas based upon overall performance in Year 3 of the BSc DH&T programme:

• Jack Harrington Award and Medal – best performance at the Final Examinations
• Dentsply Periodontology Prize – best periodontal case presentation at the Final Examinations

Regulations for degrees in the division of dentistry

The degrees in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health relating to Dentistry are: Doctor of Dental Science (DDS); Master of Dental Science (MDSc); Master of Research (MRes); Master of Science (MSc); Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS); Bachelor of Medical Science (B.Med.Sc (Dent)); and Bachelor of Science (Dental Hygiene and Therapy) (BSc (DH&T)).

Notes:

1. Candidates who have graduated as Bachelor in one Faculty of the University are not eligible to graduate as Bachelor in another Faculty unless the total period of approved attendances in the University is not less than five years.

2. The degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Master of Science (MSc) are also obtainable and are administered by a Committee of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.

3. For Dentistry there are also Master programmes in Dental Specialties.

Degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery Regulations

General

A All candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery must have satisfied the requirements for entry upon a degree programme.

B Subject to the provisions of Regulation C, candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery must attend such courses and pass such examinations as shall be defined by the Regulations below.

C Every candidate for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery shall be required to have been engaged in professional study for not less than five years of which at least three years shall have been spent in this University.

1. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) the term “Faculty” means the committee in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, which has been duly authorised by the Senate from time to time to exercise such discretions as are ascribed to it by these Regulations.

(b) “approved” and “prescribed” means respectively approved and prescribed by the Faculty.

(c) a requirement to attend satisfactorily any course includes a requirement of satisfactory performance in course examinations, where these are held, and in any written, practical or clinical work which may be prescribed.

2. Candidates are required to enter upon a period of study in the University which:

(1) shall normally extend over five academic years; except that

(a) candidates who do not qualify for exemption from the Pre-dental Examination shall be required first to present themselves for that examination as prescribed by the regulations relating to that examination;

(b) candidates who have satisfactorily attended and completed at least one year of study

(i) in any programme leading to a degree of Bachelor in this University, or

(ii) in another University or other approved institution, may by special permission of the Faculty be excused from such period of attendance and such examinations as the Faculty may determine, provided that the required period of study in this University shall not in any case be less than three academic years;

(2) shall be uninterrupted, except with the special permission of the Faculty;

(3) may be extended by special permission of the Faculty.

3. The prescribed examinations for the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery shall be:

The Foundation Examination

The First Examination

The Second Examination

The Third Examination

The Fourth Examination

The Final Examination

Notes:

(1) The courses leading to the Foundation Examination provide basic scientific training in Chemistry, Physics and Biology, but candidates who possess approved qualifications may be exempted from the examination.

(2) The year of study leading to the Foundation Examination is known as Year ‘0’.

4. In any examination for the degree, the Examiners shall have regard to the record of the candidate’s work during the whole of the course so far completed.

5. Examiners may require an oral examination on any part of a candidate’s work, either written, practical or clinical.

6. A candidate who has not satisfied the Examiners in any prescribed examination or any part thereof at his second opportunity shall not thereafter be admitted to courses and examinations in the Division of Dentistry, except by special permission of the Student Progress Committee (SPC).

Note: An “opportunity” will be interpreted as “an occasion on which the examination is held”.

7. Candidates who are permitted either by these Regulations or by special permission of the Student Progress Committee (SPC) to present themselves again for a prescribed examination or any part thereof may be required, before doing so, to satisfy the Examiners that they have gained sufficient and relevant further practical and/or clinical experience.

8. The Programme Committee will, at appropriate times, undertake a review of candidates’ attendance, performance and professional attitude. In that review candidates must satisfy the Committee that their attendance, performance and professional attitude in the subjects studied since the last review is such as to meet the requirements set out in the School and course Handbooks. Any candidate who is judged to have failed to meet these requirements may be refused permission to proceed to the next part of the programme of study without undertaking a further period of study or practical or clinical experience.

Notes:

(1) For the purpose of reviewing student progress the Programme Committee is the Student Progress Committee (SPC).

(2) The times at which student progress will be assessed are set out in the course manuals, but will generally take place at the end of each year of study. Student progress will also be assessed regularly during Student Development Record (SDR) meetings and students will be informed of the outcomes of these meetings.

Foundation Examination Regulations

9. Candidates presenting themselves for the Foundation Examination are required:

(i) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination, and

(ii) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course examinations where these are held and in any practical work which may be prescribed.

10. The subjects of the Foundation Examination are:

Biology
Chemistry
Physics

The examination shall normally be written and may include practical and/or oral examinations if required by the Examiners.

11. Candidates who have reached a standard satisfactory to Senate in appropriate subjects in an examination approved by Senate may be exempted from the corresponding courses and examinations in any or all of the subjects of the Foundation Examination.

12. Candidates for the Foundation Examination are required to present themselves in all subjects of the examination at one and the same occasion, except that candidates presenting themselves for the examination for the first time who fail to satisfy the Examiners in all subjects may, on the recommendation of the Examiners, be permitted to present themselves separately for the other subjects or subject at the next opportunity.

13. The examination shall normally be held in May/June and September.

BDS Examination Regulations

24. Candidates presenting themselves for the BDS Examinations are required:

(i) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination,

(ii) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course examinations where these are held and in practical or clinical work which may be prescribed, and

(iii) to have satisfied the Examiners for the previous year’s Examination.

25. The subjects of the BDS Examination will be any of those studied in the programme up until this Examination. The Examinations shall normally be held in May/June and the second opportunity in July of the year.

26. Candidates who fail to satisfy the Examiners in the Final Examination at the first sitting may be permitted one further and final attempt to satisfy the Examiners after a period of further training, normally of 12 month duration.

27. Except by special permission of the Faculty, candidates shall not proceed to the next year of the programme until they have satisfied the Examiners for the last Examination.

28. Candidates will only be considered eligible for Honours / Distinction if they complete the examinations at the first available sitting of each professional examination. Students who have not been ‘signed up’ for an examination (for example poor attendance, poor clinical performance, etc) and subsequently take the examination for the first time at a deferred session would not be eligible.

Final Examination Regulations

29. For the purposes of the Dentists’ Act:

(1) the Final Examination shall be so arranged and conducted as to be a qualifying examination held for the purpose of granting a primary United Kingdom qualification;

(2) the standard of proficiency required from candidates in the Final Examination shall be such as has been determined by the Education Committee of the General Dental Council and embodied in its recommendations;

(3) before they may complete the Final Examination candidates must have undertaken approved dental studies for a period of not less than five academic years.

30. Candidates presenting themselves for the Final Examination are required:

(i) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination,

(ii) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course examinations where these are held and in any practical or clinical work which may be prescribed, and

(iii) to have completed the Fourth Examination.

31. The subjects included in the Final Examination are:

• Behavioural and Social Sciences
• Biomaterial Sciences
• Control of Pain and Anxiety (including Dental Anaesthesia and Sedation)
• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• Dental Public Health
• Ethics and Jurisprudence
• Gerodontics
• Operative Dentistry and Endodontology
• Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery
• Oral Medicine
• Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
• Orthodontics
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Periodontics
• Prosthodontics
• Research appreciation
• Special Care Dentistry
• Therapeutics

The Faculty has prescribed that the examination shall consist of two components:

(i) One written paper comprising of Short Answer Questions. The paper is typically sat in two parts

(ii) One Oral Examination (Viva voce) consisting of three Clinical Case Examinations

32. Candidates failing to satisfy the Examiners will be required to attend for a further period of prescribed training and on completion of this period to present themselves, if required by the Examiners, for further examinations. The prescribed training period could be up to 12 months.

33. The examination shall normally commence in May/June, with resits in July if permitted.

34. The names of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Examinations or any part thereof shall in each case be published as a single list, with their library card identification numbers in numerical order. The names of candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in the Final Examination shall be published, in numerical order in each case, as follows:

(i) those awarded the degree with Honours;

(ii) those who have satisfied the Examiners.

Any candidate in the several examinations whose number appears on the afore-mentioned lists may be marked as having passed with distinction in any of the subjects of the examinations.

35. The degree of BDS with Honours shall be awarded to candidates who have been recommended by the Examiners as deserving consideration for Honours in at least three subjects from those which comprise the First, Second, Third and Fourth Examinations and, in addition, have been so recommended in the Final Examination. Candidates for Honours must have obtained the necessary recommendations in each subject at the first attempt. Candidates who have failed to satisfy the Examiners in the Fourth Examination, the Third Examination, the Second Examination, the First Examination or the Pre-dental Examination (where applicable), shall not be eligible for the award of Honours. Candidates who have failed to satisfy the Examiners in one subject only of the Foundation Examination (where applicable), the First Examination, or the Second, Third or Fourth Examination, but has otherwise satisfied the conditions for the award of Honours may exceptionally and by special permission be considered for the award of Honours at a subsequent examination.

Notes:

(i) To be recommended as deserving consideration for Honours in a subject of the First, Second, Third or Fourth Examinations, candidates must (a) be awarded Distinction, or (b) satisfy the Examiners at Honours standard; such recommendations shall be published.

(ii) Where a course of study in a subject extends over more than one year of the programme and is examined in more than one professional examination, the examiners in that subject may wish to defer recommendation for consideration for Honours or Distinctions until after the examination at the end of the course of study.

1. Where the pass mark for an examination is deemed 50%, consideration for Honours will be achieved if all components (at first sitting) are >65% or Grades A or B. Where the pass mark for an examination is deemed 50%, consideration for Distinction will be achieved when all components are >75% or Grades A.
2. Where the pass mark for an examination is not 50%, typically for ‘standard set’ examinations, consideration for Honours or Distinction will be adjusted to reflect the pass mark. Honours will be awarded if the candidate achieves a grade in excess of one standard deviation of the standard set pass mark. Distinction will be awarded if the candidate achieves a grade in excess of two standard deviations of the standard set pass mark. The award of Honours or Distinction will only apply to examinations attempted at the first sitting.

Professional and Personal Behaviour, Conduct and Student Health

36. Candidates throughout the length of the programme of study for the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery must demonstrate their suitability for clinical training and adhere to a code of behaviour and standard of conduct consistent with the guidance issued by the General Dental Council. (This is outlined in detail in the General Dental Council’s document, ‘Standards for the Dental Team’. See GDC website). A candidate who fails to meet these standards may be required to withdraw or be excluded from the programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

Notes:

(1) Any recommendation to require a student to withdraw or to exclude a student from the programme will be dealt with through the Student Progress Committee (SPC). The SPC may make a referral to the Concern Review Panel (CRP) who can refer the student to the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences with recommendation to withdraw or exclude. Students would be permitted to appeal against exclusion under the normal statutes and ordinances of the University.

(2) Candidates for the degree are also reminded of the University’s general requirements on the conduct and discipline of students. These general regulations have specific statements in regard to the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

(3) Concern Review Panel will, if so required, undertake a review of the candidate’s attendance, performance and professional attitude. In normal circumstances it is expected that issues surrounding professional behaviour will be monitored initially by representatives of individual courses. In the normal course of events Concern Review Panel will therefore only consider those cases that have been brought to it via appropriate staff.

Degree of Bachelor of Medical Science (Dentistry) regulations

General

1. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) the term “Faculty” means the committee in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, which has been duly authorised by the Senate from time to time to exercise such discretions as, are ascribed to it by these Regulations.

(b) “approved” and “prescribed” means respectively approved and prescribed by the Faculty.

(c) a requirement to attend satisfactorily any course includes a requirement of satisfactory performance in course examinations, where these are held, and in any written, practical or clinical work which may be prescribed.

2. Candidates are required to enter upon a period of study in the University that shall normally extend over three academic years except those candidates who have satisfactorily attended and completed at least one year of study in:

(a) any programme leading to a degree of Bachelor in this University;

or

(b) another University or other approved institution;

and may, by special permission of the Board, be excused from such period of attendance and such examinations as the Board may determine, provided that the required period of study in this University shall not in any case be less than one academic year.

1. There is no direct entry onto the B.Med.Sc (Dent), since a student who reaches the minimum pass mark overall in the numerical assessments, but does not obtain a pass grade in the graded assessments or reassessments at the end of Year 3, will be able to graduate with the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent), as a fall-back qualification.

Note: The degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent) shall not be available to the following categories of student:

(i) those students who have obtained a qualification similar to the B.Med.Sc (Dent) at another institution before entering BDS;

(ii) those who obtain an intercalated degree of BSc of the Faculty of Science of this University, whilst studying for the degree of BDS.

Candidates who, while registered for the BDS are awarded the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent) under these Regulations, shall not be eligible to continue with programmes leading to the award of a degree in Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

B.Med.Sc (Dent) examinations

4. The prescribed examinations for the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent) shall be:

(a) The First Examination;

(b) The Second Examination;

(c) The Third Examination.

5. In any examination for the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent), the examiners may require an oral examination on any part of a candidate’s work.

6. In any examination for the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent), the examiners shall have regard to the record of the work of candidates during the whole of the programme so far completed.

7. For the degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent) the prescribed programme of study shall comprise those courses specified for Years 1 to 3 of BDS Programme.

Publication of Results

First and Second Examinations

The library card identification numbers of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners for the First and Second Examinations or in any part thereof shall be published in each case as a single list in numerical order.

Degree of B.Med.Sc (Dent)

After completion of the Third Examination the library card identification numbers of candidates who have satisfied all requirements for the award of the degree shall be published as a single list in numerical order. The list containing these names shall not require the approval of the Board before submission to Senate unless so requested by an examiner.

Degree of Bachelor of Science (Dental Hygiene and Therapy) regulations

General

1. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) the term “Faculty” means the committee in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, which has been duly authorised by the Senate from time to time to exercise such discretions as, are ascribed to it by these Regulations.

(b) “approved” and “prescribed” means respectively approved and prescribed by the Faculty.

(c) a requirement to attend satisfactorily any course includes a requirement of satisfactory performance in course examinations, where these are held, and in any written, practical or clinical work which may be prescribed.

2. All candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Dental Hygiene and Therapy) must have satisfied the requirements for entry upon a degree programme.

Programme of study

3. Candidates are required to enter upon a period of full time study in the University which:

(a) extends over at least three years, except that candidates who present evidence of prior study, satisfactory to the Faculty, may be excused such attendance and such examinations as the Faculty and the Senate may determine, provided that at least two years further study shall be required;

(b) shall be uninterrupted, except with the permission of the Faculty;

(c) may be extended with the permission of the Faculty.

In each year of the programme candidates are required to complete a schedule of course units, totalling 120 credits, determined from time to time by the Undergraduate Programme Committee and published in the Programme Handbook. The course units shall include core subjects, clinical practical procedures and project work.

BSc DH&T examinations

4. The prescribed examinations for the degree of BSc (DH&T) shall be:

First Year Examination

Second Year Examination

Final Examination

5. In any examination for the degree, the Examiners shall have regard to the record of the candidate’s work during the whole of the programme so far completed.

6. Examiners may require an oral examination on any part of a candidate’s work, either written, practical or clinical.

7. A candidate who has not satisfied the Examiners in any prescribed examination, or any part thereof, at the second opportunity shall not thereafter be admitted to courses and examinations in the Division of Dentistry, except by permission of the Faculty.

Note: An opportunity will be interpreted as “an occasion on which the examination is held.”

8. Candidates who are permitted either by these Regulations or by special permission of the Faculty to present themselves again for a prescribed examination or any part thereof may be required, before doing so, to satisfy the Examiners that they have gained sufficient and relevant further practical and/or clinical experience.

9. The Student Progress Committee (SPC) and Examination Boards will, at appropriate times, undertake a review of candidates’ attendance, performance and professional attitude. Candidates must satisfy the Committees that their attendance, performance and professional attitude in the subjects studied since the last review is such as to meet the requirements set out in the Programme Handbook. Any candidate who is judged to have failed to meet these requirements may be refused permission to proceed to the next part of the programme of study without undertaking a further period of study or practical or clinical experience.

First Year Examination

10. Candidates presenting themselves for the First Year Examinations are required (a) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination, and (b) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course tests, assessed essays and any practical or clinical work which may be prescribed.

11. The First Year Examination shall consist of:

(a) continuous assessment, based on course tests, written essays, and practical and other work prescribed by the Programme Committee and set out in the Programme Handbook;

(b) a written examination;

(c) an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

12. The examination shall normally be completed by the end of the second semester of the First Year (May/June) and the re-sit examination held in July at the end of the First Year.

13. Except by special permission of the Faculty, candidates shall not proceed to the Second Year of the programme until they have satisfied the Examiners for the First Year Examination.

Second Year Examination

14. Candidates presenting themselves for the Second Year Examinations are required (a) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination, (b) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course tests, assessed essays and any practical or clinical work which may be prescribed and (c) to have satisfied the Examiners for the First Year Examination.

15. Candidates for the Second Year Examination shall present themselves for assessment in the subjects studied in the second year of the programme, as prescribed by the Programme Committee and set out in the Programme Handbook.

16. The Second Year Examination shall consist of:

(a) continuous assessment, based on course tests, written essays, and practical and other work prescribed by the Programme Committee and set out in the Programme Handbook;

(b) a written examination

(c) a practical examination

(d) radiation protection examination

17. The examination shall normally be completed by the end of the second semester of the Second Year (May/June) and the re-sit examination held in July at the end of the Second Year.

18. Except by special permission of the Faculty, candidates shall not proceed to the Third Year of the programme until they have satisfied the Examiners for the Second Year Examination.

Final Examination

19. Candidates presenting themselves for the Final Examination are required (a) to have attended satisfactorily approved courses in the subjects of the examination, (b) to have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in course tests, assessed essays and any practical or clinical work which may be prescribed and (c) to have satisfied the Examiners for the Second Year Examination.

20. The examination shall consist of:

(a) a written examination;

(b) a practical examination;

(c) a research project (CAT).

21. The examination will normally be held in May/June of the Third Year with resits in November.

22. Candidates who fail to satisfy the Examiners in the Final Examination may be permitted one further attempt to satisfy the Examiners after a period of further training, normally of six months duration.

Award of degree

23. The B.Sc. (Dental Hygiene and Therapy) will normally be awarded as an ordinary degree. However, candidates who obtain a final intention mark of >65 in the Final Examination may be considered for the award of Honours if they have passed the Year 2 examination with an Honours mark (>65%). A candidate cam be awarded the degree with Distinction at the discretion of the Final Examination Board.

Publication of results

24. The library card identification numbers of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in the First and Second Year Examinations, or any part thereof, shall in each case be published as a single list, in numerical order. The names of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in the Final Examination shall be published, in alphabetical order in each case, as follows:

(a) those awarded the degree with Honours;

(b) those who have satisfied the Examiners.

Any candidate on the list under (a) above may be marked as having passed with Distinction.

Professional and Personal Behaviour, Conduct and Student Health

25. Candidates throughout the length of the programme of study for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Dental Hygiene and Therapy) must demonstrate their suitability for clinical training and adhere to a code of behaviour and standard of conduct consistent with the guidance issued by the General Dental Council. A candidate who fails to meet these standards may be required to withdraw or be excluded from the programme leading to the degree.

1. In very rare circumstances there may be an ethical responsibility under safeguarding requirements for an advisor or tutor to share information given in confidence where the student or someone else may be at risk of serious harm if the information is withheld. In this situation every effort would be made to seek and obtain the student’s consent. ↑