King's College London

The Dental Therapy Hygiene BSc (Hons) will develop students enrolled on this clinical programme to become safe practitioners that are prepared for registration with the GDC as dental therapists. This three-year full-time programme offers a spiralled modular curriculum that employs a variety of inspiring evidence-based teaching and assessment methods that integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes to create adaptable and reflective clinicians that deliver high quality person-centred care.

The programmes aspire to be world-class and recognised internationally by meeting and exceeding the necessary educational standards and quality benchmarks. As a research-enhanced institute, the programme benefits from the institutional research and offers the opportunity for students to be involved in, and appreciate, the breadth of research in the faculty and the wider university. The programme is studied over 3 years, full time.

The curriculum is formulated around the General Dental Council (GDC) Safe Practitioner Framework (2025). This is the framework for all UK education and training programmes that lead to registration with the General Dental Council (GDC) as a dental professional. The descriptions under the four domains in the framework together summarise the GDC’s expectations for new dental professionals, or ‘safe practitioners’.

Clinical Knowledge and Skills
Possesses the skills and underpinning knowledge to undertake routine clinical and technical procedures and tasks. This includes the ability to apply that knowledge and those skills to specific contexts and situations, patients, and stages of treatment including, where relevant, assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and onward referral

Interpersonal skills
Uses interpersonal skills and emotional awareness to enable effective communication with all patients and colleagues which is underpinned by behaving in a caring, compassionate, empathic, and respectful way. Demonstrates effective teamwork and helps foster wellbeing of others.

Professionalism
Demonstrates professionalism and integrity by behaving ethically, shows leadership and social accountability. Is committed to advocating for oral health, promoting good oral health and understands the importance of sustainable service provision in the population and across communities, and addressing priority health needs for the communities.

Self-management
Can self-manage, adapt, and respond to different situations using insight and reflection. Plans and manages their time and keeps up to date with continued learning and development.

These are achieved through the following teaching/learning methods and strategies:

1. Lectures: Mixed-mode or blended learning combining face-to-face and digital technology (e.g. digital and online resources)
2. Participation in seminars, practical laboratory classes, workshops, which require prior preparation, High and Low fidelity simulation.
3. Participation in clinics to develop principles of thinking and reasoning inpatient management; identification of health at the level of the patient, as well as comparison of normal with diseased and/or treated tissues.
4. Self-directed learning (narrated presentations, recorded online tutorials, online formative assessment)
5. Clinical observation to supplement, consolidate and broaden what has been taught
6. Assessment: Examinations, coursework. Assessment will be formative and summative. Formative assessments will, as far as possible, be designed to include dialogic feedback, peer-assessment and self-assessment linked to reflective practice.

Blended learning unites acquisition of knowledge with development of clinical skills and professional values. Scholarship is student and patient-centred, designed for students to experience authentic training through approaches such as enquiry and problem-based learning, embedding employability.

Workplace learning ensures students are prepared for a primary care career and are provided with foundations to develop skill-sets in secondary and tertiary care settings, as well as translational career pathways.

Year one establishes the foundations on which clinical practice lie, namely biomedical sciences and developing clinical skills in a simulated setting. This is paralleled by development of personal and professional skills, such as communication strategies and their role in social responsibility.

Year two builds on this skill-set, enabling students to apply it in the real-world within our excellent network of clinical placements and introduces them to the dental specialties; where they will garner appreciation of local and global context.

Year three consolidates learning and fosters competence in technical and leadership skills, whilst developing research skills. Innovation and entrepreneurship is encouraged through self-selected, independent project-based learning in education, business development or research methods. 

DISCLAIMER

The information above represents the new curriculum Dental Therapy & Hygiene BSc programme that was introduced by the faculty in 2025/26. Whilst there are no plans to further modify the structure of the programme (as described above), please be aware that some changes may be required in the event of unforeseen circumstances.