Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics

The Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics is offered full-time on-campus. DOH-coded courses in this program are exclusively for Dentistry students and are offered at the Ian O'Connor (G40) Building at the Gold Coast campus.

As a full-time student, students will generally attend 28-32 hours of scheduled classes per week throughout the trimester. Classes may be scheduled during the day and evening throughout the week and on Saturdays.

In the Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics students must maintain a full-time study load. Part-time study is only permitted in circumstances where credit for prior learning is awarded and a full-time structure is not available as a consequence or where a student fails a course and is required to repeat that year of the program.

Due to the need for students to develop complex clinical and technical skills throughout this program, extensive hands-on exposure to clinical/laboratory environments is required. As a result, some courses commencing from Year 1/Trimester 2 of this program will extend beyond the standard teaching trimester (i.e. commencing earlier and extending later than the standard trimester). Exact dates over which these extended courses will run will be published on a trimester-by-trimester basis in the Academic Calendar.

The School of Medicine and Dentistry delivers electronic assessment via ExamSoft's Examplify application. Students enrolled in this program are required to have access to a portable computer device (laptop or tablet) that can be taken on campus to complete examination and assessment activities. This device must meet the minimum system requirements for Examplify.

The School has a small number of loan devices that may be available to students who do not have access to a personal device. Students must apply for access to loan devices in the lead up to an examination or assessment. Please note the School cannot guarantee a loan device will be available for every applicant.

Managing study interruptions

Leave of absence
Students will require approval from the Dean, Dentistry, or nominee to take a leave of absence. Students who wish to take leave of absence may do so for no more than one year. Students who take leave of absence cannot be guaranteed a place in the Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics upon their return due to space limitations and readmission will be subject to available places at the time of application.

Readmission
A student who has discontinued enrolment in a Dentistry program and who is not on an approved leave of absence is required to seek approval for readmission to the program from the Dean, Dentistry, or nominee. Readmission to a Dentistry program is not guaranteed and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the School of Medicine and Dentistry for further details.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

Please refer to the Australian Government website for more details.

The School of Medicine and Dentistry offers extensive work-integrated learning experiences. The Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics students are exposed to a "real life" dental laboratory from Year 1 to 4 where they work directly within a commercial laboratory facility. Work-integrated learning is undertaken in the Griffith Health prosthetic laboratory in the Laboratory Practicum 1-4 courses and culminates in the course 3029DOH Professional Practice.

Students are also required to satisfactorily complete 2 weeks (76 hours) of work experience in laboratories external to the University and independent of the school-based laboratory practice completed on site at Griffith University, Gold Coast campus. Work experience placements must be approved by the School of Medicine and Dentistry and may commence from Year 1/Trimester 2 and must be completed by Year 3/Trimester 2.

Dental prosthetic students are also encouraged to observe professional dentists/prosthetists, dentistry students and academics when they are seeing their private patients in our intramural private practice clinic. In the final year, the 'Comprehensive Prosthetics' course provides a work-integrated learning opportunity where students manage, treat and monitor patients for removable oral prosthetic care in a safe supervised practice.

Griffith students enrolled in the Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics program have the opportunity for a student exchange to Oslo, Norway in Trimester 1 of their final year of study.

Eligible students can apply to study at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet, formerly HiQA) in the Spring Term (January-June) and students should contact the School of Medicine and Dentistry for further details.

With this qualification graduates may find employment opportunities in the public and private health sectors through government health department clinics and private practice as a Dental Technician/Dental Prosthetist or Clinical Dental Technician.

Dental Technologists (or Dental Technicians as they are often referred to) may find employment with Dental Technicians, Dentists, Dental Prosthetists, Prosthodontists, Orthodontists, Periodontists, and Oral Surgeons in the public or private health sectors working to referring dental practitioners and specialist's prescriptions. Graduates will be able to design and construct oral devices according to international standards that meet individual patient's needs. Dental Technicians work with a wide range of materials and techniques such as: gold, porcelain, plastic and lost wax technique and CAD-CAM (Computer Aided Design/Manufacturing). They may see patients to record the colour, shape and characteristics of existing teeth.

With this qualification, graduates can apply technical skills, scientific knowledge, artistic skills and compassionate nature across three distinct specialist areas - Prosthodontic, Conservative and Orthodontic - or you may eventually choose self-employment. Graduates will be well equipped to sit for a 'skills exam' requested by employers.

Prosthodontic Technician and Clinician (Removable Prosthodontics)
Dental Prosthetists work directly with patients to provide removable partial dentures and will also design and fabricate full and partial dentures in plastic or alloy. Graduates will be well equipped for the variety of procedures and techniques to replace missing teeth and will work alongside dentists and prosthodontists.
A student graduating as a dental technologist and dental prosthetist can potentially have two income streams. One providing dental technology services to dentists or specialists and working directly with a patient as a dental prosthetist providing patient care (including referral) and treatment to replace missing teeth.

Self-employment
Graduates will gain an understanding of the operational issues involved in establishing a new business. Graduates may own and operate a dental laboratory or clinic. Graduates can progress onto employment in management roles such as senior or chief technician or prosthetists; quality control technicians/prosthetist; teaching or dental sales.

Research opportunities
Graduates can apply to progress their research skills through an Honours, Masters or PhD qualification which may lead to various roles in academia or in large-scale organisations (corporations/companies, government departments, non-profit/charity organisation).

International opportunities
Graduates will be equipped to apply for dental technologist/technician registration and dental prosthetist (clinical dental technician) in other countries. They will have gained the necessary knowledge and skills to adapt to the examination process required for registration.

The Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics is accredited by the Australian Dental Council (ADC).

Graduates of Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics will be eligible to apply for registration with the Dental Board of Australia (DBA) via the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) subject to meeting any additional requirements that may be stipulated by the Dental Board of Australia. As these requirements may change from time to time, students should contact AHPRA to confirm registration requirements.

There are placements associated with this program and before undertaking professional experience placements, all students in this program are required to have completed the following by the end of their first trimester of study:

• Vaccinations and Health Tests
• Licenses and Certificates
• Online Training
• Health Placement Requirements

Students should refer to the checklist of professional practice requirements for their Health discipline on the Health Placement Support Hub for full details of the requirements regarding professional placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Graduates from the Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics may be eligible to proceed to Honours.