Award in Dental Impression Taking

Syllabus

Module 1	Module 2	Module 3
Legislation Consent General Dental Council – responsibilities as a registrant CoSHH CPR / emergencies First Aid	Health and Safety Cross Infection Control Materials Devices and treatments	Patient management Anatomy of the oral cavity Laboratory requirements Impression taking faults Technique
Assessment	Assessment	Assessment
Essay on the management of a choking patient	Essay on cross infection control	Two case studies Workplace portfolio of evidence Online MCQ test

Workplace Portfolio of Evidence

This contains evidence of 12 patient cases where impressions have been taken as part of dental treatment or clinical assessment.

The portfolio should include:

• 2 sets of study models
• 2 mouthguards and/or retainers
• 2 fluoride and/or bleaching trays
• 6 impressions of any other type which can include, but is not restricted to, opposing impressions for crowns/bridges/implants, denture impressions and orthodontic appliances

 

Case studies

Two cases should be expanded into case studies which should include photographs of the impressions and the final devices. The case studies should be two different devices but cannot include denture impressions as the remainder of the treatment is carried out by another dental professional. Word count for each 1000 – 1500 words.

 

Multiple Choice Questions

At the end of the final module, candidates will be required to pass a short multiple choice test on all subjects covered. This is 20 minutes in duration and consists of 15 questions. It can be taken at anytime on course completion, and is done online. Candidates get one resit opportunity should they not attain 75% on their first attempt. If the second attempt is also unsuccessful, this will result in a fail for the whole course.

 

Course Content

Module 1

Legislation:	GDPR Consent and confidentiality Health and safety legislation Cross infection legislation GDC – responsibilities as a registrant
Managing an emergency:	Choking Anaphylaxis First Aid

Learner Outcomes:

The candidate will:

• Understand the legal aspects surrounding patient consent and data protection
• Understand the importance of managing any adverse incidents quickly and efficiently
• Understand their responsibility to the patient and to the rest of the dental team as a GDC registrant

The candidate can:

• Keep accurate dental records of the treatments in which they have been involved
• Maintain confidentiality and data protection policies as per the workplace and legislative requirements
• Maintain efficient health and safety and cross infection control procedures and work safely

 

Module 2

Health and Safety:	PPE
Cross Infection Control:	Clinical hand washing Disinfection and sterilisation Preparing impressions for the laboratory
Materials:	Impression materials
Devices and treatments:	Reasons to take dental impressions

Learner Outcomes:

The candidate will:

• Understand the importance of good health and safety awareness during an appointment for dental impressions
• Understand the importance of maintaining good cross infection control during an appointment for dental impressions
• Understand the differences in the materials available for dental impressions and how they should be handled and mixed

The candidate can:

• Demonstrate safe working practice during the taking of dental impressions
• Demonstrate good cross infection control before, during and after an appointment for dental impressions
• Handle and mix dental impression material safely and correctly
• Take the correct dental impression for the required device

 

Module 3

Patient management:	Managing different patient groups, children, adults, special care, elderly
Anatomy of the oral cavity:	Features of the oral cavity The features which need to be included in a dental impression Abnormalities of the oral cavity
Laboratory requirements:	Preparing the impressions for the laboratory
Impression taking faults:	Errors in the impressions
Technique:	Ergonomics

Learner Outcomes:

The candidate will:

• Understand the importance of good patient instruction and management
• Appreciate the importance of good communication and instruction
• Understand the importance of good dental impressions taken for different devices using different materials
• Understand the potential consequences of using a poor impression to create a device
• Understand the requirements of the impression depending on the device being constructed

The candidate can:

• Take dental impressions on referral from a suitable dental professional
• Give examples of how a poor impression can impact on the treatment of the patient
• Act appropriately if an impression is not of the standard required
• Give examples of good and bad patient management
• Give examples of different communication methods which may be used during an appointment
• Take dental impressions using a variety of different materials:
  • Alginate
  • Silicones
  • Polymer
  • Polysulfide
• Take dental impressions for a variety of devices
  • Study models
  • Fluoride/bleaching trays
  • Mouthguard / bite guards
  • Opposition impressions for fixed prosthetics
  • Initial impressions for dentures