ORAL11001 - Introduction to Oral Health Therapy

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit introduces you to the profession of an Oral Health Therapist and to your role within the dental team. You will be introduced to regulatory, ethical, and legal frameworks which form the basis of dental practice. in particular, this unit will focus on workplace health and safety, infection control and prevention, communication, practice management and requirements for registration. This unit will also develop the foundation knowledge and skills in the dental environment as you commence preclinical and clinical training. An important part of your preclinical training in this unit will be to gain theoretical knowledge in radiation safety and radiographic imaging procedures and learn to take both intra-oral and extra-oral radiographs safely and competently in a simulated environment. Mandatory requirements for clinical practice including, First Aid, Immunisations and Blue Card must be fulfilled.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 3
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Condition: Students must be enrolled full-time in CB29 Oral Health Course to enrol in this unit. 

Corequisites: BMSC11010 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 and ALLH11009 Research Methods for Health Professionals. 



Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. In-class Test(s) 60%
2. Portfolio 0%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 60.71% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: In Class
Feedback
Students expressed concern about the expectations for their first in-class written test.
Recommendation
It is recommended to discuss assessment expectations with the students.
Action Taken
Students received detailed guidance on preparing for the in-class written test.
Source: Email
Feedback
Students appreciated the prompt responses to their emails from the unit coordinator.
Recommendation
It is recommended to maintain prompt communication by ensuring emails to the unit coordinator are answered in a timely manner.
Action Taken
The unit coordinator prioritised prompt responses to student emails to ensure timely communication and support.
Source: In Class
Feedback
Students enjoyed the variety of practical activities in the simulation laboratory.
Recommendation
It is recommended to continue the variety of practical activities in the simulation laboratory.
Action Taken
The unit continued to deliver a range of engaging practical activities designed to enhance students' skills and knowledge in Oral Health Therapy.
Source: In class
Feedback
Students expressed concern about the expectations and requirements for the portfolio assessments.
Recommendation
It is recommended that assessment expectations be discussed with the students, and written instructions on Moodle and in the practical activity workbooks be reviewed to ensure clarity.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: In class
Feedback
Students would like to see more links to real applications. For example, invite guest speakers from dental industry representatives or practising OHTs.
Recommendation
It is recommended that guest speakers from dental industry representatives or practising oral health therapists be invited to enhance students' understanding of real-world applications and practical skills in this unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: In class
Feedback
Students would like more opportunities to develop hand skills in preparation for hygiene and operative preclinical practice in Term 2.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the unit schedule to explore opportunities for incorporating additional hand skill activities in preparation for Term 2 preclinical practice.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the roles and responsibilities of an Oral Health Therapist as a member of the dental team and of the community.
  2. Demonstrate preclinical skills in the use of dental instruments, equipment and materials in a simulated environment including the techniques for intra-oral and extra-oral radiography.
  3. Understand the principles of infection control, workplace health and safety as well as the scientific basis, applications and safe use of ionizing radiation in dental practice.
  4. Demonstrate appropriate professional and ethical values and behaviors and communication skills for the dental practitioner.

The learning outcomes of this unit are part of the overall learning outcomes in the Bachelor of Oral Health course at CQUniversity and are included in the annual report to the Australian Dental Council (ADC).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - In-class Test(s) • •
2 - Portfolio • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice • •
9 - Social Innovation •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10