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Course Descriptions
Course Descriptions

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  • Fall Semester, Third Year: D703 Dental Public Health
  • Fourth Year Elective: Service-learning in Community Oral Health
  • IU School of Medicine Department of Public Health
T720 Dental Public Health
Course Director: Mark E. Mallatt, D.D.S., M.S.D.
Course #: T720
Semester: Fall; Third year dental students
Course Description: The dental profession has the overall responsibility for the oral health care of the public. This course will present information on: the prevention of oral diseases, prevention of disease transmission through universal precautions and infectious waste management, epidemiology and caries prevalence, use of pit and fissure sealants, professional responsibility and ethics, tobacco and its effect on the community, biostatistics, and communal water fluoridation. In addition, there will be a field experience in which teams of students will present an oral health educational program to children in a school setting.
Educational Objectives: Following the classroom lectures and assignments, students will be able to:
  • Develop and utilize a foundation of preventive dentistry to provide oral health services and education to dental consumers and the public at large,
  • Relate dental public health in conjunction with the private practice of dentistry,
  • Understand the merit and cost effectiveness of communal and school fluoridation programs,
  • Understand the professional, social, and ethical standards required as a dental professional,
  • Understand the legal requirements in Indiana for infection control, universal precautions, infectious waste management, and OSHA regulations,
  • Be knowledgeable in the utilization and placement of pit and fissure sealants,
  • And be knowledgeable in the prevention of caries, gingivitis, periodontal disease, calculus, and oral cancer
Textbook Required: Dentistry, Dental Practice, and the Community
Burt/Eklund, 5th EditionW.B., Saunders Company
Grading Scale:

A = 90-100
B = 79-89
C = 68-78
D = 57-67
F = Below 57 

Examinations and Quizzes: Format, frequency, percent value toward course grade, grading scale Used, Policy Regarding make-ups, etc.

  • Lecture attendance is mandatory
  • Final Examination - 80% (true-false and multiple choice)
  • Field Experience Evaluation - 20%
  • Make-up exam at discretion of course director

Evaluation of Laboratory and clinical Performance: numbers and types of requirements, percent value of each, are practical examinations included, how grades are determined for each

Grading Scale  Teacher Evaluation from Field Experience will count 20% of total grade

 

Ethics: Any form of academic dishonesty is absolutely unacceptable and will be considered as proof of professional misconduct. It is the individual student's responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner such that there is no possibility that their actions can be misinterpreted as dishonest behavior. Students also have the responsibility to report immediately a situation in which they feel they are being compromised or made an unwilling participant in an act of academic dishonesty.

Penalties:

  • First occurrence - a grade of 0 recorded for the quiz, exam or assignment
  • Second occurrence - a failing grade issued for the course
Removal of Incomplete or Failing grades: Every student must participate in the field experience, take a mid-term exam, and a final exam. Students will have 1 year to remove the "Incomplete" which will be issued if any one of the above is not completed. If a grade of F is issued, students will need to repeat the entire course the following year. 
Conference: Course director will be readily available for individual consultation after class or by appointment. 
  
  

Service-learning in Community Oral Health

Semester: Fourth Year Intramural Electives Program
Course Meeting: First Semester: arranged; Second Semester: arranged

Course Description:

Service-learning is an educational methodology based on community-campus partnerships which combine student community service with explicit learning objectives.  Service-learning holds great promise for equipping future health professionals with community-oriented competencies that will be needed in the rapidly changing health care system.  Service-learning is built upon a combination of experiential and didactic approaches and actively involves community-partner agencies in the process.

This is designed as a two-semester course.  During the first semester, students will select and provide service in a social service agency or other site that provides access to people of specific cultural groups, people with mental or physical disabilities or other special population groups.  Throughout the service-learning experience, students will keep a reflection journal that will document the observations and activities experienced during the process.  In the second semester, based on what is learned about the special population group through research and/or observation, the students will design and carry out, an oral health promotion or research project which will be appropriate for, and useful to, this group.

A wide variety of local, state, and possibly, international experiences can be considered for inclusion in this course.

Course objectives: Through service, interaction, observation and research, students will learn the characteristics and health needs of specific special population groups.  This knowledge will foster the development of dental practitioners who are more knowledgeable, competent and comfortable providing services for people form other cultures and/or people who live with various chronic physical or mental disabilities. Students will also become familiar with the policy process, the form and function of social service agencies and the skills of advocacy.

Specific Instructions for students:

  • Students will conduct a literature search for information on their selected special population group.
  • Students will keep a reflection journal that will reflect their experiences and observations during service-learning.
Clock Hours: Variable; minimum of 20 each semester
Textbook and materials: The instructor will provide handout materials
Student evaluation: Pass / fail  (including evaluation from community partners)
Participating faculty: Dr. Karen M. Yoder
1121 West Michigan St. | Indianapolis, IN 46202 | Tel. 317-274-7957 | Fax 317-274-2419 | Patient Fax 317-278-6958
Disclaimer | Last Updated Date: 1/7/2008