The aim of this postgraduate course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead and support the development of dental public health nationally and internationally.
Dental public health is the science of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through organised efforts. It concerns not only actions directed at populations as a whole, but also at the groups and individuals that make up populations.
Highly-trained public health specialists are required in Ireland and abroad to tackle issues such as health inequalities; their causes and solutions; communicable diseases; oral health; obesity; smoking and international health development.
The MSc Dental Public Health is an innovative course designed to offer multi-disciplinary academic and experiential development.
The course emphasises:
student-directed learning
multi-disciplinary teaching and learning
problem solving
skills training
flexibility
This course will appeal to dental professionals:
-who wish to develop the knowledge, skills and commitment to develop services which are equitable and fair
-who wish to develop a greater understanding of the competing demands, resource implications and expectations in providing a public dental service in the twenty-first century.
Why Choose This Course
Dental public health is recognised as an important component of the modern dentist's skill set. As populations live longer, the focus must be on adding 'life to years rather than years to life'. Oral healthcare must be planned and delivered to optimise scarce resources. This successful outcome is fostered throughout the MDPH, exposing the student to research methods, fostering evidence-based practice, healthcare evaluation and encouraging leadership, through structured modules.
Comment
Lectures are scheduled for Thursday evenings and all day Friday. Extensive reading is required. Reading lists are provided with each module. The course is a taught master's, modular in format with assessment through written examination, project work, essay and completion of a minor dissertation. The course draws on the experience across the university with teaching being provided from the College of Medicine and Health, Centre for Policy Studies and Applied Social Studies. International speakers are also invited to provide seminars on the course, enhancing the experience of the student and exposing you to different approaches.