Apprenticeship training course
Oral health practitioner (level 4)
Performing a range of oral health preventive procedures which involve working in a patient's mouth.
- Qualification level
-
4
Equivalent to higher national certificate (HNC). - Typical duration
- 14 months
- Apprenticeship category
- Health and science
- Maximum funding
-
£9,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training. - Also known as
-
- Community oral health educator
- Oral health ambassador
- Oral health champion
- Oral health improvement lead
- Oral health practitioner
- Skills
-
Skills an apprentice will learn
- Put patient’s interests first, maintaining a caring approach towards them.
- Treat people with dignity, respecting their choices, gaining valid consent for all treatments and respecting confidentiality.
- Work autonomously in people’s mouths to take dental bacterial plaque indices and food debris scores.
- Use a range of personal oral care tools.
- Autonomously plan practice sessions in the community.
- Prepare the clinical equipment and records for each session.
- Prepare and maintain a clinical environment, adhering to infection control and prevention.
- Prepare, mix and handle bio-materials.
- Take dental bacterial plaque indices and food debris scores in the mouth of individuals.
- Select preventative strategies that are appropriate to the individual and adapt appropriately for individuals with special requirements.
- Undertake general health screening including checking for diabetes, taking blood pressure readings and taking finger-prick blood for blood tests.
- Refer individuals to other services if necessary.
- Carry out intra and extra oral photography.
- Recognise and manage medical emergencies.
- Plan clinical preventative session.
- Deliver brief clinical preventative advice interventions to targeted groups.
- Encourage self-care and motivation.
- Provide oral and general systemic advice e.g. tobacco cessation or diet advice.
- Prepare, deliver and evaluate oral health messages to groups or individuals.
- Support individuals and groups to change their behaviour.
- Provide motivational interviews.
- Determine and implement strategies for improving oral health in the community.
- Communicate effectively with and about patients, their representatives and the dental team, and with carers, other healthcare workers or schoolteachers.
- Escalate any issues when they are outside your scope of practice.
- Handle complaints effectively and within GDC guidelines.
- Manage your own time, resources and personal behaviour.
- Be proactive in your own development, willing to commit to lifelong learning by use of a Personal Development Plan (PDP), personal reflection and continuous improvement.
Full information on Oral health practitioner (level 4) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.