UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

This unit equips students with knowledge relating to dental research, statistics and dental public health.

Professional Behaviour Requirements

Non-compliance with the following standards may result in students being classified as 'Unsatisfactory' or 'Possible Concern' about their professional conduct (a failed component):

1. Adherence to the rules, regulations, policies, and protocols of the UWA Dental School, OHCWA, and external placements. This requirement encompasses but is not restricted to mandatory attendance, infection control policies, patient/health information confidentiality and privacy maintenance, adherence to the designated dress code, and refraining from inappropriate utilisation of social media.

2. Demonstration of honesty and integrity in research, academic pursuits, and clinical undertakings.

3. Compliance with all directives from staff members and engagement with others in a respectful and collegial manner.

4. Mandatory attendance of ALL compulsory activities during the specified periods and remaining for the entirety of each activity. These include, but are not limited to, educational workshops and tutorials, pre-clinical laboratory sessions (e.g. CSSL), treatment planning sessions, rostered clinical sessions, and external placements.

If a student cannot attend or needs to depart from a compulsory activity, the student must promptly notify the appropriate staff and initiate leave application procedures as outlined in the UWA Dental School handbook.

In situations where a mandatory activity is missed, provided relevant staff members have been notified and leave has been officially requested:

• Students are permitted to miss a maximum of 10 sessions annually, distributed across various units, with the allowance of up to 5% of sessions within the specific DMD unit.
• The student is responsible for ensuring appropriate makeup for the missed activity.

Failure to make up for missed activities within the academic and clinical calendar year will delay course progression and/or graduation, depending on the circumstances.

Credit

6 points

Offering

Availability	Location	Mode
Not available in 2025	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) module 1: Statistics—(a) describe and discuss the various study designs in research including strengths and weaknesses; (b) explain and interpret clinical and research data; (c) define and interpret descriptive and inferential statistics; (d) discuss and interpret statistical tests used in research; and (e) transfer, analyse and interpret data using major statistical programs; (2) module 2: Introduction to Research—(a) design a clinical, laboratory or dental health research project; (b) critically evaluate the literature relevant to the research topic and synthesise in a literature review; (c) write a research proposal; (d) write an ethics application; (3) module 3: Research Project (Semester 1)—(a) work in small groups as collaborators on research projects supervised by the staff of the School of Dentistry or elsewhere from UWA; (b) prepare a literature review as a basis for the research proposal; and (c) prepare a research proposal and ethics application ready for submission to the UWA Human Research Ethics Committee; and (4) module 4: Dental Public Health—(a) describe health education, health promotion, epidemiology and disease prevention, and discuss the theory behind these concepts as relevant to oral health; (b) describe the oral health status of the Australian population and compare with international measures; (c) describe the operation of the Australian healthcare system and the way the health budget (Federal and State) is distributed (for dental health and general health); and (d) plan, develop, implement and evaluate a community oral health program.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) end-of-semester two-hour written examination; (2) assignment: proposal and ethics application (group); and (3) oral health poster assignment. Further information is available in the unit outline.

To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the end-of-semester two-hour written examination component.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Dr Mario Ferrari

Unit rules

Prerequisites

DENT4205 Conservative Dentistry and Restoration of Endodontically Treated Teeth
and DENT4206 Advanced Prosthodontics
and DENT4207 Child and Adolescent Oral Health 2
and DENT4208 Exodontics and General Medicine

Co-requisites

DENT5301 Microbiology, Oral Pathology and Temporomandibular Disorders.
DENT5303 Complex Oral Rehabilitation 1.
DENT5304 Child and Adolescent Comprehensive Oral Care 1 and Orthodontics

Approved quota: 70—domestic (50) and international (20); for school leavers—rural (3), Metropolitan Pathway (3), Indigenous (3), high academic achievement (5), international (3); for graduates—rural (2), Metropolitan Pathway (2), Indigenous (2), international (3), graduates (30)