The Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice) expands your restorative (dental therapy scope) qualifications for the treatment of patients of all ages.

Designed for currently practicing dental or oral health therapists, this course opens up new career pathways by providing additional skills and knowledge in adult restorative practice.

You will learn to diagnose, plan and deliver restorative care for patients of all ages, manage complex and medically compromised patients, revise your dental materials knowledge, and deepen your understanding of periodontology and cariology, prosthodontics, oral medicine and pharmacology, along with local anaesthesia and dental emergency management.

A flexible and personalised learning experience

Through our flexible course design, you can balance family and employment commitments while earning a recognised outcome qualification.

The program adopts a blended learning approach utilising both self-paced online learning and face-to-face (via zoom) tutorials complemented by 2 weeks of supported clinical practice with patients in the Melbourne Dental School clinics.

First of its kind in Australia

The Melbourne Dental School has long been at the forefront of oral health education offering the first Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy in Australia and New Zealand and was the first to be accredited by the Australian Dental Council and approved by the Dental Board of Australia. The course is also the first to be accredited by the Dental Council of New Zealand.

Who is this course for?

The course is only available to registered practicing dental therapists (DTs) and oral health therapists (OHTs) (and DTs and OHTs eligible for registration in Australia). This is not a workforce re-entry program — you will need current restorative knowledge and recency of practice.

International students are welcome to study this course. However, please note that this course is not available to international students who require a student visa to study in Australia as it does not meet the onshore study requirements and it is not registered with CRICOS.

Course aims

This course will qualify both OHTs and DTs to provide restorative care for patients of all ages, including knowledge of adult oral health examination diagnosis and treatment planning.

Pathways

The Melbourne Dental School also offers a CPD (non-award course) in Adult Dental Therapy- Preparation to Practice. You can compare courses using our Compare Courses fact sheet.

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