Inherent requirements for dentistry programs

Dentistry is a profession governed by code of conduct and registration standards where dentists and dental specialists are both accountable and responsible for ensuring professional behaviour in all contexts. Patient-focused treatment must be delivered by students for all patients assigned to their care. 

You, the student, will demonstrate knowledge of – and engage in – ethical behaviour in practice. 

Complying with standards, codes, guidelines and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and the people they engage with. Ethical behaviour protects the rights and dignity of all and supports physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure that standards, codes, guidelines and policies are maintained and do not result in unethical behaviour. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Manage confidential information appropriately in classroom and clinical settings. 

• Reflect on ethical issues and take responsibility for demonstrating ethical awareness and conduct in the delivery of care. 

• Respect personal and professional boundaries. 

Behavioural stability is necessary to effectively and sensitively function and adapt in dentistry roles. 

You, the student, will demonstrate behavioural stability in diverse, unpredictable and challenging academic and clinical environments. 

Behavioural stability is necessary to work in diverse, unpredictable and challenging environments, whether individually or in a team. Dentistry students will be exposed to emergency and stressful situations, and are required to have the behavioural stability to manage themselves and their activities in these environments. 

Reasonable adjustments must support stable, effective and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Be receptive to constructive feedback and respond appropriately when feedback is provided. 

• Effectively manage your emotions and behaviour in classroom and clinical settings.  

Dentistry practice is regulated by Australian law and professional standards to enable the safe delivery of care. 

You, the student, will demonstrate knowledge of and compliance with Australian law, professional standards and scope of practice. 

Showing an understanding of and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements reduces the risk of harm to self and others, and are a necessary prerequisite to clinical placements. Compliance with Australian law and regulations ensures students are responsible and accountable for their practice. 

Reasonable adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Comply with the requirements for student registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). 

• Comply with relevant child protection and safety legislation. 

• Provide evidence where required of your personal history and activities (e.g. police check and/or Blue Card) before any clinical placements. 

• Accept and fulfil any responsibilities you are given for patient care. 

Effective verbal communication in English is an essential requirement to provide safe care. 

• Sensitivity to individual and cultural difference. 

• The ability to understand – and accurately and appropriately respond to – verbal communication in a timely manner. 

• The ability to give and receive clear instructions in classroom or clinical situations. 

• Timely clear feedback and reporting. 

• Communicating with others verbally in a respectful and empathetic way develops trusting relationships. 

• Efficient and interpersonal verbal communication can be critical in fast-moving situations to achieve safe, timely and effective treatments. 

• Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to individual safety, treatment and management. 

Reasonable adjustments must address issues concerning the effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy of verbal communication to achieve safe and appropriate care. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Actively participate in tutorial, simulation and clinical discussions.

• Respond appropriately to care requests in noisy clinical environments. 

Appropriate non-verbal communication is fundamental to dentistry and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic and non-judgmental. 

• The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues. 

• Consistent and appropriate awareness of your own behaviours. 

• Sensitivity to individual and cultural differences. 

• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues helps to build rapport and develop trustful and respectful relationships in academic and professional contexts. 

• Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions and eye contact – and being aware of spatial boundaries, body movements and gestures – helps to build rapport and develop trustful and respectful relationships in academic and professional contexts. 

• Being sensitive to individual and cultural differences shows respect for others and develops trustful and empathetic relationships. 

• The ability to observe, understand and respond appropriately to non-verbal cues is essential to safely and effectively assess and treat patients. 

Reasonable adjustments must enable a student to effectively recognise, initiate or respond to non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Recognise and respond appropriately to cues in academic settings. 

• Recognise and respond appropriately to cues in the clinical environment (e.g. patient in pain or distress). 

Effective written communication in English is essential to dentistry practice and has professional and legal ramifications. 

You, the student, will demonstrate the capacity to produce coherent written material – including documents and records – appropriate to the circumstances. 

• Written assessment tasks reflect the required academic standards necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice. 

• Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and patient notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care. 

Reasonable adjustments must enable a student to meet necessary standards of clarity and accuracy to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Construct a written academic assessment that meets minimum academic standards. 

• Construct client notes, reports, and educational information in a timely manner that meets minimum professional standards. 

Cognitive ability and the capacity to learn and recall complex information are essential in providing safe and competent dental care. 

• Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information. 

• Ability to process information relevant to practice. 

• Ability to integrate, reflect on and implement knowledge in classroom and clinical settings. 

Safe and effective delivery of dental care relies on comprehensive knowledge that is sourced, understood and applied appropriately. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure knowledge can be clearly demonstrated and cognitive skills are not compromised or impeded. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Demonstrate your ability to interpret, understand, retain and use appropriate knowledge in academic settings and for assessment items. 

• Appropriately apply knowledge of policy and procedures in clinical settings. 

• Comprehend information presented in a variety of standard formats e.g. handwritten notes, test results, student clinical rosters. 

• Accurately recall information without reference. 

• Engage in scientific and clinical reasoning.  

Competent English literacy skills are essential to provide safe and effective care. 

• Ability to acquire information and accurately convey appropriate and effective messages in English. 

• Ability to read and comprehend a range of information in English. 

• Capacity to understand and apply academic conventions to write coherent English in a scholarly and professional manner. 

• The ability to acquire information and write and speak clearly and accurately in English is fundamental to the safe and effective assessment, treatment and delivery of dentistry care. 

• The ability to read, interpret and understand multiple sources of information is fundamental to the safe and effective assessment, treatment and delivery of dentistry care. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure a student can demonstrate an appropriate capacity to acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurately in English. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Listen well to information provided in English. 

• Speak clearly and accurately in English. 

• Successfully paraphrase, summarise and reference in English, in accordance with appropriate academic conventions. 

• Create accurate, concise and clear documentation in English. 

Competent numeracy skills are essential to deliver safe and effective care. 

The ability to correctly and accurately interpret and apply numerical information including data, measurements, or other numbers. 

Competent numeracy skills are essential to facilitating the safe and effective delivery of dentistry care. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure a student can demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply numerical concepts and processes in a timely, accurate and effective manner. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Determine working length for various treatments. 

• Understand and interpret dental measurements and indices. 

Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective care. 

Sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills. 

• Sufficient visual acuity is needed to complete the required range of skills, tasks and assessment items in the program, and to provide consistent, accurate and safe care. 

• Visual observations, examinations and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective dentistry practice. 

Reasonable adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Observe and detect subtle changes in oral cavity including spatial relationships using reflected vision tools (mirrors). 

• Observe and detect subtle changes in individual behaviour (e.g. facial expressions with pain). 

• Judge images produced, particularly in low contrast and small image details. 

• Monitor the clinical setting. 

• Demonstrate three-dimensional perception and acuity. 

Sufficient auditory ability is required to provide safe and effective dentistry care. 

Sufficient aural function to undertake the required range of skills. 

• Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage a patient’s health needs consistently and accurately. 

• Auditory assessments, examinations and observations are fundamental to safe and effective dentistry practice. 

Reasonable adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the hearing loss must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

Respond to a range of alarms and monitors as required.  

Sufficient tactile ability is required to perform competent and safe dental care. 

Sufficient tactile function to undertake the required range of skills and assessments. 

Sufficient tactile ability is needed to monitor, assess and detect a patient’s physical state and to provide thorough dental care. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure a student can demonstrate the capacity to make effective assessments of physical characteristics and abnormalities within safe time frames. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

Conduct a physical assessment and detect any abnormalities in both hard and soft tissues.

Dentistry is physically demanding and requires gross motor function. 

The ability to perform gross motor skills to function within scope of practice. 

Gross motor skills are needed to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve gross motor skills include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to themselves and others. 

Reasonable adjustments should facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others, and a capacity to provide appropriate care. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Assist with patient transfers into and out of a dental chair or clinic. 

• Provide basic life support. 

• Maintain a standing position (while using upper limbs to perform a task) for prolonged periods. 

• Manoeuvre around equipment and in confined spaces. 

• Attend clinical placements at a variety of physical locations and settings including hospitals, rural settings, private practice and clinics. 

Dentistry requires manual dexterity and fine motor skills. 

The ability to perform fine motor skills to provide safe and effective care. 

Fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate individuals and various objects. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to themselves and others. 

Reasonable adjustments should facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Independently manipulate and carry instruments, materials and equipment as necessary. 

• Manipulate small objects including using cutting, extending, pinching, pulling and twisting skills. 

Dentistry study and practice requires both physical and mental endurance at a consistent and sustained level. 

• Consistent and sustained physical energy to complete specific tasks in a timely manner and over time. 

• The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately. 

• The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of time. 

Sufficient physical and mental endurance are essential to performing multiple tasks in an assigned period and to provide safe and effective care. 

Reasonable adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period. Adjustments specific to the individual can be discussed with a Student Adviser. 

• Participate in tutorials, lectures and skills. 

• Provide consistent, appropriate and quality care across the practicum period associated with courses that require clinical placement.