Oral Health Practitioner Level 4 Apprenticeship
Overview
Are you looking for a way to improve the oral health of your patients and your bottom line? If so, then an Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship is the perfect solution for you.
An Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship is a Level 4 apprenticeship that will give your staff the skills and knowledge they need to provide high-quality oral health care. The apprenticeship covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Oral health assessment and diagnosis
- Prevention and treatment of oral diseases
- Communication with patients
- Management of dental practices
In addition to the skills and knowledge, an Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship will also give your staff the experience they need to be successful in the dental field. They will work alongside experienced oral health practitioners, learning from them and contributing to the care of your patients.
There are two ways to take advantage of an Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship:
- Hire a new apprentice: If you are looking to hire a new member of staff, an Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship is a great way to find qualified and motivated candidates. Apprentices are paid a salary while they are learning, and they can also receive financial support from the government.
- Upskill your current staff: If you already have staff who are interested in becoming oral health practitioners, you can also hire them as apprentices. This is a great way to give your staff the opportunity to learn new skills and advance their careers.
No matter how you choose to participate in an Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship, you will be investing in the future of your dental practice. By upskilling your staff or hiring a new apprentice, you will be giving them the skills they need to provide high-quality oral health care and improve the health of your patients.
Awarding Body
- 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.
- Access to free CPD programmes and additional coaching sessions
- Online delivery with live teaching and catch-ups if you can’t make a session
- Dedicated Skills Coach for the duration of your apprenticeship journey
- Experienced Tutors, Coaches & Support Team
- Easy onboarding and induction process
Cost
£450
with Government funding of 95% (non-levy employers/SMEs)
£9,000
full cost for levy payers
Thank you so much for helping me get through it, I honestly wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help and guidance! So, thank you so much for being there so quickly when I needed help!
Dental Nurse Apprentice
Details
- Duration: 14 Months
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible for the apprenticeship, the employee must be at least 16 years old and not in full-time education. They will also need to have basic literacy and numeracy skills and be able to pass a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
- Assessment: Throughout the apprenticeship, the employee will be assessed on their practical skills and knowledge. The final assessment will take the form of a synoptic assessment, where they will be required to demonstrate that you can carry out the duties of an adult care worker in a simulated work environment.
- Support available:
- Experienced Tutors, Coaches & Support Team,
- Dedicated Skills Coach for the duration of your apprenticeship journey,
- Easy onboarding, and induction process,
- Access to free CPD programmes and additional coaching sessions
Why Partner with Exalt?
Focused: Precision in Every Endeavor
We are architects of precision. We sculpt programs with meticulous attention, tailoring each facet to meet precise aims and unique requirements. When we commit, we do so resolutely, sparing no effort to ensure your journey is not just remarkable, but remarkable for you.
Collaborative: A Symphony of Success
Alone, we can accomplish much. Together, we can redefine the boundaries of achievement. Collaboration is not just a buzzword; it’s the harmony that resonates within us. We stand shoulder to shoulder with stakeholders, nurturing mutual aspirations and embracing the extra mile as a testament to our unwavering unity.
Adaptable: Crafting Futures, One Need at a Time
In a world of constant change, we are the chameleons of education. Adapting is not just a choice; it’s in our DNA. From programs to platforms, timetables to personal aspirations, we bend and mold ourselves to accommodate the symphony of your needs, ensuring your growth knows no bounds.
Units Covered in the Apprenticeship
A Oral Health Practitioner must know and understand:
- how to apply the legislation, policies and local ways of working related to your role What person centred care, valid consent, duty of care, safeguarding, diversity, equality and inclusion mean and why they are important
- Relevant dental oral and craniofacial anatomy and physiology and their application to patient management
- The range of normal human structures and functions, with particular reference to dental caries, oral medicine, periodontal disease and dental treatment and how this relates to working in the mouth
- A range of preventative oral and general health procedures used in your role. How to select techniques according to the individual’s need.
- How to adapt your techniques and solve problems to suit individuals with special requirements, within your area of competence
- How to maintain a clinical environment. How to control and prevent infection. The x-rays, photos and records you are required to take and keep
- A range of general health screening activities related to your role and the population you work with eg recognising an abnormality and referring appropriately
- Normal parameters associated with blood pressure and blood sugar levels. How to carry out physiological measurements and what steps to take if results are outside the norm
- How, why and when to take and process finger-prick blood samples.
- Which other services are available in your area, what they provide and how people can access them
- Legislation on prescription-only medicines
- The types of medical emergency that may arise and ways to address them.
- General health systems and be able to review their relationship to oral health using high quality evidence such as research documents
- how to outline the basic principles of population health, including demographic, social, UK and international oral health trends; a range of common risk factors
- Determinants of health inequalities and how they are measured
- Guidelines for best practice including national and local health initiatives
- The needs of different patient groups you work with across the age range including those who are nervous, have learning disabilities, have mental health conditions or phobias, require palliative care or have cognitive impairment such as dementia
- How diet, nutrition and hydration link with systemic and oral health including obesity
- Ways to encourage self-care and motivation
- Behaviour change and the theories that underpin models of learning in individuals and groups to change behaviour
- Theories and concepts of motivational interviewing; different ways to support behaviour change according to whether you are working with an individual (e.g. in dental surgery) or with carers (in schools, homes or care homes) or on a group basis
- A range of methods of communicating with individuals across the age range.
- How to check you have been understood.
- Barriers to communication and a range of ways to overcome them.
- When to refer or escalate if something is outside of your scope of practice
- GDC Guidelines for handling complaints
- The principles relating to evidence-based approaches to learning, clinical and professional practice and decision making; including using a range of sources of evidence.
- The consequences of your actions, attitude and behaviour
- How to assess and reflect upon your own capabilities and limitations
A Oral Health Practitioner must be able to:
- 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
- Apply topical fluoride under prescription in the
- 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.
End Point Assessment (EPA)
Situational Judgement Test
Answered through a multiple-choice exercise (but not necessarily
undertaken as an online or computer-based test).
Professional Discussion
To achieve final certification, the apprentices must have completed and achieved these end-point assessments.
Are You Interested in the Oral Health Practitioner Apprenticeship?
Please call us on 01202 612365 or use the form below to discuss your options.