After having completed the course and the practical training, the candidate is expected to be able to take responsibility for the population¿s oral health and be able to practise dentistry in accordance with relevant odontological knowledge, the population¿s needs, wishes and expectances, and in accordance with current legislation, regulations and financial constraints.

Knowledge

The candidate should be able to explain:

• the epidemiological situation for the most important oral diseases/conditions and their determinants
• simple statistics and other methods used in community dentistry research
• the objectives, organisation, resources and function of the health and social sectors
• different models for dental care/health-promoting and disease-preventing activities, how dental care programmes can be planned and evaluated
• health behaviour and motivation, including the criteria for influence leading to a change in attitudes and behaviour
• the objectives, organisation, resources and function of the dental health service
• current health legislation, national insurance and social services, quality assurance and social and ethical norms

Skills

The candidate should be able to:

• use basic knowledge of statistics and research methods to critically evaluate specialist community dentistry literature
• use simple statistics and research methods in the analysis, planning and evaluation of dental health services
• evaluate the objectives, organisation, resources and function of the dental health service
• describe the use of different strategies in health-promoting and disease-preventing work
• communicate and cooperate with personnel in the dental, health and social sectors as well as with administrative bodies, the population and its elected representatives about dental health matters

Attitudes

The candidate should:

• have developed positive attitudes towards measures to protect or improve the oral health of the individual and/or the population
• recognise that knowledge must be maintained and renewed

Community dentistry deals with the oral health situation and dentistry as a group phenomenon, on a scientific basis and in a social perspective. Important topics are epidemiology with research methodology and applied statistics, demography, health-promoting and disease-preventing activities, health, social and dental services, and legislation, management and administration studies.

The subject area is responsible for the preparation, execution, modification and evaluation of the practical training.