| CODE | ORC4036 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Gerodontology 1 | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Oral Rehabilitation and Community Care | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit introduces dental students to the management of elderly patients. It raises awareness of the challenges and barriers that a professional in the dental field will have to overcome when treating elderly patients. The student will be prepared in terms of knowledge, attitudes, ethics and skills, to provide appropriate oral health care for older adults. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to teach the student the complexity of ageing, patient management and the importance of dentistry in total patient care. The student is trained to work as part of a patient management team in the dental clinic as well as in a variety of settings such as day centres for senior citizens and residential homes for the elderly. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the principal demographical characteristics and trends in the aged population. - Discuss physiological and pathological age-related changes. - Discuss common medical conditions in the elderly population. - Explain the impact of the socio-economic status of the elderly with relevance to oral care. - Describe the principles of pharmaco-dynamics and pharmaco-kinetics in the elderly patients. - Discuss drug interactions and their relevance to polypharmacy. - Discuss side effects of drugs and their impact on oral health. - Explain theories of ageing. - Describe the organisation of general and oral health care for the elderly in the community and in the hospitals. - Explain the organisation of domiciliary care. - List the principles of management of geriatric medical conditions. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the chief complaint and the needs and demands of the older patients. - Obtain a thorough general, medical, dental and social history. - Perform intra- and extra-oral examination. - Communicate effectively and share information with all members of the health care team. - Recognise signs of elder abuse and neglect. - Recognise the presence of the major systemic diseases in old age and how they affect the delivery of oral care. - Identify the age-related changes in the oral structures. - Provide oral education and oral hygiene instructions to the older patients. - Provide basic treatment in patients' homes and long-term care settings. - Evaluate the elderly person holistically. - Develop a comprehensive treatment plan. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Textbook of Geriatric Dentistry [Hardcover] Poul Holm-Pedersen (Author), Harald Loe (Author) Publisher: Wiley; 2nd edition (January 30, 1997) ISBN-10: 8716105338. ISBN -13: 978-8716105332 - Geriatric Dentistry. Holm, Pedersen, Harald, Lowe. ISBN: 87-16-09660-6 |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Attendance to scheduled sessions, inclusive of lectures/tutorials, practical, laboratory and clinical components is compulsory. Students who do not attend at least 90% of the scheduled sessions will not be allowed to sit for any of the assessment components mentioned below. | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lectures, Independent Study, Practical & Placement | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Manisha Rahaman Alexander Schembri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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