Dental Administration Certificate

This course provides learners with a range of information, knowledge and skills designed to prepare learners for a variety of administrative roles in the NHS and private dental practice sectors

The objectives of the course are to:

• Develop a broad understanding of the principles of dental administration & reception

• Learn techniques and good practice for dental administration

• Understand the anatomy & physiology of the head and mouth

• Develop knowledge and skills in good hygiene practice

• Learn how to keep and store patient records and maintain confidentiality

• Gain a recognised award from a leading UK awarding body

The course is designed for home study or distance learning and is comprised of comprehensive printed course notes presented in an A4 ring binder, together with course assignments and study guide. Tutor support and a student helpline facility are integral to the course, and students have a full 12 months in which to complete their studies. Actual study time will be of the order of 90-100 hours.

The course is divided up into seven study units, each with one tutor marked assignment to be completed. Each assignment contains approx 8-10 written tasks to be completed which are then submitted to a subject tutor for marking. Where required assignments can be re-submitted after amendment in the event that the assessment standards are not full met on first submission

The course units and topics are as follows:

1: Reception Skills

• General reception skills

• Duties of a Medical Receptionist

• Telephone skills
• Customer service
• Making and recording appointments

2: Office Administration

• Record keeping
• Communications
• Time management

3: Technology

• Typing and keyboard skills
• Microsoft office software
• Common medical software

4: Dental Anatomy & Physiology

• The skull & jaws
• Muscles of mastication
• Nerve supply of jaws and teeth
• Blood supply of jaws and teeth
• Topography of the mouth
• Tooth structure

5: Supporting the Dentist

• Supplies & supply procedures
• Appointment scheduling
• Receiving patients
• Dental abbreviations

6: Hygiene

• The importance of hygiene
• How to maintain hygiene standards
• Cleaning for infection control
• Waste disposal for infection control
• Health care associated infections

7: Confidentiality

• The need for confidentiality
• The legal position
• Best practice
• Other legislation associated with record keeping

This programme is designed for people who wish to gain a recognised award to enable them to begin work or improve their career in dental practice administration roles. It is designed for anyone working or planning to work in general dental practice or health centre occupations and who wish to demonstrate a relevant range of knowledge and job skills.

There are no study pre-requirements as the course is intended for learners who have not studied this topic beforehand. Learners will require access to word-processing and spreadsheet facilities in order to complete the IT unit of the course.

The course is intended for learners following a health care administration career route and is relevant to a variety of administrative roles in general dental practice or health centre.

Certificate of completion

Digital certificate - Included