Dental Therapist

A Dental Therapist is a highly trained member of the dental team who provides much of the routine care that many people might associate with a dentist. Treatments that they may deliver include simple fillings for children and adults, take xrays and offer the full range of oral health promoting and periodontal treatments that can be provided by a Dental Hygienist. Dental Therapists can prescribe and deliver treatments to patients where this falls within their scope of practice.

Dental Therapists may work in high street dental practices and are often employed by NHS health boards. Dental Therapists require to be registered with the GDC.

There are currently four university training centres for studying dental therapy in Scotland. The two delivery models are a 3-year BSc (Oral Health Science) and a 4-year BSc (Honours) (Oral Health Science); SCQF Level 9 and 10).

• Oral Health Science | Glasgow Caledonian University | Scotland, UK (gcu.ac.uk)
• BSc (Hons) in Oral Health Sciences | Edinburgh Dental Institute