At the University of Liverpool (UoL), dental students and therapy students study together collaboratively in an integrated course. All students complete a three-year Collaborative Learning Core (CLC) after which therapy students graduate, and dental students proceed for a further 2 years alone.

The course is designed to build mutual respect, help students understand the importance of both roles and prepare them for collaborative working after graduation.

We spoke to dental students, Sam Dhir, Libby Brown and Eesha Patel, alongside dental therapy students, Lily Robson and Millie Green, to understand how they find studying and working together to develop their skills and what challenges, if any, they face.

Did the combined course influence your decision to apply to the University of Liverpool?

LR - Yeah, it did a bit. When you apply to dental schools for therapy, you can apply to five - it was definitely something that stuck out for me. Mainly, as no other University really does this, and the idea of working with people on the BDS course as well, I was really open to that. I really wanted to because in practice, you will be working with dentists, hygienists and nurses.

MG – No, it didn't really affect why I wanted to come. I've always wanted to live in Liverpool. I didn't really know much about the collaborative curriculum when I was applying. I think that it was just a bonus. Knowing what I know now about it, it would have made me probably want to come more.

SD - I can add to that. I think when we're applying and we learn about the importance of multidisciplinary teams, and because we get to work with each other, it's the most realistic way to experience it. When we are practising in the big world, we're all going to be working together collaboratively, so to get that exposure early is really good.

LB – I completely agree with Sam. I feel like the collaborative learning core that we've got, there's a lot of emphasis on prevention and preventative dentistry. So, I think that's a really important thing to take into practice in the future.

How do you think studying together as future dentists and therapists has changed your perspective on oral health care?

EP - The respect you get from both roles. You get to know the scope of practice, and obviously, in future and practice, if you want to hand over things to the therapist, or the therapist needs to know what to refer to the dentist, it is helpful.

SD - I think it's really helpful because you get to see each other's scopes and work alongside each other. It helps when we talk about holistic care with treatment plans - working alongside each other to understand what each other can do to make the patient care the best we possibly can.

MG - I’d use that word ‘collaboration’ as well. You see how much shared responsibility it is and how it's not just ‘a dentist’ and ‘a therapist’. You're closer together than I initially thought. Again, collaboration is key and knowing when to refer makes it a lot clearer because we work so closely together.

How integrated are dental and dental therapy students in day-to-day teaching?

SD - I would love to start. I think that the way the school teaches, everything's completely integrated, which I think is the best way to learn. We have our lectures all together. We have clinics all together. When we're practising before clinic on something we call OSS, where we're on the Phantom heads, everyone's interconnected. So, we're learning alongside each other. I think it is a really good way of learning because we feel like we're together, as part of a team, rather than separately learning.

MG - I would add on to that and just say that until the third year, you are treated the exact same! You're all under the scope of the therapist until after third year and it wasn't until the start of this year that you knew who the therapists are. That is how integrated it is. You genuinely don't know who's a therapist and who's not!

LB - I think there's no need for it to be separate as well if it’s the same course. It works really well.

Have there been any challenges in studying alongside each other?

SD - It's quite rare for it not to work. The only thing I can think of is that during our first three years, when we are treating the patient, they might need a prescription. Whether that's a fluoride varnish or antibiotics, obviously, we can't prescribe. So maybe there's a small delay when we have to ensure there’s a dentist who can write the prescription for us.

MG - Yeah, I completely agree with that. I think between the students, there's such a mutual respect. There's never been any problems. It is also good that we are supervised in the clinics by different members of the dental team; however, there can be a minor issue with this when addressing items out of their scope of practice.

What are the biggest advantages of training together?

LB - I think the biggest advantage is knowing your scope. This is a big thing in practice. I feel like, because of the way the course is structured and how we learn the whole of dental therapy before focusing on dentistry, you know when to refer. When we have questions or exams, we’ll know what’s within our scope to begin as we’ve done it for so many years.

LR - Yeah, I think what is actually one of the biggest advantages of this course is that even though you might be only on the three-year course, when you're in the clinic, you can assist any year. So that means that you could be assisting someone who is, for example, making dentures. And, although you'll never do that yourself, you see that process and what goes into it. Even though it's outside your scope, that's really, really helpful.

MG - Learning the advantages of teamwork really early on and seeing how everything is a shared responsibility. Knowing when to pass things on, knowing what your colleagues can do that you can't do or what patients might come in with, that you’ll then need to refer, so it’s nice to have a background knowledge of it.

Can you share an experience or project you’ve worked on together that really showcased the benefits of your collaboration?

EP - I can start on this and it's not necessarily a project, but every patient we have, obviously, as a therapist, there are some things outside of their scope. And at Liverpool, we've got something called a shared care plan. So, if you have a patient and let's say, for example, I'm in my second year, so I can't do dentures. If my patient needed a denture, I could refer them to an older year and then me, and for example, Sam, we both take care of the same patient and see them every few weeks. We're both seeing the same patient, I think that really showcases the benefits of collaboration. The patient doesn't have to wait to see someone for a denture; they can be seen by two students at the same time and work together. I'm focusing on preventative, and then Sam would be focusing on the dentures. So, I think that's a really good thing that Liverpool does.

MG - I think in terms of what we get from our sessions as well, that's really useful because Sam's getting what he needs from the denture and then we’re getting what we need from the Perio side of it. It means that you're getting specifically what you need from individual patients.

In what ways do you think your collaboration improves patient care and outcomes in a dental setting?

EP - I think time. Let's say a patient needs a splint because they're grinding their teeth. That takes time. Whereas at the school, let's say the first year you're not taught that, I can refer them, and they can get seen. It just speeds things up for the patient.

MG - I would say something similar about the efficiency of patient care. This keeps it all very well coordinated and ensures that the care continues and overlaps. And so do the notes; they know exactly what they're picking up and what's already been done. For example, the prevention stuff isn't redone again with the new dentist instead of the therapist, and it makes things run smoother and quicker.

How do you feel the mixed learning environment has prepared you for working in a dental practice?

LR - I think it's really good because it almost emulates what it would be like in real practice. For example, a dentist wouldn't necessarily be seeing someone that a hygienist could be seeing, like a scale or polish. It would be, “go see the hygienist”, instead. Having that shared care policy in the hospital implemented already during dental school and during this course really prepares you for what you're going to be doing in real life.

LB – It’s a good way to understand the scope of practice. You get to see stuff that you wouldn't necessarily see. If it's a therapy student, you would get to watch an older student doing a crown prep or denture. So, it gives you a better understanding, and I think in the long run, that gives you better team working skills to prepare you for the big, wide world.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your joint studies that you’ll carry into your professional careers?

SD - I think it's how thorough we do things at the hospital; we do everything for an exact reason. It's never guesswork. Although dentistry is not black and white, and there's never a clear answer sometimes, the choices that we make when we're treating patients are for a certain reason. That's something we'll carry through when we're practising because we've got to do stuff in the patient's best interest. One of the GDC principles!

MG - For me, with it being a joint curriculum, I will take away what each member of the team brings to the patient's care. So again, speaking of scopes, knowing them really clearly and knowing just what each individual team member can do for the patient.

LR - The biggest thing is how vital every single member of the dental team is; therapists, hygienists, nurses, people who specialise in oral med, and oral surgery. It's just so important, they're completely needed and you know that going out into practice.

What’s been your most memorable moment on the course so far?

MG - So mine literally was this week - I did my first extraction under GA, and it was just amazing! I think that moment will stick with me throughout the rest of my career, and it's been my favourite moment on the course so far. The fact that we get to do that as an undergraduate within the hospital is amazing.

EP - I'd say mine so far is probably seeing my first patient. It was obviously very nerve-wracking, but I think as a first year, it's something you obviously remember for the rest of your time at dental school. I still see him now, and he's lovely.

SD - One that comes to mind straight away is one of my patients who came in with severe stage four Grade C periodontitis, 97% bone loss on an incisor. There was a lot going on dental-wise, but then patient-wise, she suffered from depression. And before I even spoke to her, the first time seeing her, she just burst into tears, so the patient management took quite a while to get to know her. I spent time just trying to take it slow, building rapport with her to make her feel comfortable coming to the dentist, which she's been scared of since a child. I saw her over a year, and by the end, before her treatment plan was complete, she was so happy that she said, “I love coming to the dentist and it's one place I feel like I can actually unwind and relax”. So, for me, looking at the whole journey, that was very special and rewarding.

LB - I'm going to go on a similar route. When I did my first filling a couple of years ago, and again, similar to Sam, it's nice to know that you can help someone. My patient was very scared of the dentist from a young age, and to know that you can give someone some confidence back about coming to the dentist, it also gives you confidence in yourself. It feels very rewarding.

LR - You remember your “firsts” for everything. For example, on Friday, I did my first PMC on a paediatric patient, and he was on the autistic spectrum, and he didn't like the feel of the gauze in his mouth. He ended up biting me by accident, so that will always stick out in my mind.

If you had to swap roles for a day — dental student becoming therapist or therapist becoming dentist — what would you look forward to and what would you be worried about?

LR – Dentures. I'd be so scared of doing a denture. They look so complicated.

SD - Yeah, way more complicated than I thought. There's a lot of physics in them, and they take so much planning.

LB - So much time and so many stages. It's a lot of back and forth as well. So, there’s a chance for it to go wrong. I'd say for me, in terms of becoming a dentist, the thing that would worry me would also excite me is having your own authority. People trust you and your decisions, and I think that, as scary as that is, it’s also rewarding.

MG - I would say if I were to become a dentist for a day, it would be having the authority over the rest of the practice. People working under my scope and having the final say, that it's my knowledge that has to be good enough to make that final decision.

EP - It's not completely related to the question, but as dental students, if each of us were to like swap roles, it's nice to appreciate that you're both experiencing the same stresses and worries. It's nice to have a shared concern with other dental students, and you can all speak about worries that you're having. Especially speaking to an older year if I’m worried, as we collaborate together.

What are you most excited about when you prepare to work after qualifying?

EP - I think personally it's having that experience already working in the team. It means you understand how, in practice, a nurse would feel. And it’s quite exciting because you’re doing that in real life.

SD - I think for me, we have responsibility now, but we only treat a maximum of 2 patients in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. But I think it's going to have a bigger impact on patients’ lives because in practice, you're going to be treating maybe 20 to 40 patients a day. It’s a lot more responsibility, but I’m looking forward to that.

MG - Just excited to put everything I've learned into practice and having that independence to do it by myself.

LR - Yeah, having that independence. Like when you're in practice and it's like, OK, these are 100% your patients, you design their care, and you carry out that care. I’m looking forward to start doing that.

The DDU is here for you as a student and throughout your dental career. Visit the join DDU pages to explore the benefits of membership now and beyond graduation.

Need help? Contact us

Student members can contact our dento-legal advisers for support or call us on 0800 374 626 between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday

How dental students and therapists benefit from studying together

Libby Brown

Related articles

Membership in your pocket