KSBs

Knowledge

K1: The aetiology, pathogenesis and epidemiological trends of oral and dental disease and their application to patient management. Back to Duty

K2: Clinical presentations of oral and dental diseases relevant to that of a dental hygienist and the principles underpinning their diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Back to Duty

K3: Variance in disease presentation across diverse cultural and social groups, and those with protected characteristics, and how this impacts diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Back to Duty

K4: General and systemic diseases and psychological conditions, and their relevance to oral health and impact on clinical treatment, patient compliance, self-care and outcomes. Back to Duty

K5: Relevant and appropriate dental, oral, craniofacial and general anatomy including the diversity of anatomy across the patient population and their relevance to patient management. Back to Duty

K6: Relevant physiology and its application to patient management. Back to Duty

K7: Psychological and sociological concepts and theoretical frameworks of health, illness, behavioural change and disease, and how these can be applied in clinical practice. Back to Duty

K8: Potential routes of transmission of infectious agents in dental practice, mechanisms for the prevention of infection, the scientific principles of decontamination and disinfection and their relevance to health and safety. Back to Duty

K9: The need for effective recorded maintenance and testing of equipment and requirements for appropriate storage, handling and use of materials. Back to Duty

K10: The properties of relevant medicines and therapeutic agents and their application to patient management. Back to Duty

K11: Medicines that may cause adverse effects in patients and the appropriate actions to manage and report. Back to Duty

K12: Commonly used complementary and alternative therapies that may impact on patient management. Back to Duty

K13: The health risks of prescribed, non-prescribed and recreational drug use and misuse on oral and general health and how to provide appropriate advice and support including signposting or referral. Back to Duty

K14: The scientific principles underpinning the use of materials and biomaterials used in dentistry, their limitations and selection. Back to Duty

K15: The scientific principles of medical ionizing radiation and statutory regulations, and their application to clinical practice. Back to Duty

K16: The principles of obtaining valid patient consent. Back to Duty

K17: The importance of each component of the patient assessment process. Back to Duty

K18: The meaning of a prognostic indicator and application of prognostic indicators to a range of clinical situations. Back to Duty

K19: The risks and benefits of treatment under general anaesthesia including patient selection criteria and making referrals. Back to Duty

K20: The risks and benefits of treatment under conscious sedation including patient selection criteria and making referrals. Back to Duty

K21: The components of patient management including risks, benefits, contra-indications and indications. Back to Duty

K22: The risks, benefits, complications of and contra-indications to interventions, non-surgical and surgical. Back to Duty

K23: The signs of abuse, neglect or emotional trauma, local and national systems that safeguard welfare and how to raise concerns and act accordingly. Back to Duty

K24: The principles of preventive care and how to apply as part of a comprehensive personalised treatment plan. Back to Duty

K25: The importance of achieving a healthy oral environment prior to restoration and, or replacement of teeth. Back to Duty

K26: The influence of diet and nutritional status on oral and general health and how to provide appropriate advice and support. Back to Duty

K27: The need for adjunctive chemotherapeutic agents for the management of periodontal conditions in individual patients. Back to Duty

K28: The aetiology and pathogenesis of diseases of the oral and maxillofacial complex. Back to Duty

K29: The importance of early referral for individuals identified as having potential malignancy and tumours. Back to Duty

K30: The significant of normal and abnormal facial growth, physical, mental and dental development milestones. Back to Duty

K31: The roles and organisation of various referral networks, clinical guidelines and policies and local variation. Back to Duty

K32: The need to take responsibility for establishing personal networks with local dental and medical colleagues. Back to Duty

K33: The responsibilities of the dental team as an access point to and from wider healthcare. Back to Duty

K34: The impact of medical and psychological conditions, cultural identity and values in a range of patients and how this can influence patient compliance, self-care and outcomes. Back to Duty

K35: The risks around the clinical environment. Back to Duty

K36: The role of surgical management of periodontal disease. Back to Duty

K37: The conditions or complications that may arise following dental implant therapy. Back to Duty

K38: Communication methods and technologies and their appropriate application in support of clinical practice. Back to Duty

K39: The importance of non-verbal communication, including listening skills, and the barriers to effective communication. Back to Duty

K40: Professional expectations, potential impact, and consequence of using social media as a communication tool. Back to Duty

K41: Responsibilities and limitations of referring to other members of the dental team. Back to Duty

K42: The role and professional responsibilities associated with appraisal, training and review of colleagues, provision of and receipt of effective feedback in the context of developing members of the dental team. Back to Duty

K43: The roles of dental and other healthcare professionals in the context of learning and working in a dental and wider healthcare team. Back to Duty

K44: The contribution that team members and effective team working makes to the delivery of safe and effective high-quality care, including the benefits of working in culturally diverse teams. Back to Duty

K45: The team working guidance provided by the GDC and other relevant bodies. Back to Duty

K46: The impact of Direct Access on own and others’ scope of practice. Back to Duty

K47: The scope of practice of each member of the dental team and how the roles interact for effective teamwork and patient care. Back to Duty

K48: The need to ensure that those who raise concerns are protected from discrimination or other detrimental effects. Back to Duty

K49: The differences between management and leadership. Back to Duty

K50: Own management and leadership role and the range of skills and knowledge required to do this effectively. Back to Duty

K51: How to take responsibility for the quality of services and devices provided to the patient as relevant to your scope of practice. Back to Duty

K52: The importance of contemporaneous, complete and accurate patient records in accordance with legal requirements and best practice. Back to Duty

K53: The legal responsibilities of maintaining and protecting patients’ information. Back to Duty

K54: GDC’s expectations and requirements as set out in regulations and guidance and other relevant laws, ethical guidance and systems in addition to the legal frameworks. Back to Duty

K55: The importance of having appropriate indemnity arrangements in place for both the professional and patient. Back to Duty

K56: The importance of candour and effective communication with patients when things go wrong or when dealing with a complaint. Back to Duty

K57: How and where to report any patient safety issues which arise. Back to Duty

K58: The attributes of professional attitudes and behaviour in all environments and media, including interaction with social media. Back to Duty

K59: The responsibilities of, and mechanisms for raising concerns about your own or others’ health, behaviour or professional performance as described in GDC guidance. Back to Duty

K60: The principles and procedures for good complaints handling. Back to Duty

K61: The responsibility that dental practices and individual practitioners have in compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks. Back to Duty

K62: The meaning of cultural competence and its relevance in assessing the needs and planning care for patients from diverse backgrounds. Back to Duty

K63: Diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination and the underpinning legislation, and how to apply these principles to manage patients with protected characteristics and work within the dental team noting that this legislation may differ in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Back to Duty

K64: The basic principles of a population health approach including demographic and social trends, UK and international oral health trends, determinants of health and inequalities in health, and the ways in which these are measured and current patterns. Back to Duty

K65: The dental and wider healthcare systems dental professionals work within including local and national health policy and organisation, delivery of healthcare and equity. Back to Duty

K66: The principles of planning oral health care for communities to meet needs and demands. Back to Duty

K67: The principles and limitations of the currently available options for funding of dental healthcare provision for individual patients. Back to Duty

K68: The ethical challenges associated with providing patient care within the current dental healthcare systems. Back to Duty

K69: Considerations for the management of resources in provision of care decisions including appropriate use of primary and secondary care networks. Back to Duty

K70: The importance of collaboration across the health and social care sector for the benefit of communities and individual patients. Back to Duty

K71: The barriers and challenges which prevent sections of the population accessing oral healthcare, including patients from marginalised populations and patients with protected characteristics. Back to Duty

K72: The main principles relating to sustainable oral health care, and the challenges and barriers to implementing a sustainable approach. Back to Duty

K73: The meaning of insight in the context of professional practice. Back to Duty

K74: The importance of insight in ensuring safe and effective patient care, and to personal development. Back to Duty

K75: The principles of an evidence-based approach. Back to Duty

K76: Models for self-reflection and how this process can be used to inform personal development, viewpoint, preconceptions, bias and behaviour. Back to Duty

K77: The importance of assessment, feedback, critical reflection, identification of learning needs and appraisal in personal development planning. Back to Duty

K78: The importance and requirement for commitment to lifelong learning. Back to Duty

K79: The principles of personal development planning, recording of evidence, and reflective practice. Back to Duty

K80: Opportunities for improvement of a clinical service or to manage and mitigate risks. Back to Duty

K81: Ways of self-monitoring, self-care and routes of seeking appropriate advice in terms of personal wellbeing. Back to Duty

K82: Strategies to identify and manage the personal and emotional challenges of work, teamwork and workload. Back to Duty

K83: Strategies to identify and manage the personal and emotional challenges of uncertainty and change. Back to Duty

K84: The role of coping strategies for practice, such as reflection, self-acceptance, debriefing, handing over to another colleague, peer support and asking for help in responding to challenges and setbacks. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Adopt an evidence-based approach to clinical practice. Back to Duty

S2: Underpin all patient care with a preventive approach, which takes account of patient compliance and self-care, to contribute to the patient’s long-term oral and general health. Back to Duty

S3: Take account of and explain to the patient the impact of their periodontal health, including compliance with oral healthcare advice, potential effect on general health and the need for self-care in the overall treatment plan and how this influences their treatment outcome. Back to Duty

S4: Identify potential malignancy and tumours. Back to Duty

S5: Identify the signs of normal and abnormal facial growth, physical, mental and dental development. Back to Duty

S6: Obtain, record and interpret a comprehensive and contemporaneous patient history, taking into account social and, or cultural sensitivities. Back to Duty

S7: Undertake an appropriate systematic intra- and extra- oral clinical examination. Back to Duty

S8: Assess patients’ levels of anxiety, experience and expectations in respect of dental care and oral health. Back to Duty

S9: Appropriately prescribe and, or interpret the findings of clinical investigations. Back to Duty

S10: Undertake relevant special investigations and diagnostic procedures, including radiography. Back to Duty

S11: Synthesise the full results of the patient’s assessment and make clinical judgements taking into account patient compliance, values, cultural identity and self-care. Back to Duty

S12: Formulate a differential diagnosis or diagnoses and from there a definitive diagnosis. Back to Duty

S13: Formulate a personalised treatment plan, synthesising patient assessment, diagnostic data, prognosis and shared decision making. Back to Duty

S14: Obtain valid consent from patients explaining all the relevant factors and taking into account the legal requirements where appropriate within scope of practice. Back to Duty

S15: Assess own capabilities and limitations and refer patients for specialist treatment or advice when and where appropriate. Back to Duty

S16: Identify and manage the impact of medical and psychological conditions in a range of patients and determine how this can influence patient compliance, self-care and outcomes, taking into account the patient’s cultural identity and values. Back to Duty

S17: Prevent, diagnose, and manage patient anxiety appropriately, effectively, and safely. Back to Duty

S18: Prevent, diagnose, and manage patient pain appropriately, effectively, and safely. Back to Duty

S19: Safely and appropriately prescribe and administer medicines and therapeutic agents. Back to Duty

S20: Monitor and review treatment outcomes and patient response to advice, providing aftercare, follow-up and ongoing preventive advice and intervention. Back to Duty

S21: Identify the risks around the clinical environment and manage these in a safe and effective manner. Back to Duty

S22: Implement, perform, and manage effective decontamination and infection control procedures according to current guidelines. Back to Duty

S23: Identify, assess and manage medical emergencies. Back to Duty

S24: Manage patients’ acute oral conditions ensuring involvement of appropriate dental team members. Back to Duty

S25: Manage and review the application of preventive treatments, intervention, advice and instruction. Back to Duty

S26: Provide patients and carers with comprehensive, personalised preventive advice, instruction and intervention in a manner which is accessible, promotes self-care and motivates patients and carers to comply with advice and take responsibility to maintain and improve oral health. Back to Duty

S27: Assess and manage the health of periodontal and soft tissues taking into account risk, lifestyle factors, plaque control, self-care and compliance and response to advice. Back to Duty

S28: Undertake non-surgical treatments to remove hard and soft deposits and stains using a range of methods. Back to Duty

S29: Monitor and record changes in periodontal health using appropriate methods. Back to Duty

S30: Apply antimicrobials where appropriate to manage periodontal diseases. Back to Duty

S31: Manage the health of peri-implant tissues. Back to Duty

S32: Assess and manage tooth wear. Back to Duty

S33: Create an oral environment where restoration or replacement of the tooth is viable. Back to Duty

S34: Place temporary dressings and re-cement temporary crowns with a temporary cement. Back to Duty

S35: Communicate with care, compassion empathy and respect in all professional interactions with patients, their representatives, the public and colleagues. Back to Duty

S36: Communicate effectively and sensitively, tailoring to context, by spoken, written and electronic means with all patients, including patients whose first language is not English, using representatives or interpreters where necessary, in relation to patients with anxious or challenging behaviour or special considerations such as emotional trauma, difficult circumstances, such as breaking bad news, or discussing issues such as alcohol consumption, smoking or diet. Back to Duty

S37: Communicate effectively and sensitively by spoken, written and electronic means with the public. Back to Duty

S38: Communicate effectively by spoken, written and electronic means with colleagues from dental and other healthcare professions in patients’ best interests in relation to the direct care of individual patients, oral health promotion, raising concerns when problems arise, including where patients cause distress to staff. Back to Duty

S39: Respect the roles of dental and other healthcare professionals in the context of learning and working in a dental and wider healthcare team. Back to Duty

S40: Demonstrate effective team working. Back to Duty

S41: Contribute to their team in providing dental care for patients. Back to Duty

S42: Take a patient-centred approach to working with the dental and wider healthcare team. Back to Duty

S43: Where appropriate manage and refer or delegate work according to the scope of practice of the dental team, in line with competence and professional practice. Back to Duty

S44: Use appropriate methods to provide accurate, clear and comprehensive information when referring patients to other dental and healthcare professionals. Back to Duty

S45: Communicate appropriately and effectively in professional discussions and transactions with other sectors. Back to Duty

S46: Give feedback effectively to other members of the team. Back to Duty

S47: Raise concerns where appropriate about your own or others’ health, behaviour or professional performance. Back to Duty

S48: Comply with systems and processes to support safe patient care. Back to Duty

S49: Act in accordance with current best practice guidelines. Back to Duty

S50: Act in accordance with national and local clinical governance and health and safety requirements. Back to Duty

S51: Act within the legal frameworks which inform personal behaviour, the delivery of healthcare and the protection and promotion of the health of individual patients. Back to Duty

S52: Maintain contemporaneous, complete and accurate patient records in accordance with legal requirements and best practice. Back to Duty

S53: Act with integrity and ensure your actions maintain the trust of colleagues, patients, and the public in you, your team, and the profession across all environments and media. Back to Duty

S54: Demonstrate personal accountability to patients, the regulator, the team and wider community. Back to Duty

S55: Work in partnership with colleagues to develop and maintain an effective and supportive environment which promotes the safety and wellbeing of the patient and dental team. Back to Duty

S56: Where appropriate lead, manage and take professional responsibility for the actions of colleagues and other members of the team involved in patient care. Back to Duty

S57: Treat your patients, members of the public and your colleagues with dignity and respect and without discrimination. Back to Duty

S58: Support patients to make informed decisions about their care, making their interests your first concern. Back to Duty

S59: Demonstrate cultural competence, accepting and respecting the diversity of patients and colleagues. Back to Duty

S60: Provide the best possible outcome for your patients by using your knowledge and skills, acting as an advocate for their needs where appropriate. Back to Duty

S61: Speak up to protect others from harm. Back to Duty

S62: Proactively address discriminatory language and behaviour and microaggressions from colleagues, patients and other professionals. Back to Duty

S63: Contribute positively to the healthcare communities of which they are a part of. Back to Duty

S64: Evaluate the role of health promotion in terms of the changing environment, community and individual behaviours to deliver health gain. Back to Duty

S65: Evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based prevention at a community and or population level. Back to Duty

S66: Support patients to negotiate the barriers and challenges which prevent sections of the population accessing oral healthcare, including patients from marginalised populations and patients with protected characteristics. Back to Duty

S67: Evaluate and apply the evidence base in relation to the environmental impacts of common treatment methods and approaches to the delivery of oral healthcare. Back to Duty

S68: Evaluate an evidence base. Back to Duty

S69: Accurately assess their own capabilities and limitations in the interest of high-quality patient care and seek advice from supervisors or colleagues where appropriate. Back to Duty

S70: Recognise personal assumptions, biases and prejudices and manage the impact of these on patient care and professional behaviour with colleagues, patients and wider society. Back to Duty

S71: Recognise the impact of contextual factors on the health care environment and manage this professionally. Back to Duty

S72: Demonstrate own professional responsibility in the development of self. Back to Duty

S73: Develop and maintain professional knowledge and competence. Back to Duty

S74: Demonstrate appropriate continuous improvement activities. Back to Duty

S75: Critically appraise approaches to dental research and explain how to integrate the outcomes with patient care. Back to Duty

S76: Evaluate the impact of new techniques and technologies in clinical practice. Back to Duty

S77: Utilise the receipt of effective feedback in the professional development of self. Back to Duty

S78: Undertake personal development planning, recording of evidence and reflective practice. Back to Duty

S79: Demonstrate engagement with systems and personal strategies which promote and maintain well-being. Back to Duty

S80: Recognise when and how to take action if well-being is compromised to a point of affecting an individual’s role or professional relationships. Back to Duty

S81: Effectively manage their own time and resources. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Compassionate professional behaviour and professional responsibilities making sure the fundamental needs of patients and carers are addressed. Back to Duty

B2: Act with integrity, be polite, considerate, trustworthy, conscientious and honest. Back to Duty

B3: Take personal and professional responsibility for their actions. Back to Duty

B4: Manage time and prioritise effectively. Back to Duty

B5: Be open and honest in their interactions with patients, carers, colleagues and employers when things go wrong, known as the professional duty of candour. Back to Duty

B6: Respect patients’ wishes about whether they wish to participate in the education of learners. Back to Duty

B7: Uphold the General Dental Council Standards for The Dental Team (2013). Back to Duty

B8: Willingness to learn, and be proactive in progressing in your own development. Back to Duty

Qualifications

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.

Other mandatory qualifications

BSc Dental Hygiene

Level: 6 (integrated degree)

Professional recognition

This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:

• General Dental Council for Dental Hygienist

Additional details

Regulated standard

This is a regulated occupation.

Regulator body:

General Dental Council

Training Provider must be approved by regulator body

EPAO must be approved by regulator body

Occupational Level:

6

Duration (months):

36

Review

this apprenticeship will be reviewed in accordance with our change request policy.