About Dental Surgery (d.ch.dent.) in Trinity College Dublin

Special Care Dentistry – Course Director Dr Alison Dougall

The professional doctorate in Special Care Dentistry runs over three years, full time. It is possible for the course to be offered part-time, over five years. In their first year, in addition to modules in the Dublin Dental University Hospital, students follow selected modules as part of the MSc in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, in the School of Psychology in University College Dublin. Clinical rotations take place in the Dublin Dental University Hospital and partner hospitals in Dublin. The teaching and learning will be apportioned broadly as follows: 60% clinical, 40% didactic. The didactic component will include a research dissertation. The total ECTS to be applied to this course is 270 credits of which 90 will be attributed to the research dissertation.

Periodontics – Course Director Dr. Ioannis Polyzois

This course in Periodontology focuses on the management of periodontal conditions and the planning and execution of oral Implant therapy. The course includes didactic and clinical components and provides the basis for continuing professional development after completion of the programme. Students will be instructed in clinical periodontics and Implant Dentistry with emphasis on the scientific basis for treatment. The course has been developed with the intent that it should be recognised for speciality training by the Dental Council of Ireland under the auspices of the relevant advisory committee of the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry. Students will undertake a research project leading to a thesis. The course leads to the award of Doctorate in Dental Surgery (D.Ch.Dent). Publication of clinical and research work is encouraged.

The Graduate programme in Periodontology is one of the 15 Graduate programs in Europe currently approved by the European Federation of Periodontology (accredited since 2007, re-accredited in 2015 until 2023).

Prosthodontics – Course Director Dr Michael O’Sullivan

This programme prepares the student for the clinical practice of prosthodontics at specialist level and provides the basis for continuing professional development after completion of the programme.  Students will thoroughly explore the prosthodontic literature and become competent in the clinical/laboratory aspects of fixed and removable prosthodontics, including dental implantology. Students will learn how to diagnose, plan and execute high quality prosthodontic treatment for a range of patients. They will have the opportunity to use state-of-the-art materials and equipment, including CAD-CAM restorations, computer-aided implant placement and fully adjustable articulators. The course explores the use of high strength ceramics and high-aesthetic situations. The Prosthodontic programme works closely with periodontics, especially in treatment planning for implant patients. In addition, students attend multidisciplinary clinics for the treatment of dental trauma, developmental disorders (including hypodontia) and cancer surgery defects.

Oral Surgery – Course Director Professor Leo Stassen MFD or equivalent is a requirement for entry on this course.  Experience in a hospital setting and in oral surgery is advisable.  Publications in peer review journals are an advantage.  The emphasis will be placed on the practical aspects of Oral Surgery (dentoalveolar surgery, implants, intra-oral soft tissue surgery and bone grafting).  There are strong links with oral medicine, oral pathology and other dental specialties, especially periodontology, prosthodontics and special needs.  There is a very strong component of Conscious Dental Sedation and students undertake the ACLS Course. Oral Surgery is a recognised Dental Speciality in Ireland.   There are strict criteria for entry on the Oral Surgery Specialist Register in Ireland and advice on this is available on the Dental Council website.

Orthodontics

The aim of the D.Ch.Dent. in Orthodontics is to educate dentists to become specialists in orthodontics with a broad academic background and sufficient clinical experience. MFD or equivalent is a requirement for entry to this course. The course follows the guidelines developed by the School of Dental Science, in conjunction with Advisory Committee (AC) in Orthodontics of the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry. It is the intention of this course to develop students' clinical skills in the light of currently available scientific knowledge. Students will undertake a research project leading to a thesis. This research activity should also provide the basis for refereed publication. The course leads to the award of Doctorate in Dental Surgery (D.Ch.Dent) and fulfils the criteria for specialist recognition by the Dental Council of Ireland.

Paediatric Dentistry – Course Director Dr. Anne O’Connell The Paediatric Dentistry Training Programme prepares the student both didactically and clinically to manage the child patient (0-16 years) at specialist level in a variety of settings (clinic, hospital, private practice).  Clinical experience is provided under consultant supervision in the Dublin Dental University Hospital and in two Paediatric Hospitals.  The volume and variety of patients includes healthy children, children with traumatic injuries, children with challenging behaviour, medically compromised children, children with dental anomalies/ syndromes etc. Treatment is provided under local anaesthesia, relative analgesia or general anaesthesia.  Interdisciplinary care is co-ordinated with the other specialty programmes. The programme has six modules.  In addition, the student is required to complete one or more research projects and present at international meetings.  Publication of clinical and research work is encouraged.

Dental Public Health  - Course Director Associate Professor Brett Duane

The professional doctorate in Dental Public Health runs over three years, full time. It is possible for the course to be offered part-time, over five years.  The course has been designed to support the development of an experienced dentist into a dental leader, and role model capable of either managing a large, often complex regional or national dental service, or acting as a consultant to provide health service reviews, and to encourage the development of patient centred evidence based, efficient oral health services. The course is recognised for speciality training by the Dental Council of Ireland under the auspices of the relevant advisory committee of the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry. In addition to a general module in biosciences, research and scientific methods and behavioural sciences, the Dublin Dental University Hospital students will follow selected modules in order to better understand the principles of DPH including the ability to complete a needs assessment and health equity audit of a public health funding service, develop an oral health strategy, evaluate an oral health service, and comprehensive evidence-based oral health promotion programme. The student will become competent at using; information technology skills to gather, analyse and present dental public health data; using dental service quality indicators to protect the public from risk associated with the delivery of dentistry.  Students will undertake a research project leading to a thesis, appraise existing research and develop, deliver and produce research and learn how to support the teaching of dental public at a specialist level.

Academic qualification equivalents

• Hold at least a 2.1 honors degree from an Irish university or equivalent result from a university in another country.

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS:(academic version) 6.5 (no individual band below 6)
• TOEFL : Paper-based 570 (with a TWE score of 4.5)  Computer-based 230 (with a score of 4.5 in essay)  Internet-based 90 (with a written score of 21)
• PTE: Academic a minimum score of 63 (with no Communication Skills section score below 59)

Trinity College Dublin highlight

Trinity College Dublin Cost of Attendance

It is important for all hopefuls who want to attend Trinity to organise their finances well in advance. To help with this, the breakdown of the cost of living in Ireland for college students is as follows:

Tuition Fee

Fee for various courses available at the institute at different levels for the year 2021 is as compiled below.

Cost of Living

The average cost of living is 13,800 USD per annum and is affected majorly by the type of accommodation opted.