Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy

Dental hygiene and dental therapy are two closely related clinical professions whose combined scope of practice covers a significant proportion of the dental care that patients in the UK receive. Dental hygienists focus on preventive care, including scaling and polishing, periodontal treatment, patient education about oral hygiene, and dietary advice. Dental therapists extend this to include fillings, extractions of primary teeth, and the provision of a wider range of direct patient treatments.

Together, dental hygienist-therapists are qualified to provide a broad range of care, freeing dentists to work with more complex cases and helping to improve access to dental services.

At the University of Suffolk you will train to work in both roles across a three-year full-time programme that integrates clinical and academic learning. You will study oral biology, anatomy, and physiology alongside the clinical theory and skills of hygiene and therapy practice, developing proficiency in periodontal treatment, restorative procedures, radiography, local anaesthesia, and the communication skills needed to help patients understand and improve their oral health. Clinical placements in dental practices and other settings provide the supervised hands-on experience that the Oral Health Practitioners qualification requires, ensuring you are fully prepared for practice on graduation.

Graduates are eligible to register with the General Dental Council and to practise as dental hygienist-therapists in NHS and independent dental practices, hospital dental departments, community dental services, and armed forces dentistry. The breadth of the combined qualification is increasingly valued as dental services look for clinicians who can deliver a wider range of care efficiently. Continuing professional development and specialist further training are options for those who want to develop their scope of practice further.