The Department of Dentistry and Oral Health have been given the green light to offer the new professional Bachelor's degree programme in clinical dental technology from September 2022. However, the department has decided to postpone the commencement of studies for a year to ensure the degree programme’s quality.

2021.11.04 | Lise Wendel Eriksen

The new professional Bachelor's degree programme in clinical dental technology postpones the first new admissions until 2023. Photo: Jesper Rais, AU Foto

"We have decided to postpone the commencement of studies for the new professional Bachelor's degree in clinical dental technology until 2023. We’ve made this decision to ensure that we have sufficient time to develop and plan in detail a degree programme of the very highest quality," says Helle Hornhaver.

She is the current project manager on the working group at the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health who have been working in recent years to restructure the two-year academy profession degree programme in clinical dental technology as a 3.5 year professional Bachelor's degree.

There has long been a desire on the part of both employers and professionals in the field to give the clinical dental technology degree programme an academic boost. Also, increased technical and academic demands are being made of clinical dental technicians, as they work with complex patient groups, while having to remain up-to-date with rapid technological developments and ensure patient safety.

We do not want to rush our final sprint

After several years of preparation at the department, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science approved the new professional Bachelor's degree programme in December 2020, and gave Aarhus University permission to admit students from September 2022. However, the department has deliberately decided to slow the pace of the final sprint – also because the period with the coronavirus has required an extraordinary effort by both staff and students.

"By waiting until 2023 with the first new admissions, we avoid having the current and the new degree programmes, which are on two different levels, running simultaneously. This gives us time for the final planning and for the necessary competency development of the teaching staff who need upskilling," explains Helle Hornhaver and elaborates:

"We are the only ones in Denmark who can offer our students a professional Bachelor's degree in clinical dental technology, and we owe it to everyone – employees, current and future students and the entire academic environment – to do this work properly."

Read the article ”Academic boost: Clinical dental technician will now be a professional Bachelor's degree programme”

About clinical dental technicians

• Clinical dental technicians use removable prostheses to treat patients who have lost most or all of their teeth.
• The treatment takes place in close collaboration with dentists.
• Clinical dental technicians are authorised healthcare professionals and may have their own clinic or be employed in private or public dental clinics.

Contact

Dentist, continuing and further education coordinator Helle Hornhaver
Aarhus University, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health
Email: hornhaver@dent.au.dk
Mobile: (+45) 2899 2279