BACKGROUND

Students enrolled in this program first complete their SFY with SNPS. Students obtaining a minimum GPA. of 1.75 are eligible to do Dental Therapy. Only 15 students can be enrolled due to the availability of dental chairs for training. The statistics show that only a very small proportion of the population is covered by 137 Dental Therapists who are serving a population of 5.11 Million. This reveals the need to increase the quantity and quality of Dental personnel in order to improve and promote the oral health status of all Papua New Guineans. These Dental Therapists form the backbone of delivery of dental care in PNG. They are responsible for delivering primary oral health care such as extractions, fillings, removing tartar and polishing of teeth, and also do dental health education and dental health.

Second Year Dental Therapy
Dental and Health Sciences 1 (2.29801), Applied Clinical Dental Practice 1 (2.29803), and Community Oral Health 1 (2.29802) are Year Long courses, where Civics and Ethics is a Semester One course taught by the Centre for Enrichment Studies.

3rd Year - Final Year Dental Therapy
Dental and Health Sciences II (2.39801), Applied Clinical Dental Practice II (2.39803) and Community Oral Health II (2.39802) are Year Long courses.