About this Course

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The mouth is the window into human health.  This course provides an overview of dental medicine to engage, educate, excite and assist you in improving the oral health of your patients and members of your community. We will review topics in dental medicine including scope of the field, what to expect in function, and some of the many ways that dysfunction may present for different patients. This will include discussions of mouth, jaw, and tooth anatomy, pathology, and treatment. We will talk about differences between patients and the unique roles that different members of the dental field may play in treatment depending on the patient and condition. This course starts from basic concepts and proceeds to review trends in current research and technology. We offer scientific background, some skills for patient evaluation and interview, and some suggestions for further learning for those interested in or involved in dental education.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.76/5 (320 Ratings)

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(5,322 ratings)

Week

1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Week 1 - Introduction to Dental Medicine and Its Relations to Public Health

In this course, you will learn about basic dental anatomy, how to evaluate a patient, and the causes and impact of oral diseases. We will use case examples and live demonstrations with patients to illustrate these points. Please note that some lectures in this course contain graphic medical images, including illustrations of the human body, oral cavity, early development, and photographs of medical conditions and deformities. Discretion is advised. The materials in this course are intended for education purposes only and are not intended to serve as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of your dentist, physician, or other qualified health professional if you have any questions related to this material and its relevance to your health or that of someone else. Week 1 is your introduction to dental medicine! This includes oral health's relation to general health, sources of infection, modern technology in dentistry, and the public health impact of dental medicine. Let's get started!

1 hour to complete

8 videos (Total 52 min)

8 videos

Course Introduction4m

Lecture 1: Goals of the Course (2min)2m

Lecture 2: Oral Health Related to General Health: Oral Cavity Tissue (9min)8m

Lecture 3: Modern Scope of Dental Medicine (2min)2m

Lecture 4: Educational Opportunities in Dental Medicine (7min)7m

Lecture 5: Public Health Impact of Dental Medicine (5min)5m

Lecture 6: Dental Public Health (10min)10m

Lecture 7: Advances in Dentistry (10min)10m

1 practice exercise

Week 1 quiz30m

Week

2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Week 2 - Form and Function of the Oral Cavity

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 40 min)

Week

3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Week 3 - Comprehensive Evaluation of Dental Patient Needs

2 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 64 min)

8 videos

Lecture 1: First Dental Appointment (13min)13m

Lecture 2: Dental Local Anesthesia (4min)4m

Lecture 3: Comprehensive Patient Evaluation (14min)14m

Demo 1: Physical Examination: Introduction (3min)3m

Demo 2: Physical Examination: Extraoral Examination: Head, Neck and Face (4min)4m

Demo 3: Physical Examination: Extraoral Examination: Cranial Nerve (10min)9m

Demo 4: Physical Examination: Extraoral Examination: TMJ (5min)5m

Demo 5: Physical Examination: Intraoral Examination (9min)8m

1 practice exercise

Week 3 quiz30m

Week

4

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Week 4 - Most Common Dental Diseases Affecting Teeth and Periodontium

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 38 min)

Week

5

Week 5

1 hour to complete

Week 5 - Oral Mucosal Conditions: Diagnosis and Management

Possible oral and mucosal conditions include anomalies, ulcers, cancer and associated diseases. Some of these conditions have localized or idiopathic etiology; others are manifestations of systemic diseases of the body. Many times these oral conditions appear as the initial symptom of a systemic disease. The management of such conditions often involves an interdisciplinary approach to management involving the patient's dentist, physician, and medical specialists.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 24 min)

Week

6

Week 6

2 hours to complete

Week 6 - The Science of Pain Affecting the Intraoral and Extraoral Structures

These modules address oral and facial pain from common conditions to rare ones, including an exploration of the psychological aspects of oral and facial pain. Dental pain can originate not only from diseased dentition, but also from various disorders affecting the TMJ, nerves, soft and hard tissue infections and other sources. Dental pain can have underlying psychosocial etiology as well, and the diagnosis in such cases can be challenging.

2 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 100 min)

10 videos

Lecture 1: Introduction to Orofacial Pain (8min)8m

Lecture 2: Biopsychosocial / Biobehavioral Aspects of Orofacial Pain (7min)7m

Lecture 3: Common Orofacial Pain Conditions: Temporomandibular Disorders (13min)13m

Lecture 4: Common Orofacial Pain Conditions: Articular Disc Disorders and Arthritic Conditions (14min)13m

Lecture 5: Imaging and Management of TMDs (7min)6m

Lecture 6: Trigeminal Neuralgia (11min)10m

Lecture 7: Persistent Idiopathic Facial Pain (11min)10m

Lecture 8: Oral Cavity Health Part 1 (9min)9m

Lecture 9: Oral Cavity Health Part 2 (9min)9m

Lecture 10: Oral Cavity Health Part 3 (9min)9m

1 practice exercise

Week 6 quiz30m

Week

7

Week 7

2 hours to complete

Week 7 - Overview of Dental Specialties: Scope and Modalities of Treatment

2 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 59 min)

Reviews

4.8

317 reviews

5 stars
87.39%
4 stars
10.38%
3 stars
1.60%
2 stars
0.30%
1 star
0.30%

TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO DENTAL MEDICINE

by SSApr 23, 2018

Thank you so much for offering this informative, modern course. The information this course has to offer is invaluable and a great asset to anyone interested in dentistry.

by TDSep 1, 2020

Excellent overview of the fundamentals of dentistry. This course gave me a great introduction into dental medicine and has helped me understand better the very basics from each module.

by NDNov 28, 2016

Great overview of issues encompassing the patient assessment and management in the general dental practice underpinned by theoretical basis of health and disease supported by the latest evidence .

by MRJun 2, 2020

Loved the class! The quizzes in the videos were very useful to catch up the information. I feel more confident now in choosing the dental specialty I want to pursue in the future.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Introduction to Dental Medicine