Program Overview

Dental Diagnostic and Surgical (DDSS) Program

The Dental Diagnostic and Surgical (DDSS) program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in the field of dental diagnostics and surgery.

Course Descriptions

The program includes a range of courses that cover various aspects of dental diagnostics and surgery, including:

• Periodontology 1 (DDSS 1100): A pre-clinical laboratory and didactic course that introduces students to periodontal examination procedures and basic non-surgical periodontal therapy.
• Radiology 1 (DDSS 1110): A series of lectures that introduces students to the elementary principles of dental radiology, radiation physics, radiation biology, imaging techniques, x-ray equipment, and radiation protection.
• Periodontology 2 (DDSS 2100): A basic didactic course that emphasizes diagnosis, classification, treatment, and prevention of different forms of plaque-induced periodontal diseases.
• Radiology 2 (DDSS 2110): A series of lectures that covers the theoretical and practical principles of radiographic interpretation of common oral pathologic conditions.
• Oral Pathology (DDSS 2122): A series of lectures that emphasizes recognition, description, etiopathogenesis, clinical and/or radiographic features, biologic behavior, treatment, and/or management of oral and paraoral conditions.
• Pain and Anxiety Control 1 (DDSS 2130): A series of lectures that introduces students to local anesthetics, local anesthesia techniques, avoidance and management of complications, and selection of appropriate drugs and techniques.
• Periodontology 3 (DDSS 3102): A combined lecture and clinical course that provides experience in applying previous didactic learning to the clinical environment in the field of Periodontology.
• Oral Diagnosis and Radiology 1 (DDSS 3112): A course that includes a lecture component covering history-taking, clinical examination, diagnosis, and treatment of soft and hard tissue lesions, emergency treatment, and dental treatment of patients with systemic disease.
• Pain and Anxiety Control 2 (DDSS 3120): A course that consists of lectures/seminars and clinical experience in physiology of pain, psychology of anxiety, management of medical emergencies, parenteral injections, and therapeutics of the various modalities of pain and anxiety control.
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 1 (DDSS 3132): A course that consists of lectures, seminars, and clinics covering all aspects of oral and maxillofacial surgery with an emphasis on those procedures performed by the general practitioner.
• Medicine (DDSS 3142): Lectures or seminars that describe the basic mechanisms, symptoms, diagnosis, and management of various disease processes included in internal medicine and their dental correlations.
• Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain (DDSS 3152): A course that reviews the foundational clinical sciences in pain biology and function of the masticatory muscles and TMJ.
• Pharmacology and Therapeutics (DDSS 3162): A discussion of the basic pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of actions, doses, and adverse effects of therapeutic agents prescribed and administered by dentists.
• Oral Diagnosis and Radiology 2 (DDSS 4112): A clinical course that provides students with clinical experience in treatment planning, diagnostic techniques, differential diagnosis, emergency treatment, and non-surgical management related to oral pathologic conditions.
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2 (DDSS 4122): A course that consists of lectures, seminars, and clinics covering all aspects of oral and maxillofacial surgery with an emphasis on those procedures performed by the general practitioner.
• Hospital Dentistry (DDSS 4150): A course that provides students with a familiarization with hospital protocol, reinforcement of understanding in medicine, surgery, pharmacology, and therapeutics, and the dental treatment of medically compromised patients at the Health Sciences Centre.

Mutually Exclusive Courses

The following courses are mutually exclusive, meaning that students cannot take both courses:

• DDSS 1100 and DDSS 1020
• DDSS 1110 and DDSS 1140
• DDSS 2100 and DDSS 2120
• DDSS 2110 and DDSS 2180
• DDSS 2122 and DDSS 2010
• DDSS 2130 and DDSS 2020
• DDSS 3102 and DDSS 3220
• DDSS 3112 and DDSS 3200
• DDSS 3120 and DDSS 3230
• DDSS 3132 and DDSS 3210
• DDSS 3142 and DDSS 3030
• DDSS 3152 and DDSS 3190
• DDSS 3162 and ORLB 3060, ORLB 3310, ORLB 3320
• DDSS 4112 and DDSS 4200
• DDSS 4122 and DDSS 4210
• DDSS 4150 and DDSS 4130