Diploma in Special Care Dentistry - Part B

1. Successful completion of Part A of the DSCD. Please note that the College will consider equivalence for Part A where a candidate has completed another Certficate, Diploma or Masters in Special Care Dentistry

2. Satisfactory completion of supervised experience in the field of special care dentistry.

• This must be a minimum period of two years full-time or equivalent part-time Special Care Dentistry experience over a maximum period of five years. The experience must have been gained within five years prior to sitting Part B of the exam.
• Evidence will be accepted from current or previous employers, or from the relevant tutor supervising the education.

3. In order to assess your eligibility for Part B, you must submit to the Examinations Department two copies of:

• Proof of two years continuing professional development (CPD), including Special Care Dentistry related CPD.
• A summary sheet should be submitted in addition to copies of original certificates – this should include your candidate number. The summary will be verified by the examination department before forwarding to the examiners for review.
• Log Diary – record of patients seen within a six-month period who fall into the category of special care dentistry. The minimum number acceptable within the log diary is 75 patients.

The breadth of experience in Special Care Dentistry should be demonstrated by inclusion of patients from the following 6 domains:

1. Learning Disability
2. Physical Disability / Sensory Impairment
3. Care of Older Persons
4. Medically compromised
5. Mental Health Conditions (including alcohol and substance abuse)
6. Dental Anxiety / Behavioural Management

• Treatment settings (such as community, hospital, residential, domiciliary), and modalities used (such as behavioural management, local anaesthesia, sedation or general anaesthesia) should be stated.

A summary page should be attached to the front of the logbook with the following information:

• I. Number of patients seen within each of the 6 domains above
• II. Number of patients seen using the treatment modalities above

The Log Diary should come with internal verification to confirm the authenticity of your work, i.e. the signature of your director or manager. This must be submitted at least eight weeks before you intend to apply for Part B.

You will receive a feedback form from the College, which will inform you whether or not the submitted evidence is satisfactory. If satisfactory across all the eligibility requirements (1-3):

• Apply for the Part B of the DSCD exam.
• Submit two hard-copies of each of the two case presentations.

Part B of the DSCD examination covers all seven modules of Part A, namely:

• Module 1: Oral Sciences of Relevance
• Module 2: Knowledge & Understanding of Conditions leading to Impairment & Disabilities
• Module 3: Behavioural Sciences & Sociology of Health, Impairment & Disability
• Module 4: Law, Ethics and Health & Safety
• Module 5: Provision of Comprehensive Oral Care
• Module 6: Developing Services in a Community Setting
• Module 7: Clinical Effectiveness

It is consists of the following components:

1. A Multiple Short Answer (MSA) and Clinical Scenarios question paper of two hours duration
2. Two clinical case presentations on which there will be an oral examination of 30 minutes duration. The Log Diary will also be reviewed as part of this assessment.
3. Four structured clinical reasoning stations (SCRs). Each SCR will be examined by an examiner using a standardised approach. Candidates will have 10 minutes preparation time followed by 10 minutes questioning for each SCR.

Of the four SCRs:

• Two will assess clinical decision making (referred to as the unseen cases)
• Two will assess clinical governance (referred to as the problem solving cases)