Decal: Oral and Dental Health - Spring 2009

Note: We will be offering the ODH Decal again for the second time this Spring semester! Please check www.decal.org for additional information!

Class Information

Nutritional Science 98 & 198
Time: Wednesdays 6 - 7 pm starting January 28th
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST ATTEND THE FIRST SESSION IN ORDER TO BE ENROLLED IN THE COURSE!
Location: 110 Wheeler
Space available in class: 50 students (25 LD, 25 UD)
Faculty sponsor: Mary mead, RD (Nutritional Science Department)
Facilitators: Sheena Vaswani, Shireen Nouhi, Jane Jiao, Tiffany Hsu


Contact Information

Contact Information: Class e-mail list: dentaldecal.at.gmail.com
For questions, please e-mail either Sheena or Shireen.
Course information: www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~predents/?decal/ and www.decal.org/calpds/
Course website: BSpace (will be created shortly)

Course Description

The overall goal of the course is to bring awareness to the importance of proper oral hygiene in relation to other diseases. Specifically, this dental health course will harness the discussion of poor oral hygiene, treatments, preventative measures, basic dental procedures, and other fields within dentistry that affect the general population. Classes will be conducted by course facilitators and will include frequent lectures by guest speakers. Each topic will have supplemental reading assignments and there will be a structured discussion section every three lectures.
Please note: this class is not just for pre-dental students! We welcome any students who are interested in learning more about poor dental hygiene as a growing epidemic.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, the students should be able to understand the basics of preventative oral hygiene, the difference between procedures, and various applications of dentistry.

Method of Instruction

The course will be divided up into 9 lectures and 3 discussion/review sessions – 3 of the lectures will be presented by course facilitators and 6 will be presentations by guest lecturers.

Getting Into the Course

This is our second semester running this course. Unfortunately, last semester we had to turn away multiple students who were interested in this course because of lack of space. Therefore, the facilitators have decided that the fairest way to choose students for the course would be via application and NOT on a first-come-first-serve basis. In this manner, we hope to accept the students who are most interested in learning about the subject. In order to receive the course control number for this course, you will need to attend the first session on January 28th and fill out an application. This is a non-lenient policy and there will be no exceptions.

Evaluation of Course

Students are evaluated on their attendance of classes, preparation for quizzes, reflections, a midterm assignment, and a final research project. In order to receive a passing grade in this course, a student must “pass” each of the following five categories:

  • Attendance: Attendance will be recorded and no more than one absence (excused or unexcused) is allowed throughout the semester. Students who miss more than one of the thirteen lectures will receive a “no pass.” If you have any conflict due to midterms during class session, it is your responsibility to notify the facilitators by the first discussion section on February 25th (after the drop deadline). YOU MUST ATTEND THE FIRST SESSION TO BE ENROLLED IN THE COURSE.

  • Quizzes: Three quizzes will be administered throughout the semester on the days of the discussion/review sessions (February 25th, April 1st, April 29th). These quizzes will be five points each and will be based upon the weekly reading assignments and previous three lectures. We will be taking the grades of your best 2 out of 3 quizzes. In order to pass this category, students must receive at least 7 points total on their two highest quizzes. Quizzes will be administered in the first 10 minutes of class session – please schedule accordingly and be on time.
    NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO ARE TARDY OR MISS CLASS!

  • Reflections: Three reflections must be completed and submitted on each discussion/review session: February 25th, April 1st, and April 29th. Reflections are expected to be 1-2 pages in length and must include information regarding all three previous lectures. In order to pass this section, guidelines must be followed. Late reflections will not be accepted.
    For Additional Guidelines, please refer to the BSpace website.
    Common topics to include in these reflections are the following:
    What interested you about the lecture?
    Did you feel that this lecture was beneficial to your understanding of Oral and Dental Health?
    What additional questions do you have regarding this topic?

  • Midterm Assignment: For the “midterm” of this course, you are to write an article (approximately 1 page, double spaced) on a topic of your choice regarding dental or oral health related issues. These will be collected on March 11th and will be compiled as a newsletter. Additional writing guidelines will be provided as the due date approaches. You must submit both – a hard copy and an electronic copy to the e-mail address provided in the directions.

  • Final Research Project: The final project is due towards the end of the course – April 22nd. This may be a project of your choice and should be approved by a facilitator no later than April 15th. You must submit a paragraph-long summary on April 8th discussing what you would like to do research on.
    Additional guidelines will be given, but some successful ideas include:
    • 2-3 page review on an article that you feel would make a good topic for this course
    • 3 page lesson plan of an additional topic you'd like to see taught in a decal

    Academic Credit

    This course is weighted at 1 semester unit. Our goal is not to bombard you to with extra work, but to provide enough materials to enhance each student’s understanding of the dental field. UC Berkeley mandates that for each unit of credit received, a student should put forth 45 hours of work throughout the semester. Keep that in mind as you complete the readings and assignments throughout the semester. If you are unable to spend 2-3 hours a week on this course, then please consider enrolling in a different course.

    Plagiarism

    Please note that plagiarism in any shape or form will NOT be accepted in this course. Any student who plagiarizes will receive an automatic "No Pass" and the facilitators reserve the right to report the case to the Office of Student Conduct for further penalization.Therefore, please remember to site your sources!

    Auditing

    If you are interested in a specific lecture and are not enrolled in the course, you may attend the section that you are interested on if space permits. Please e-mail a facilitator at least 24 hours in advance if you plan to do this. Although participation is welcomed and encouraged, disruption of the class may result in removal from the classroom.

    Required Texts

    The reading assignments will be provided electronically via BSpace. If some of the lecturers have published articles, we will include reading of that material. Students are expected to come to lecture having already read the assigned reading and prepared to ask the guest speaker questions regarding the appropriate topics.

    Class Schedule

    Class Dates/Topic+Assignments/Reading Assignment/Assignments
    January 28 - First class - Introduction, Application (in class). CCN's will be e-mailed out!
    February 4 - Facilitator Presentation - History of Dentistry, Anatomy/Structure of the Tooth/Reading Assignment:"The Meaning of Oral Health"
    February 11 - Guest Speaker - General Dentistry/Reading Assignment:"Diseases and Disorders"
    February 18 - Guest Speaker - Mary Mead: Dental Health, Cancer/Reading Assignment:"Improving Diagnoses of Oral Cancer"
    February 25 - Discussion & Review & Quiz/Assignments: 1-2 page reflection
    March 4 - Guest Speaker - David Thai: Sports Dentistry
    March 11 - Facilitator Presentation - Various topics in Dentistry/Assignments: Midterm Assignment
    March 18 - Guest Speaker - Dr. Nam: Invisalign
    April 1 - Discussion & Review & Quiz/Assignments:1-2 page reflection
    April 8 - Guest Speaker - Oral Surgeon: Wisdom Teeth/Assignments: Final Project Proposal Paragraph
    April 15 - Facilitator Presentation - Cosmetic Dentistry
    April 22 - Guest Speaker - Pediatric Dentistry/Assignments:2-3 page Final Project
    April 29 - Discussion & Review & Quiz + Trivia + Survey

    Interested in Joining Our Decal?

    Please attend our first session on January 28th in 110 Wheeler at 6 pm! We will be discussing the course and filling out applications at that time. We will e-mail out CCN's by February 1st to those who have made it into the class.

    PLEASE NOTE:

    Please note that due to the variety of guest speakers that we will be inviting to speak for the Decal, the same speakers will no longer show up during the General Pre-Dental Meetings. If you are interested in learning about a specific topic, you are more than welcome to attend the appropriate Decal meeting if the space is available. By shifting the focus of the General Meetings, we hope to hold more helpful Workshops for Pre-Dental students!