Oral Hygiene: SXP25S2
Code: SXP25S2
- Degree title
- Oral Hygienist
- Credits
- 210 ects
- Duration
- 3.5 years (210 ECTS)
- Start semester
- Autumn 2025
- Teaching language
- Finnish
Descriptions
The oral health degree programme graduates oral health specialists, oral hygienists, who work mainly in the public health sector but also in the private sector.
An oral hygienist is a specialist in health promotion. Their core competences are oral health promotion, oral health assessment and the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of oral infectious diseases. The work of an oral hygienist is people-oriented and client-focused.
The curriculum offers students a learning pathway to progress flexibly in their studies and to make choices between inter-degree programmes or from the joint Metropolia curriculum. The curriculum also serves as a source of information for working life and international partners.
The curriculum consists of courses of between 1 and 10 credits (cr). The multidisciplinary innovation project is implemented as a common course for all degrees. Multidisciplinary learning is also realised in that students have the opportunity to take 5 credits of Metropolia's joint working life profiling studies (TOP studies) and 5 credits of optional studies. The teaching offer is designed to give students the opportunity to study 30 credits per semester.
Part of the curriculum can also be delivered in English.
Development
The curriculum is in line with the qualification requirements, the skills and development needs of working life and the requirements of national and international cooperation. It emphasises student-centred and learning and competence-based thinking. The learning outcomes tell students what competences are expected of them and help them to assess their own learning. The competence objectives are defined in cooperation between working life and the UAS and they describe to working life the student's competence and readiness for different jobs.
A competency-based curriculum enables student mobility within and between higher education institutions. It also facilitates the recognition and validation of prior learning (AHOT) and the comparison of qualifications obtained in different countries.
Internationalisation is part of every learner's pathway through international student exchanges, internships or home study, such as joint studies between English and Finnish degree programmes or open international online learning environments.
Further information
The curriculum is new and made on 18.12.2024.
From OPS SXP24S1 the following courses have been copied:
Anatomy, Physiology and Morphology, Denstistry I, Health promotion and nutrition, Imaging of the head and radiation safety, Cariology, Professional Communication and English, Oral hygiene of schoolchildren, Periodontology II, Consultative oral health care 1, Basic Skills for Research and Development Work, Pain relief in oral health care, Clinical oral health care II, Planning of the Thesis Work, Implementation of the Thesis Work, Reporting of the Thesis and Maturity Test, Oral health in the promotion of general health, Clinical oral health care III, Oral health and functional capacity of the elderly, Oral hygiene of the elderly, Occupational wellbeing in oral hygiene, Transprofessionality in oral hygiene, Independent clinical oral health care
From OPS SXP25K2 the following courses have been copied: Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Social and Health Care
A section on AI and information security is included in the Learning and Study Skills module.
The course on sustainable development (1 credit) offered by the U!REKA cooperation is offered as a stand-alone unit.
The person responsible for the curriculum is Riikka Jokimäki.
The curriculum is maintained by Tanja Kaipiainen, Programme Coordinator.
Objective
The learning is based on situations and problems arising from professional practice, and evidence-based solutions are sought. Where appropriate, teaching will take the form of project work, including projects and activities that develop the professional life of the student's own field. Competences will be deepened and broadened in a variety of learning environments that support learning, including medical care, health promotion and simulation learning environments.
Teaching has been developed through increased opportunities for digital learning. Students are responsible for their own learning. During their studies, students are assessed in the following areas of competence: professional knowledge base, professional skills and practice, ethics, multiculturalism and internationalism, sustainability and proactive development. Students will be equipped for continuous competence development and further studies.
In the initial phase of the oral hygiene qualification, before working with patients, training takes place in a simulated learning environment in a skills workshop. There, the student will practice clinical oral health care work. The simulation environment replicates a real patient care situation. In this way, the student's motor skills and control of the treatment environment are developed.
Once the clinical skills have been acquired, the student will practice oral health care in the Metropolia Oral Care Teaching Clinic. There, students will treat patients referred by dentists from the City of Helsinki Oral Health Service, either independently or as part of a multidisciplinary team with other oral health care providers. Clinical training is also carried out in collaboration with professionals in both public and private oral health care.
The internships are 75 credits all together and are carried out in a simulation environment as well as in a work placement.
Select timing, structure or classification view
Show study timings by semester, study year or period
| Code | Name | Credits (ECTS) | 2025-2026 | 2026-2027 | 2027-2028 | 2028-2029 | Autumn 2025 | Spring 2026 | Autumn 2026 | Spring 2027 | Autumn 2027 | Spring 2028 | Autumn 2028 | 1. / 2025 | 2. / 2025 | 3. / 2026 | 4. / 2026 | 1. / 2026 | 2. / 2026 | 3. / 2027 | 4. / 2027 | 1. / 2027 | 2. / 2027 | 3. / 2028 | 4. / 2028 | 1. / 2028 | 2. / 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 210 |
Due to the timing of optional and elective courses, credit accumulation per semester / academic year may vary.
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