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Strengths

This course was really insightful as it introduced the different tasks that a dentist has to do. A dentist's job is not as simple as just scaling or polishing someone's tooth, as in some severe cases, he/she even has to help adjust a person's jaw, perform tooth implants, root canals, etc. Different specialties of dentistry, such as orthodontics and prosthodontics, are also in charge of different dental procedures. The videos came with a substantial number of illustrations to help me visualise the concepts that the professors are touching on. In addition, the professors made use of specific patient cases which they had come across, and gave explanation about how they went about treating the patient's condition. For example, the orthodontist made use of different patients' cases to introduce terms such as 'anterior crossbite', 'overbite', etc. which allowed me to better understand and visualise the concept he was introducing. More technical terms were also introduced to me which increased my knowledge significantly.

Weaknesses

Some of the terms used were too complicated and not explained fully. For example, the term 'buccal mucosa' was mentioned several times in the videos but where never really explained. As such, I had to use Google to search for the definition in order to understand what they were saying. Also, the pictures shown, especially those of more severe cases, were quite bloody and I was often caught unprepared. Thus it is not recommended to view the videos when eating.

I would rate the course 8/10 because the scheme for subsidy mentioned in the video, such as Medicaid, is based of America’s healthcare system and not Singapore’s healthcare system. Hence, since the financial scheme mentioned in the course is not applicable to Singapore’s healthcare system, it is difficult to understand how Singaporeans can overcome the financial barrier faced when seeing the dentist. Also, the images for illustration on the course is not clear and there is little to no animation. Since people who take up this course and mostly foreign to anything mentioned, I feel animations should be required to better visualise the orofacial complex that they are trying to illustrate. All in all, I find the course very informative and intriguing. It talks about the many different dental specialities that one can choose to pursue. Before that, I thought one’s role could only be a ‘Dentist’ but there are roles that one can specialise in such as Orthodontics, Prosthodontics and Radiology. All the people that work in separate sectors as just mentioned work together to ensure comprehensive patient care. In addition, the course have also mentioned about how the advancement in technology helped the Dentistry sector. It is able to give a more accurate and clearer diagnosis of the patient in a shorter amount of time that is crucial in ensuring no further deterioration of the patient’s condition. Lastly, the course explain processes that occurs in the oral cavity and the infections that can possibly happen, which is very insightful. Since this course is quite technical with a lot of terminology, I thought it will be better if the respective professors elaborate more when they use terminology such as ‘maxillofacial’ or ‘mandible’ etc.