Outline

Overview

This unit of study introduces students to the concepts and foundational knowledge of Tooth Morphology, Periodontics theory and Cariology and Prevention.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Discipline of Oral Health
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	ORHL1102 and ORHL1104
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Tabitha Acret, tabitha.acret@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2026

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Written exam	Final examination Written examination covering periodontics, cariology and tooth morphology	50%	Formal exam period	2 hours	AI prohibited
Outcomes assessed:
Out-of-class quiz	Early feedback task - online quiz Online quiz - single best answer and labelling questions	0%	Week 03 Due date: 13 Mar 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 13 Mar 2026	10 mins	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Out-of-class quiz	Mid-semester quiz Combined periodontics and cariology mid-semester quiz	10%	Week 06 Due date: 03 Apr 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 03 Apr 2026	15 mins	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Written work	Tooth Morphology Permanent Teeth Workbook Workbook Submission.	8%	Week 08 Due date: 17 Apr 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 17 Apr 2026	-	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Written work	Oral Health and Society – Reflection Discussion board and reflection	10%	Week 10 Due date: 08 May 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 08 May 2026	400 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Out-of-class quiz	Tooth morphology quiz 1 Online quiz - single best answer and labelling questions	5%	Week 12 Due date: 22 May 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 22 May 2026	10 mins	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Written work	Tooth Morphology Primary Teeth Workbook Workbook submission	7%	Week 13 Due date: 29 May 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 29 May 2026	-	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Creative work	Personal & professional development: Written reflection Written Reflection	10%	Week 13 Due date: 29 May 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 29 May 2026	500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

All assessments must be submitted by the due date. Students are expected to manage their time and to prioritise tasks to meet deadlines. Assessment items submitted after the due date without an approved extension using a special consideration or special arrangement form will incur penalties.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Distinction

75 - 84

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Credit

65 - 74

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Pass

50 - 64

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late submission In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date: • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date. • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded. This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below: Late penalties will apply once the due date and time has passed. The closing date (if specified) is the final date for late submissions; after this date no submissions will be accepted.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to Topic / Gingiva (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
	My Journey to Sydney. (P&PD) L Church, N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Introduction to Tooth Morphology. Teeth composition and classification (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther	Lecture (1 hr)
	My journey so far (P&PD) L.Church, N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 02	Periodontal Ligament & Cementum (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
	Introduction to Tooth Morphology. Teeth composition and classification (Tooth morphology) K.Cheng, M. Lawther (half cohort per tutorial)	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Introduction to Oral Health in Society: Health & Disease, The Determinants of Health, Community Health, Public Health (OHS) J. Biggar (entire cohort required)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Introduction to Cariology (Cariology) Y Masood	Placement (1 hr)
	Introduction to the role of diet in oral health (Cariology) N. Barrett	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	Permanent Incisors & Canines (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther	Lecture (1 hr)
	Caries causation: the plaque, saliva, diet, and fluoride factor (Cariology) R. Chen	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Values affirmation (P&PD) L.Church, N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	The Remineralisation and Demineralisation Process (Cariology) Y Masood	Placement (1 hr)
	Alveolar Bone (Periodontics) T Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
	Community Health and Public Health OHS - Jacquie Biggar	Lecture (1 hr)
	Tissues of the periodontium (Periodontics) - T. Acret. (1/2 class per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Permanent Premolars and Molars (tooth morphology) K. Cheng, M, Lawther (half cohort per tutorial)	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Permanent Premolars & Molars (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther, K. Cheng (half cohort per tutorial)	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Permanent Premolars and Molars (Tooth Morphology) M. Lawther	Placement (1 hr)
Week 05	Caries Microbiology 1 (Cariology) F. Wang	Placement (1 hr)
	Periodontal Health / Effects of Aging (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
	Facing challenges positively (P&PD) T Acret N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Caries Microbiology 2 (Cariology) F. Wang	Placement (1 hr)
	Primary Health Care and Multidisciplinary Approaches to Health (OHS) F. Barraclough via ZOOM online class	Lecture (1 hr)
	Describing the periodontium (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret(1/2 class per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Plaque Formation and Retention (Periodontics) M. Lawther	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Developing my Professional Purpose (P&PD) T Acret, N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Cultural Competence Online (Module 2) Erin Taylor Zoom link on Canvas	Self-directed learning (1 hr)
	Cariology cases (Cariology) - P. Westhoff (half class per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Cultural Competence Online (Module 1) J.Biggar. Zoom link on Canvas	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	Inflammation (Periodontics) T acret	Tutorial (1.5 hr)
	Primary Incisors and Canines (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther, K Cheng	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Understanding feedback and reflection (P&PD) T Acret, N.Aulsebrook,M.Lawther, J. Biggar (25 students per tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Primary Incisors and Canines (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther	Lecture (1 hr)
	Local Periodontal Risk Factors (Periodontics) P. Westhoff	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Gingivitis / Periodontitis (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
	ICDAS-II and Caries differential diagnosis (Cariology) R. Chen	Placement (1 hr)
	Primary Molars (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther	Lecture (1 hr)
	Primary Molars (Tooth morphology) M. Lawther, K. Cheng	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Cultural considerations in oral health therapy (OHS) Erin Taylor ONLINE class via ZOOM	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Systemic Risk Factors (Periodontics) A. Ayo	Lecture (1 hr)
	Cariology cases (Cariology) - M. Lawther (1/2 cohort at a time)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	My Journey so far,- cohort split into 4	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Introduction to Classification of Periodontal Disease (Periodontics) Tabitha Acret	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 12	Online - Hisotry of Indigenous and Colonial Australia OHS (Zoom link on Canvas)	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Revision session (Periodontics) T. Acret (Entire cohort in one tutorial)	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Attendance is a professional responsibility required of all students admitted to academic programs within the Sydney Dental School. All programs in the Sydney Dental School have a 90% attendance policy, for all compulsory components of Units of Study, as detailed in the Faculty of Dentistry Attendance Provisions 2015. This includes all clinical and practical sessions. The course requirements cannot be satisfied if more than 10% of any section of a course is missed for any reason.
Professionalism: Students in all Sydney Dental School programs are subject to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Professionalism Requirements 2019 and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Professionalism Provisions 2019. Professionalism is an essential component of developing competency to practice. It is important for students to demonstrate professional behaviour in all contexts and environments. In accordance with these local provisions: candidates who demonstrate serious or repeated unprofessional behaviour may be required to show cause as to why their enrolment should be continued. Failure to show cause may result in exclusion from the course.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Describe the hard and soft tissues of the oral anatomy relevant to the development and treatment of oral disease, and administration of local anaesthesia
LO2. Describe the development of oral disease, the associated host response, and preventive measures
LO3. Describe individual patient risk factors for oral disease and appropriate management strategies
LO4. Identify and interpret strategies for successful transition to University and the Oral Health profession
LO5. Discuss the general social, cultural, environmental and economic factors which impact individual and community health

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Minor adjustments to the learning activities and assessments have been made in response to student feedback, to improve sequencing and spread the assessment weighting throughout the semester and across multiple items.

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Students must comply with work health and safety, infection control and dress standard policies of all laboratories, placement sites and Local Health Districts (LHDs).

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

ORHL1101: Foundations of Oral Health I

Semester 1, 2026 [Normal day] - Westmead, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links