Dental Sciences Handbook
Dental Clinic
Progamme of Dental Assisting
Progamme of Dental Technology
Staff

Mission
The Department of Dental Sciences will constantly strive to:

• provide the best Dental Technology and Dental Assisting educational training on the African continent
• be an educational leader in our fields
• provide holistic education in preparing students practically for the working environment
• enhance the development of Dental Technology and Dental Assisting as a profession in South Africa
• to develop our research base so as to be the leading Dental Technology and Dental Assisting research institutions in Africa
• to develop community outreach programmes that serve the indigent population of Africa.

Goals

• providing our students with the highest levels of tertiary education in the teaching of our disciplines
• promoting research, initiating, supporting and undertaking research in the Dental field
• providing community service to the indigent population especially in specialized fields where this service is not available to the communities
• striving towards excellence in all our activities
• maintaining the highest ethical standards in our relationships with our students as well as the dental community at large
• promoting the spirit of free enterprise and initiative
• working actively with the local industry in KwaZulu-Natal
• employing Dental Technology lecturing staff with high academic qualifications
• providing teaching laboratories of the highest standards in Africa.

Definition of Terms

Dental Technician shall mean any person who is registered as a dental technician in terms of Section 18 of the Act, who may not work without supervision and who is in possession of the National Diploma in Dental Technology.

Dental Technologist shall mean any person who is registered as a dental technologist in terms of Section 18 of the Act; who may undertake supervision of a laboratory or operate a laboratory for own account and who shall be in possession of the B.Tech: Dent. Tech.

What is a University of Technology
A university of technology is characterised by being research informed rather than research driven where the focus is on strategic and applied research that can be translated into professional practice. Furthermore, research output is commercialised thus providing a source of income for the institution. Learning programmes, in which the emphasis on technological capability is as important as cognitive skills, are developed around graduate profiles as defined by industry and the professions.

Programmes offered by the Department

Programmes are offered in this Department which, upon successful completion, lead to the award of the following qualifications: