Oral health therapists
See below for your:
- scope of practice - the health service a practitioner is permitted to perform
- competencies - the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to deliver the scope of practice
- prescribed qualifications - the qualifications that have gone through a formal accreditation or approval process and recognised by the Council.
The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act) describes a scope of practice as the health service that a practitioner registered in that scope of practice is permitted to perform, subject to any conditions for the time being imposed by the responsible authority.
The Dental Council publishes a scope of practice as a Notice in the New Zealand Gazette under section 11 of the HPCA Act.
The practice of oral health therapy is the provision of oral health assessment, diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention of any disease, disorder or condition of the orofacial complex and associated structures in accordance with an oral health therapist’s approved education, training, experience and competence.
Oral health education, disease prevention and oral health promotion for individuals and communities are core activities, aimed at achieving and maintaining oral health as an integral part of general health.
The scope of practice encompasses the oral health therapist competencies.
Practice in this context goes wider than clinical oral health therapy practice to include teaching, research, and management, given that such roles influence clinical practice and public safety. Areas of oral health therapy practice which were not included in a practitioner’s training should not be undertaken unless the practitioner has completed appropriate training and practises to the standards required by the Standards framework for oral health practitioners.
The Dental Council defines competence as the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours (‘competencies’) an oral health practitioner must have to practise safely, competently, and professionally in their scope of practice.
The oral health therapist competencies describes the minimum competencies an oral health graduate must achieve through their education and training to be registered in the scope of oral health therapy practice.
The competencies prescribe the scope of practice for oral health therapy practice.
The competencies are presented in the following domains:
- Ngaiotanga - Professionalism
- Whakawhiti kōrero – Communication
- Kaiakatanga ahurea – Cultural competence
- Haumarutanga ahurea - Cultural safety
- Ngā whakaaro kaikini - Critical thinking
- Mōhiotanga pūtaiao me te haumaru - Scientific and clinical knowledge
- Tiaki turoro - Patient care
- Te hauora ā-waha o te hapori - Community oral health.
The competencies broadly describe the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours expected of an oral health therapist; and are outcome focussed. The learning curriculum will provide the level and extent of detail needed to facilitate graduates’ achievement of these competencies, for registration in the scope of practice for oral health therapy.
It is assumed that all competencies are performed with a degree of quality consistent with patient and whānau well-being, and that oral health therapists can self-evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the care they provide.
There is also a clear link between a number of the competencies and the standards embodied in the standards framework that registered oral health practitioners must meet.
The attached word version includes English hover text for Kupu Māori.
The Dental Council has prescribed the following qualifications for the scope of practice for oral health therapy.
New Zealand accredited programmes
- University of Otago Bachelor of Oral Health1 and a Dental Council accredited adult restorative programme.
- Auckland University of Technology Bachelor of Health Science in Oral Health2 and a Dental Council accredited adult restorative programme.
1 Qualification obtained since 2009 onwards.
2 Qualification obtained since 2008 onwards.
Competent authority - qualification
Australia
- An Australian educational institution oral health therapy degree approved by the Dental Board of Australia for the purposes of oral health therapy registration in Australia. For those Australian programmes where adult restorative treatment is not accredited as part of the programme, a New Zealand Dental Council accredited programme is required to remove the adult restorative treatment exclusion.
Competent authority – registration (from 1 November 2026)3
- Current full/unrestricted/unconditional oral health therapy registration, or combined dental hygiene/dental therapy registration with a competent authority(s) recognised by the Dental Council4.
- Clinical practice5 in oral health therapy or combined dental therapy/dental hygiene in the competent authority(s) for at least 33 months (working 20 hours or more per week) during the 48 months immediately prior to application.
3 Upon commencement of practice in New Zealand, practitioners registered under the competent authority registration pathway will practise under the oversight of a Dental Council approved practitioner for a period of at least six months under the terms of the oversight protocol.
4 United Kingdom (General Dental Council), Australia (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) for the purposes of oral health therapy.
5 Clinical practice means the maintenance of health through the assessment, diagnosis, management, treatment, and prevention of any disease, disorder or condition of the orofacial complex and associated structures.
New Zealand examination
- An oral health therapy or a combined dental therapy/dental hygiene qualification and a pass in the New Zealand Oral Health Therapist Registration Examination and a New Zealand Dental Council accredited adult restorative programme.
Dental Council accredited adult restorative programmes
- Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (endorsed in Adult Restorative Dental Care), University of Otago6.
- Graduate Certificate of Health Sciences (Oral Health), Auckland University of Technology7.
- Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice), University of Melbourne8.
6 Accredited 7 August 2023.
7 Accredited 9 July 2024.
8 Accredited 11 November 2022.
Limited registration: Teaching and research (from 1 November 2026)9, 10
Current registration with a recognised overseas oral health registering or licensing body in a Dental Council recognised scope of practice, that allows the practitioner to conduct oral health research and/or teaching relevant to the oral health profession.
9 To apply for registration in the teaching and research scope of practice, the practitioner must have confirmation of employment by a New Zealand tertiary education and/or research provider for New Zealand accredited oral health programmes.
10 Upon commencement of practice in New Zealand, the practitioner must work under the supervision of a Dental Council approved practitioner. Supervision is a permanent feature of the teaching and research scope of practice; this pathway does not lead to unconditional registration and the practitioner cannot undertake any individual or private clinical practice, including under supervision.