Prescribed qualifications for oral health therapists
Prescribed qualifications are the qualifications prescribed for a scope of practice under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
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.
Other
- 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 programme
- Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice), University of Melbourne3
- Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (endorsed in Adult Restorative Dental Care), University of Otago4
- Graduate Certificate of Health Sciences (Oral Health), Auckland University of Technology5
3 Accredited 5 December 2022
4 Accredited 7 August 2023
5 Accredited 9 July 2024