Dental therapists provide clinical and preventive services to children and adults in private practice and community-based settings. Clinical treatment includes patient examinations, diagnosis of dental decay and abscesses, taking and interpreting x-rays, as well as providing restorative dentistry such as fillings and stainless steel crowns on children. Dental therapists also preform tooth extractions on children and adults. Preventive services include topical fluorides, pit and fissure sealants, oral health education, health promotion and disease prevention at the individual, group and community-level settings. Dental therapists also refer patients for specialist care.

The BSc(DT) program focuses on dental care for all Canadians. It is offered in six consecutive terms over two years instead of the usual three years of study, allowing students to enter the workforce after the shortest possible time of study. The program uses cutting-edge technology with haptic dental simulators in four campus locations (Saskatoon, La Ronge, Prince Albert, and Regina).

What you will learn

Term 1 provides an introduction to health and oral health sciences, taking into consideration that these sciences are augmented during several terms to support a gradual depth of knowledge. This term has a focus on prevention, given its importance to oral health.

Term 2 includes more opportunities to explore general health and oral health sciences. The focus is on prevention and minimally invasive restorative (filling) approaches. Restorative procedures are introduced to support both dental assisting and dental therapy scopes of practice. Learners will perform cavity preparations and placing fillings on manikins. Students will gain competencies related to scheduling, accounts receivable, inventory control, equipment maintenance procedures, and sterilization and infection control management.

Term 3 focuses on the preclinical (mannikins and simulators) development of more complex dental treatment abilities including fillings, stainless steel crowns and pulpotomies for children. Students learn to deliver local anesthesia (freezing).

Terms 4 to 6 include opportunities for clinical work on patients by providing preventive, health promotive, restorative, and surgical procedures within the scope of dental therapy practice. The students will continue with weekly work in the community to provide continuity of services for community members. In Term 6, students will have a one-month practicum placement in a community dental clinic.

There are many career options open where dental therapy graduates can work and apply the full scope of their skills. These include:

• Tribal authority clinics
• Community health centre clinics
• Local health authorities
• Provincial health centres
• Federal health centres
• Private dental offices

As a guideline, above are the estimated expenses for students registered in the Dental Therapy program. Please note these are estimates only (2024-2025 rates) and subject to change from year to year.

• Tuition and fees
• Residence

Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous applicants are welcome to the BSc(DT) degree program. Student selection criteria will focus on Indigenous students. All seats are open to both agency-sponsored and non-agency-sponsored applicants. Priority will be given to Indigenous, agency-sponsored applicants who meet the program's admission requirements.

Deadlines

Requirements and categories of applicants

Agency sponsorship

To address national dental therapy workforce needs, the program will make seats available to enable agencies from Saskatchewan and across the country to recruit and sponsor students to study and then undertake return of service agreements with the agencies upon graduation. This is a key pathway to filling unfilled dental therapy positions across Canada.

The University of Saskatchewan and the dental therapy program will not be directly involved in agency recruitment of potential sponsorship students or the terms of any agency-student return of service agreements but will provide support to sponsors and potential sponsored students.

All sponsored students must meet the program's admission requirements and once admitted, must maintain the academic standing requirements for promotion and graduation.

Submission of a sponsorship application does not guarantee acceptance by the University of Saskatchewan and the program. Sponsorship priority will be given to Indigenous students in accordance with the admission priorities of the program.

The number of available sponsorship seats will follow the program's admission policy to balance provincial and national dental therapy workforce needs. Up to 17 seats per year are open to out-of-province residents and can be sponsored by non-Saskatchewan agencies. The remaining 11 seats are for Saskatchewan residents and are eligible for sponsorship by Saskatchewan agencies.

If in any given year there are not enough qualified Saskatchewan applicants, these seats will be opened to out-of-province applicants, including agency-sponsored students.

If in any given year there are not enough qualified out-of-province applicants, these seats will be opened to Saskatchewan applicants, including agency-sponsored students.

Sponsorship students may indicate their preference for which campus they want to study, but not all requests are guaranteed to be accommodated.

Eligible agencies include:

• First Nations and Inuit communities and Indigenous governments
• Federal, provincial, and territorial governments
• Regional health authorities

Locations

The BSc(DT) is offered at four different sites:

• University of Saskatchewan Prince Albert Campus in Prince Albert
  • Housing and childcare
• University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Campus in Saskatoon (internationally trained dentists only)
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic Dental Clinic in Regina
• Northlands College Campus in La Ronge

Selection criteria

Required documentation

Applications are not complete until all required documents are received. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required documentation is received. Applicants can check the status of their application online by logging in to their application. Please ensure that the Admissions Office, College of Dentistry has a current address, telephone number, and email address.

All of the following required documentation must be received no later than March 15, 2025 for Fall 2025 applications:

1. Completed online application with payment of $90 CAD application fee
2. One set of official transcripts from all high school/post-secondary institutions attended other than the University of Saskatchewan (including distance education classes) forwarded directly from the appropriate institution(s) to:
   
   Admissions
   105 Wiggins Rd
   College of Dentistry
   University of Saskatchewan
   Saskatoon, SK  S7N 5E4
   
   
3. The following supporting documents (if applicable):
   • Saskatchewan residency proof
   • Verification of Indigenous membership/citizenship in accordance with the processes developed to enact the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapewin: Indigenous Truth policy
   • Proof of permanent residence
   • Proof of English proficiency
   • Notarized transcripts (IDDP applicants)
   • Letter of personal introduction
   • Letters of support
   • Agency sponsorship letter
   • Letter of good standing from licensing regulator (dental hygiene applicants)

Application fee

A non-refundable application fee in the amount of $165 CAD is required and must be paid online via credit card at the time the application is submitted. The application fee may be paid by Visa or MasterCard.

• Begin an application

Important dates

Applicants will be informed of their application status by mid-April 2025. To accept an offer of admission, applicants must pay a non-refundable deposit of 15% of tuition by the deadline stated in the offer letter. The deposit will be applied towards tuition fees at the time of registration. Applicants who withdraw their admission acceptance after paying the fee forfeit the deposit.

If full program enrolment is not reached during a particular academic year, the college may choose to reduce the number of learning sites where the dental therapy program is offered.

The Bachelor of Science in Dental Therapy is offered by the University of Saskatchewan's College of Dentistry.

The College of Dentistry is a dynamic college with a reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. Established in 1965, the College of Dentistry was the first institution in the province of Saskatchewan to offer a Doctor of Dental Medicine dental program. The college strives to serve as a leader in innovative scholarly pursuits, research, interdisciplinary collaboration, community outreach, and engagement.

• College of Dentistry