Students typically complete the requirements of the PhD program in PhD 5 or PhD 6. Students must complete the requirements of the PhD program by the end of PhD 7. This includes required courses (12 credits), complementary courses (6-12 credits), a required comprehensive exam, research, and the writing and defense of a thesis. In total, students take 18-24 credits. Our recommendation is to take required courses during the first 2 years of the program. Complementary courses can be taken at any time during the program.
All students must complete a mandatory Academic Integrity Tutorial by the end of their first semester. The Tutorial can be accessed through MINERVA鈥檚 student menu. If students do not complete the Tutorial, they will not be able to register for the following term.
For Fast-track applicants, all mandatory and complementary courses will be transferred from MSc to PhD.
黑料社 students who have completed any of the mandatory PhD courses during the MSc must choose field relevant elective courses to fill these requirements. Kindly inform the faculty graduate studies office of the substitute course to receive approval.
Oral Health Sciences (Ph.D.)
Offered by: Dental Med & Oral Health Sci (Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences)
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Program Description
The Ph.D. in Oral Health Sciences provides training for health science researchers in advanced research in oral health problems. It will build upon an approach to scholarly knowledge that embraces discipline specific training in tandem with an understanding on one鈥檚 position in research and possibilities for collaboration.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Thesis
A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.
Required Courses (9 Credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DENT 663 | Principles of Health Research. | 1 |
Principles of Health Research. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Research topics and methodology, including critical thinking and evaluating evidence, scientific responsibilities, academic integrity, scientific writing, and publishing basics. | ||
| DENT 664 | Health Research Communications. | 1 |
Health Research Communications. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Practical training in written and oral communication skills for biomedical sciences and oral health research. | ||
| DENT 665 | Leadership and Management Skills in Research. | 1 |
Leadership and Management Skills in Research. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Introduction to leadership theory, models and practice, as well as the development of project and time management skills, resource allocation, team and consensus building. | ||
| DENT 671D1 | Advanced Research Seminar. | 1 |
Advanced Research Seminar. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Topics in current research in Oral Health Sciences. | ||
| DENT 671D2 | Advanced Research Seminar. | 1 |
Advanced Research Seminar. Terms offered: Winter 2026 See DENT 671D1 for course description. | ||
| DENT 700 | Comprehensive Exam Skills. | 1 |
Comprehensive Exam Skills. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Preparation for the written and oral comprehensive exam by formulating research proposals, conducting literature reviews and developing an oral presentation on the thesis topic. Emphasis will be placed on small group peer-to-peer feedback and mock examinations. | ||
| DENT 701 | PhD Comprehensive Examination. | 0 |
PhD Comprehensive Examination. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 The comprehensive exam will consist of two parts: the first part (written) will demonstrate the candidate's skills in writing a research proposal. The second part (oral) will confirm that the candidate understands all aspects of the protocol. | ||
| DENT 786 | Foundations in Oral Health Science. | 3 |
Foundations in Oral Health Science. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Overview of foundational ideas in oral health science. Focus on philosophy of science (for basic science, clinical and patient care, community, population and public health). Exploration of the knowledge production cycle (e.g., from basic science to bedside care to population health, and back). Research methodologies and methods, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, knowledge translation and research ethics. | ||
Complementary Courses (6-12 credits)
6-12 credits from the following:1
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DENT 504 | Biomaterials and Bioperformance. | 3 |
Biomaterials and Bioperformance. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Biological and synthetic biomaterials, medical devices, and the issues related to their bioperformance. The physicochemical characteristics of biomaterials in relation to their biocompatibility and sterilization. | ||
| DENT 610 | Introduction to Craniofacial Research. | 3 |
Introduction to Craniofacial Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Conducting craniofacial research projects using animal models, including molecular genetics as well as methodologies commonly used in a laboratory performing craniofacial research, generating and analyzing animal models, and performing comparative studies of multiple craniofacial anomalies in humans and animal models. | ||
| DENT 654 | Mechanisms and Management of Pain. | 3 |
Mechanisms and Management of Pain. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Presentation of the neurobiology of pain and analgesia, clinical pain conditions, basic and applied research methods in the study of pain, and the theory and practice of pain management. The course is designed for graduate students interested in pain mechanisms and clinical residents interested in pain management. | ||
| DENT 669 | Extracellular Matrix Biology. | 3 |
Extracellular Matrix Biology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Advanced topics on extracellular matrix biology with emphasis on matrix molecules and their effects on cell communication, tissue structure and integrity. | ||
| DENT 681 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 1. | 1 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 682 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 2. | 2 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 683 | Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 3. | 3 |
Readings in Dentistry and Health Research 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced readings in student's area of research. | ||
| DENT 685 | Theory of Dental Public Health. | 3 |
Theory of Dental Public Health. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theory and principles of public health, as applied to the concepts and determinants of oral health and disease, oral disease prevention and health promotion, dental care delivery systems and professional issues related to dental care delivery. | ||
| DENT 688 | Bone Mechanobiology . | 3 |
Bone Mechanobiology . Terms offered: Fall 2025 Foundational theories in mechanobiology in the context of skeletal tissues (namely, bone, growth plate cartilage, and periodontal tissues). Brief introduction to structure- function relations in bone, mechanical strain, and fluid flow. Emphasis is placed on the concepts of bone adaptation to biomechanical loading patterns, mechanobiology at the tissue level and mechanotransduction at the cellular level. Research methodologies and applications to disease are discussed. | ||
| DENT 706 | Advanced Seminar in Qualitative Health Research. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar in Qualitative Health Research. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Advanced examination of qualitative research in health disciplines include an in-depth discussion of dominant qualitative research methodologies - particularly grounded theory, phenomenology/hermeneutics and ethnography - as well as a review of data collection techniques. Each qualitative methodology and technique will be examined from the perspective of a) their underlying philosophical paradigms (i.e.,epistemological and ontological premises), as well as b) their pertinence to health phenomena. | ||
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The number of Complementary credits each student must take is determined with their supervisor, depending on the student's background.
Note: Courses at the 500 level or higher in other departments can be chosen in consultation with their supervisors and the program director.
Comprehensive Exam (DENT 700 and DENT 701)
The Comprehensive Exam is a formal evaluation of the doctoral student鈥檚 ability to proceed to the PhD 鈥榗andidacy鈥� level. It aims to assess the extent to which the doctoral student has mastered the foundational concepts related to theoretical, methodological, experimental, practical, and/or clinical issues involved in conducting research pertinent to the student鈥檚 area of research. It measures the student鈥檚 readiness for advanced doctoral study. Evidence of mastery, as well as steady progress, provide the student and the student鈥檚 Advisory Committee the confidence to proceed with the doctoral program. We recommend students to register for DENT 700 and DENT 701 once they have reached PhD 3.聽The first year in the program for PhD students who have previously completed a Master's degree is listed as PhD 2. For these students, the comprehensive exam is due by the end of the second year in the program, in this case PhD 3.
The examination is composed of two steps based on the research proposal: 1) the Written Proposal and 2) the Oral Comprehensive Exam (OCE). The Written Proposal describes the student's PhD project and should be approximately 20 pages. The Written Proposal will be submitted to the Examination Committee 2 weeks prior to the actual OCE.聽The Oral Comprehensive Exam is a 20-25 minute presentation based on the proposal followed by a 60-minute closed question period with the Examination Committee.
Note: Students may retake the comprehensive exam 1 time. If a student fails this exam a second time, they will be withdrawn from the program.