Development and Implementation of a Three‐Year Postgraduate Curriculum for Oral Medicine Specialist Training in Australasia: A Framework From the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia

ABSTRACT

Background

Oral Medicine is that specialist branch of dentistry concerned with the diagnosis, prevention, and predominantly non‐surgical management of medically‐related disorders and conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial region, in particular oral mucosal disease and orofacial pain, as well as the oral health care of medically complex patients. Published national curricula for postgraduate Oral Medicine training exist in the United Kingdom (UK General Dental Council, 2010; revised 2023) and the United States (American Academy of Oral Medicine competency framework, 2015), and an international competency consensus was established by the Sixth World Workshop on Oral Medicine (2015). Despite this international momentum, no equivalent nationally published, competency‐aligned postgraduate curriculum has been established for the Australasian region. This manuscript describes the development and structure of a contemporary 3‐year Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) curriculum for Oral Medicine specialist training, developed by the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia (OMAA) and aligned with the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026).

Methods

The curriculum was developed through a joint collaboration of all program convenors and heads of training of DClinDent (Oral Medicine) programs in Australia and New Zealand, together with the OMAA Curriculum Working Group, informed by the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026), benchmarked against the UK GDC Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum (2023) and the internationally validated competencies from the Sixth World Workshop on Oral Medicine (2015), and structured according to a spiral learning framework. The curriculum was endorsed by the OMAA Credentialing and Peer Review Subcommittee in 2026. The program is divided into three progressive phases: Foundations (Year 1), Development (Year 2), and Consolidation (Year 3).

Results

The curriculum encompasses five competency domains—Professionalism; Communication and Social Skills; Critical Thinking; Scientific and Clinical Knowledge; and Patient Care—mapped across all 3 years. The integration of cultural awareness and safety is an important feature across all phases of the curriculum. Year 1 establishes core scientific, clinical, and professional foundations. Year 2 develops clinical expertise across all Oral Medicine domains with increasing diagnostic independence. Year 3 prepares trainees for autonomous specialist practice, including complex case management, research thesis completion, and professional leadership. Minimum clinical case targets, portfolio‐based assessment, and a conjoint Fellowship of the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia (FOMAA) exit examination are integral to program completion.

Conclusions

This curriculum provides a nationally applicable, competency‐aligned framework for Oral Medicine postgraduate training in Australasia. It addresses recognized gaps in specialty‐specific graduate medical education and offers a replicable model for programs seeking harmonization with Australasian and international Oral Medicine training standards.

1. Introduction

Oral Medicine is that specialist branch of dentistry concerned with the diagnosis, prevention and predominantly non‐surgical management of medically‐related disorders and conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial region, in particular oral mucosal disease and orofacial pain, as well as the oral health care of medically complex patients. Oral Medicine practice encompasses care of patients with underlying systemic, mucosal, neurosensory, or oncological disorders [1, 2]. The scope of the specialty encompasses oral mucosal diseases, orofacial pain, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), salivary gland pathology, dental sleep medicine, oral oncology and pre‐malignancy, and the oral management of medically complex patients [3, 4]. The latter may, depending on the jurisdiction, fall within the scope of Special Needs Dentistry; however, Oral Medicine training equips graduates with the diagnostic and clinical competencies to interface effectively with these services, ensuring coordinated care for patients whose oral conditions are complicated by systemic disease, medications, or complex medical histories. Oral Medicine specialists occupy an important interface between dentistry and medicine, working within multidisciplinary team (MDT) frameworks and providing specialist consultation across hospital and community settings.

The publication of national curricula and competency frameworks for postgraduate Oral Medicine training has been an area of growing international activity over the past two decades. In the United Kingdom, the Oral Medicine specialty training curriculum was developed collaboratively by the British Society for Oral Medicine (BSOM) and the Specialty Advisory Committee for Additional Dental Specialties (SACADS), adopted by the UK General Dental Council (GDC) in 2010, and substantially revised in 2023 [5, 6]. A key refinement to the UK curriculum was the definition of medical competencies for specialty training using a modified Delphi technique which was published by Atkin and McMillan in 2019 [7]. In the United States, the American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) published a competency framework for new postdoctoral Oral Medicine graduates in 2015, addressing oral mucosal and salivary gland disorders, temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain conditions, and management of the medically complex patient [8]. A formal undergraduate Oral Medicine curriculum for dental programs across the UK and Ireland was first published in 2018 [9].

Internationally, the Sixth World Workshop on Oral Medicine (WWOM VI, 2015) provided the first globally validated study of clinical competencies for advanced Oral Medicine training, achieving consensus from stakeholders across 31 countries. The authors concluded that these competencies could serve as a foundation for countries developing or reviewing national advanced training curricula [10]. An earlier international survey of postgraduate Oral Medicine training across 22 countries similarly identified broad congruency in clinical syllabus content, particularly in oral mucosal disease, while highlighting substantial variation in program structure, duration, and credentialling [11]. Internationally, training durations for Oral Medicine specialists vary. In the United Kingdom, specialty training is typically 5 years, leading to a Certificate of Completion of Specialty Training (CCST) and entry onto the GDC Specialist List. In North America, Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)‐accredited programs require a minimum of 24 months, with programs ranging from 24 to 36 months; those incorporating a research degree extend from 3 to 5 years. The training program in Australia and New Zealand requires the completion of a 3‐year full‐time Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) in Oral Medicine, with candidates required to satisfy prerequisite general dental practice experience before commencing study.

Within European professional dental frameworks, formal specialty recognition of Oral Medicine by national registering authorities has been limited to the UK, Croatia, and Israel, as reported in 2017, while in several other countries it is regarded as a distinct field of study rather than a registered specialty [12].

Against this international backdrop, Australasia has lacked a published, nationally standardised postgraduate Oral Medicine curriculum. While university‐based institutions have delivered postgraduate oral medicine training for many years, this has been benchmarked against the OMAA Fellowship Examination framework in the absence of a formal, publicly available curriculum document. Competency‐based medical education (CBME) has since emerged as the dominant paradigm for postgraduate health professional training globally, shifting focus from time‐in‐training to the demonstrated acquisition of defined competencies [13, 14]. Within dentistry, CBME frameworks have been adopted at both undergraduate and specialist levels [15, 16]. The OMAA Essential Competencies, first developed in 2010 and comprehensively revised in 2026, provided a consensus‐derived, domain‐structured competency framework for Oral Medicine specialists in Australasia, creating the necessary foundation for a national, competency‐aligned curriculum.

This manuscript reports the development and structure of a 3‐year postgraduate curriculum for the DClinDent in Oral Medicine, the registrable specialist qualification recognised by the Dental Board of Australia and the Dental Council of New Zealand. Candidates must also hold a primary dental qualification approved by the Australian Dental Council (ADC), or one recognised as equivalent by the ADC or the Dental Council of New Zealand, and must obtain general registration as a dentist before applying for specialist registration. In Australia, a minimum of 2 years of general dental practice experience is also required. At present in New Zealand, the Dental Council's prescribed qualifications additionally require a medical degree from a school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools alongside the postgraduate dental specialist qualification. The curriculum was developed through a joint collaboration of all program convenors and heads of training of DClinDent (Oral Medicine) programs in Australia and New Zealand at the time of development, together with the OMAA Curriculum Working Group, and was endorsed by the OMAA Credentialing and Peer Review Subcommittee in 2026. The curriculum is benchmarked against the UK GDC model and the WWOM VI competency framework, and is presented here to support transparency, reproducibility, and potential international adoption or adaptation.

2. Background

2.1. The Specialty of Oral Medicine in Australasia

The OMAA was established in 2010 to represent and advance the specialty across Australia and New Zealand, where Oral Medicine is practised across hospital dental departments, academic dental schools, and specialist private community settings. Specialist registration requires completion of an accredited Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Oral Medicine (DClinDent (Oral Med)) program. Growing patient complexity, advances in pharmacotherapy and diagnostic technology, and increasing integration with oncology, rheumatology, and pain medicine services have collectively sharpened the need for structured, progressive training [17, 18]. An international survey of Oral Medicine practice, inclusive of Australasian respondents, confirmed that while clinical content across programs was broadly consistent, program structure varied substantially [11].

The 2026 version of the OMAA's Essential Competencies (Table A1 in the Appendix A. OMAA Essential Competencies for Specialists in Oral Medicine) is organised across five domains, namely (i) Professionalism, (ii) Communication and Social Skills, (iii) Critical Thinking, (iv) Scientific and Clinical Knowledge, and (v) Patient Care, providing the common competency reference for training, assessment, and fellowship recognition across Australasia, and forms the direct basis for the development of this curriculum.

2.2. International Precedents in Oral Medicine Curriculum Development

The most fully developed national model is the UK GDC Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum, first published in 2010 and substantially updated in 2023 [5, 6]. The UK curriculum defines the specialty as concerned with the care of children and adults for the diagnosis and management of chronic, recurrent, and medically related orofacial disorders, and sets out Higher Learning Outcomes mapped against program milestones, portfolio‐based assessment, and a Certificate of Completion of Specialty Training (CCST) exit standard [6]. An important published contribution to the UK model was the Delphi‐derived medical competency framework by Atkin and McMillan (2019), which identified and validated the medical competencies required of OM specialty trainees following removal of the mandatory medical degree entry requirement [7].

In the United States, the AAOM published a competency document for new postdoctoral Oral Medicine graduates in 2015, establishing knowledge, skills, and behavioural expectations across the three core domains of the specialty as practised in North America [8]. The Scandinavian Fellowship for Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine has similarly published guidelines for oral pathology and oral medicine in the European dental curriculum [19]. In Latin America, a recent cross‐sectional survey found that while Oral Medicine is officially recognised as a dental specialty in the majority of countries, fewer than one quarter had formalised national postgraduate training programs, and clinical competency standards varied substantially [20].

The WWOM VI competency framework (2015) represents the most comprehensive international reference point for advanced Oral Medicine training, having achieved ≥ 90% consensus on 93 of 101 competencies from stakeholders across 31 countries [10]. These competencies span oral mucosal disease, salivary gland disorders, orofacial pain, TMD, neurosensory disorders, and management of the medically complex patient, and closely align with the clinical domains addressed in the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026) (Table A1 in the Appendix A. OMAA Essential Competencies for Specialists in Oral Medicine). The OMAA curriculum described in this paper was specifically benchmarked against the WWOM VI framework and the UK GDC 2023 curriculum to ensure comparability of training standards at program completion.

2.3. Curriculum Design Principles

The curriculum adopts a spiral learning framework in which core concepts are introduced at a foundational level in Year 1 and revisited with progressively greater depth and clinical complexity in Years 2 and 3 [21]. For instance, oral mucosal disease is introduced in Year 1 through foundational diagnosis and investigation, expanded in Year 2 to include complex immune‐mediated and neoplastic disease, and consolidated in Year 3 through autonomous management of multifactorial and medically complex presentations. This model is complemented by case‐based learning, journal clubs, seminar series (intra and inter‐institutions), MDT participation, and structured reflective practice, promoting the integration of scientific knowledge, clinical reasoning, and professional behaviour.

Attention to cultural competency, including engagement with the health needs and perspectives of First Nations peoples, is embedded across all 3 years in recognition of the specialist's responsibility to provide culturally safe care. First Nations cultural competency is treated as a longitudinal integrating thread across all 3 years rather than a discrete standalone module, reflecting the accreditation standards of the Australian Dental Council and Dental Council of New Zealand [22]. In Australia this encompasses engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health priorities, oral health inequities, and community‐determined models of care; in New Zealand the curriculum aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and incorporates Māori and Pacific Nations oral health perspectives and tikanga‐informed clinical practice. Delivery is expected to draw on First Nations health educators, community health workers, and consumer representatives where available at each training site, and to include structured engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ATSICCHOs) or Māori health providers as part of clinical placement. Trainees develop familiarity with the disproportionate burden of oral mucosal disease, head and neck cancer and orofacial pain, in First Nations communities, and reflect critically on the structural, historical, and socioeconomic determinants of these disparities within their clinical reasoning and communication. Assessment is integrated across the Portfolio of Evidence (PoE), 360‐degree professional behaviour assessment, and the viva voce component of the conjoint FOMAA examination, encompassing reflective PoE entries documenting culturally safe clinical encounters, direct observation of culturally responsive communication, evidence of engagement with First Nations health education or community placement, and scenario‐based questioning addressing culturally safe clinical decision‐making and health equity at program exit. Program convenors are expected to establish and maintain appropriate local community relationships to meet this curriculum requirement, recognising that available resources and partnerships will vary across training sites.

The importance of digital health literacy, including the appropriate integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in clinical practice and telehealth delivery, is recognised across the curriculum. This includes appropriate use of AI‐assisted diagnostic and educational tools, critical appraisal of AI‐generated outputs, and awareness of ethical, governance, privacy, and medico‐legal considerations relevant to emerging technologies in Oral Medicine practice. Trainees are prepared to understand the medico‐legal implications of AI‐assisted clinical decision‐making including professional accountability and duty of care where AI tools contribute to diagnostic or treatment planning processes, recognising that responsibility for clinical decisions remains with the treating specialist. Training also addresses algorithm bias and the limitations of AI tools developed or validated on datasets that may underrepresent First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, or other marginalised patient populations, a consideration of particular relevance to Oral Medicine given the disproportionate oral disease burden in these groups. Trainees develop the critical appraisal skills necessary to evaluate the evidence base, validation status, and population generalisability of AI tools before clinical application, and to recognise the boundaries of current regulatory frameworks governing AI‐assisted diagnostics in Australian and New Zealand health settings.

Foundational principles of oral disease prevention, health promotion, and lifestyle medicine are embedded across the curriculum, reflecting the specialist's responsibility to address modifiable risk factors alongside condition‐specific management. Trainees develop competency in preventive counselling, brief intervention, and the integration of lifestyle medicine principles within a person‐centred, multidisciplinary approach to care.

3. Curriculum Structure

The program is structured as a 144‐week (3‐year) full‐time DClinDent degree. Each year comprises 48 weeks and combines formal coursework, supervised clinical placement, research activity, and reflective professional development, with the proportion of clinical placement time increasing from approximately 50% in Year 1 to 70% in Year 3. Table 1 summarises the thematic structure of the 3‐year program.

TABLE 1.

Program structure at a glance.

Year	Theme	Key focus
Year 1	Foundations	Core science, basic diagnostics, professional identity, research methods
Year 2	Development	Clinical competency across all Oral Medicine domains, MDT participation
Year 3	Consolidation	Complex case management, research thesis, leadership, independent practice

Abbreviation: MDT, multidisciplinary team.

A PoE is maintained throughout all 3 years as the central assessment artefact. The PoE incorporates a standardised clinical logbook, direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS), case‐based discussion (CBD) records, multi‐source feedback, evidence of teaching and leadership activity, and a continuing professional development (CPD) log.

3.1. Course Learning Outcomes

The following overarching course learning outcomes (CLOs) apply across all 3 years of the program:

Knowledge

• CLO 1: Advanced knowledge of the basic biological, medical, dental, technical, and clinical sciences necessary to recognize the difference between normal and pathological conditions relevant to Oral Medicine practice.

• CLO 2: Specialist knowledge of moral and ethical responsibilities in the provision of care to individual patients, populations, and communities, including specialist‐level understanding of cultural values, competencies, awareness, and sensitivity, encompassing First Nations peoples.

Skills

• CLO 3: Ability to evaluate, synthesise, and apply research and professional literature relevant to Oral Medicine.

• CLO 4: Ability to design, conduct, interpret, and report original research.

• CLO 5: Capacity to manage competing demands on time, including self‐directed project work.

Application of Knowledge and Skills.

• CLO 6: Engage with new and emerging fields of study.

• CLO 7: Demonstrate an in‐depth knowledge of the specialty of Oral Medicine through discussion, interpretation, and evaluation in written and oral presentations.

• CLO 8: Demonstrate advanced problem‐solving, diagnostic, and clinical management skills in Oral Medicine.

• CLO 9: Uphold intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship, including the ability to provide safe, culturally aware care, including First Nations peoples.

• CLO 10: Participate effectively in teamwork and demonstrate effective communication skills.

4. Year 1—Foundations

Theme: Establishing a sound scientific base, professional identity, and introductory clinical skills across all Oral Medicine domains.

4.1. Learning Outcomes—Year 1

By the end of Year 1, the trainee will be able to:

• Describe the biological, medical, and psychosocial basis underpinning Oral Medicine practice (OMAA 4a–d).

• Perform a structured, comprehensive Oral Medicine history, clinical examination, and appropriate investigations (OMAA 4d–e, 5a).

• Identify and describe the principal conditions within each clinical Oral Medicine domain at a foundational level (OMAA 4, specific a–l).

• Apply professional and ethical frameworks relevant to specialist practice, including cultural competencies and sensitivity for First Nations peoples (OMAA 1a–j).

• Demonstrate clear communication with patients, carers, and the clinical team (OMAA 2a–e).

• Critically appraise a primary research article and apply basic research design principles (OMAA 3a–b).

• Perform basic procedural skills under direct supervision, including diagnostic biopsies, salivary gland investigation, local anaesthetic administration, and nerve blocks (OMAA 4 g, 5a).

• Recognise and respond to medical emergencies in the clinical setting (OMAA 5, generic d).

4.2. Year 1 Learning Areas

Year 1 coursework encompasses the following key learning areas:

• Head and Neck Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology.

• Oral Pathology and Oral Biology.

• General Medicine and Systemic Disease for the Oral Medicine Specialist.

• Research Methods and Evidence‐Based Practice.

• Professionalism, Ethics, and Law in Specialist Dentistry.

• Foundational Oral Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, and Lifestyle Medicine.

• Oral Mucosal Disease—Foundational.

• Oro‐maxillofacial Disorders—Foundational.

• Temporomandibular Disorders.

• Dental Sleep Medicine—Foundational.

• Orofacial Pain, including Chronic Orofacial Primary and Secondary Pain and Neurosensory Disorders—Foundational.

• Salivary Gland Disease—Foundational.

• Oro‐maxillofacial Bone Pathology—Foundational.

• Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Practice.

• Pharmacotherapeutics in Oral Medicine.

• Clinical Placement, including Tele‐clinical Placement (Supervised).

• Research Thesis Part A: Proposal, Literature Review, Ethics Application.

4.3. Year 1 Assessment

Formative assessment includes end‐of‐term portfolio and logbook review with the supervisor and case presentations. Summative assessment comprises written examinations and OSCEs at the end of Semester 2, with a minimum pass mark of 50% and no critical action failure. A portfolio review panel is conducted at year end.

5. Year 2—Development

Theme: Deepening clinical expertise across all Oral Medicine domains, increasing diagnostic independence, and contributing to MDT practice and service quality.

5.1. Learning Outcomes—Year 2

By the end of Year 2, the trainee will be able to:

• Diagnose and develop management plans for a full range of oral mucosal, salivary, bone, and neurosensory conditions with increasing independence (OMAA 5, specific a–g).

• Select, request, and interpret appropriate investigative modalities, including histopathology, haematology, direct immunofluorescence, and radiology (OMAA 4f).

• Demonstrate safe and effective management of orofacial pain, TMD, and dental sleep medicine presentations (OMAA 4, specific g–i; 5d–f).

• Communicate effectively through medical reports, referral letters, MDT settings, and medicolegal reports (OMAA 2d–e).

• Participate meaningfully in MDT meetings and co‐manage medically complex patients (OMAA 4 h, 5b–c, 5 g).

• Prescribe and counsel patients on medications relevant to Oral Medicine, with awareness of interactions and adverse effects (OMAA 4, specific l).

• Demonstrate leadership within the clinical team and contribute to teaching; demonstrate enhanced understanding of cultural competencies including First Nations peoples (OMAA 1i–j).

5.2. Year 2 Learning Areas

• Oral Mucosal Disease—Advanced (Autoimmune Disorders, Neoplasia, Pigmentation).

• Oral and Maxillofacial Oncology.

• Salivary Gland Disorders—Advanced Diagnosis and Management.

• Intermediate Oral Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, and Lifestyle Medicine.

• Orofacial Pain, including Chronic Orofacial Primary and Secondary Pain and Neurosensory Disorders—Enhanced Understanding.

• Dental Sleep Medicine—Enhanced Understanding.

• Investigative Techniques and Diagnostic Imaging in Oral Medicine.

• Systemic Disease and Oral Manifestations.

• Clinical Placement, including Tele‐clinical Placement II (Supervised–Semi‐independent)

• Research Thesis Part B: Research Methodology, Ethics Approval, Data Collection.

5.3. Year 2 Assessment

Formative assessment includes bi‐monthly portfolio and clinical supervisor reviews, structured case discussions each semester, and seminar and journal club presentations. Summative assessment comprises written examinations, OSCEs (minimum pass 50%), and a portfolio review incorporating 360‐degree professional behaviour assessment.

6. Year 3—Consolidation

Theme: Independent specialist practice, research output, professional leadership, and preparation for autonomous specialist registration.

6.1. Learning Outcomes—Year 3

By the end of Year 3, the trainee will be able to:

• Demonstrate autonomous, expert‐level diagnosis and management of complex, multifaceted Oral Medicine cases with minimal supervision (OMAA 5, all domains).

• Lead MDT discussions and coordinate care plans for oncology, complex pain, and medically compromised patients (OMAA 4 h, 5b, 5 g).

• Critically appraise, synthesise, and apply contemporary evidence to clinical decision‐making; identify gaps in evidence and contribute original research (OMAA 3a–b, 4a).

• Complete and submit a research thesis or substantial research project meeting postgraduate research standards (OMAA 1 h, 3a–b).

• Demonstrate leadership in the dental and health community through education, mentoring, advocacy, or service development; apply expert‐level cultural competency and sensitivity for First Nations peoples (OMAA 1i–j).

• Manage clinical and professional governance responsibilities including record‐keeping, duty of candour obligations, and equality and diversity compliance (OMAA 1e, 1 g).

• Adapt clinical communication to telehealth, digital, and cross‐cultural environments (OMAA 2b–c).

• Reflect critically on personal scope of practice and plan a sustainable trajectory of continuing professional development (OMAA 1a, 1 h).

6.2. Year 3 Learning Areas

• Complex Case Management in Oral Medicine.

• Oral and Maxillofacial Oncology—Advanced MDT Practice.

• Advanced Orofacial Pain, including Chronic Orofacial Primary and Secondary Pain and Neurosensory Disorders.

• Advanced Dental Sleep Medicine.

• Professional Leadership, Education, and Governance.

• Clinical Placement, including Tele‐clinical Placement III (Independent Practice).

• Advanced Oral Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, and Lifestyle Medicine.

• Research Thesis Part C: Data Analysis, Writing, and Submission.

6.3. Year 3 Assessment

Formative assessment includes monthly supervisor case reviews, research supervision meetings, and peer‐reviewed journal clubs. Summative assessment comprises the conjoint Fellowship of the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia (FOMAA) Examination—incorporating written papers, OSCE, viva voce, and case report—a minor research thesis examination, and a comprehensive Portfolio examination conducted by a specialist panel covering all five OMAA competency domains, supported by a 360‐degree professional behaviour assessment.

7. Clinical Competency Targets

Minimum case encounter targets are specified for each year to ensure adequate breadth and depth of clinical exposure. These targets are recorded in the PoE and verified by the clinical supervisor. The numeric minima were derived through structured consultation across all Australasian DClinDent (Oral Medicine) program convenors and heads of training, drawing on existing institutional logbook expectations, published international competency‐based training frameworks, and the WWOM VI validated competency set (2015) [10]. In the absence of a published evidence base specifying precise case volumes required for competency acquisition in each Oral Medicine domain, noting that this gap applies equally to international comparator curricula, the targets represent expert consensus‐derived minimum indicative thresholds. While they are not rigid quotas, in keeping with CBME principles, entrustment‐based supervisor assessment of clinical competence and readiness for independent practice takes precedence over case number alone, and trainees who have met numeric targets but not yet demonstrated competency should undertake additional supervised encounters before progression is approved. Where a cell indicates “Not separately targeted (domain addressed within broader encounter categories),” the clinical domain in question is embedded within other encounter types or learning areas in that year rather than tracked as a discrete logbook category. Numeric targets will be subject to revision as outcome data from program graduates accumulate. Table 2 summarises the minimum clinical encounter targets across the 3 years.

TABLE 2.

Minimum clinical competency targets by year.

Clinical encounter type	Year 1 (supervised)	Year 2 (semi‐independent)	Year 3 (independent)
New patient history and examination	~45 a	~45 a	~45 a
Oral mucosal conditions	~45 a	~45 (incl. autoimmune) a	~45 (complex/co‐morbid) a
Diagnostic biopsy	~45 (supervised) a	~45 (independent) a	~45 (cumulative total) a
TMD assessment and management	~45 a	~45 a	NST c
Orofacial pain/chronic orofacial pain	NST b	~45 a	~45 a
Salivary gland examination/investigations	~45 a	~25 (imaging) a	NST c
Oncology referral and pathway participation	NST b	~25 a	~25 a
Systemic disease with oral manifestations	NST b	~25 a	~25 a
Dental sleep medicine assessment	Foundational d	Enhanced d	~25 a
MDT meeting attendance/presentation	~20 (attendance)	~20 (active)	~20 (presentation)
Medical/specialist reports authored	NST b	~45 a	~25 a
Telehealth consultations	Embedded e	Embedded e	~20
Teaching (lecture/tutorial delivery)	NST b	~25 sessions a	~25 sessions a

Abbreviations: MDT, multidisciplinary team; NST, not separately targeted; TMD, temporomandibular disorders.

^a Approximate minimum indicative threshold; not a rigid quota. Competency sign‐off by the supervisor panel takes precedence over case number alone. Numeric targets will be subject to revision as outcome data from program graduates accumulate.

^b NST: Not separately targeted in this year. The domain is introduced within broader clinical encounter categories or coursework and is not tracked as a discrete logbook entry at this stage of training.

^c NST: Not separately targeted in this year. Cumulative competency from prior year(s) is considered sufficient for this domain; the domain continues to be encountered in practice but is not separately logged.

^d Foundational/Enhanced: Discrete numeric targets are not applied at this stage. Exposure is embedded within supervised clinical placement and assessed qualitatively by the supervisor against year‐level learning outcomes.

^e Embedded: Telehealth encounters are included within overall clinical placement hours and are not separately enumerated at this stage of training.

8. OMAA Competency Mapping

The OMAA Essential Competencies (2026) are organised across five domains. Table 3 maps each domain to the key competencies addressed and the years in which they are primarily delivered. All domains receive ongoing reinforcement throughout the program; the year designations indicate when competencies are formally introduced or substantially advanced.

TABLE 3.

OMAA competency mapping across the 3‐year program.

Domain	Key competencies addressed	Year(s)
1. Professionalism	Scope of practice (1a); integrity and trustworthiness (1b); patient‐centred care (1c); ethics, law and cultural competency (1d); duty of candour (1e); professional behaviour (1f); record‐keeping legislation (1 g); CPD and research (1 h); supporting others (1i); leadership (1j)	1–3
2. Communication and social skills	Patient and carer communication (2a–b); telehealth and digital tools (2c); medicolegal reporting (2d); knowledge translation (2e)	1–3
3. Critical thinking	Evidence appraisal and evidence‐based practice (3a); synthesis of complex concepts (3b); research design and thesis completion	1–3
4. Scientific and clinical knowledge (generic)	Literature and scientific basis of dentistry (4a–b); head and neck anatomy and pathology (4c); comprehensive patient evaluation (4d–e); investigative techniques (4f); clinical procedures (4 g); MDT management (4 h)	Y1: 4a–e Y2: 4f–h Y3: advanced
4. Scientific and clinical knowledge (specific)	Oral mucosal conditions (a); orofacial bones (b); salivary glands (c); head and neck infections (d); oncology (e); neurosensory disorders (f); orofacial pain incl. chronic primary and secondary pain (g); TMD (h); dental sleep medicine (i); systemic disease manifestations (j); general medicine (k); pharmacotherapeutics (l)	Y1: a–l intro Y2: enhanced Y3: advanced
5. Patient care (generic)	Diagnosis and treatment planning (5a); complex and MDT management (5b); managing complications (5c); medical emergencies (5d)	Y1: 5a, 5d Y2: 5b, 5c Y3: all
5. Patient care (specific)	Oral mucosal and soft tissue (5a); salivary glands (5b); systemic disease oral manifestations (5c); orofacial pain incl. chronic primary and secondary pain (5d); neurosensory disorders (5e); TMD (5f); MDT medical management (5 g)	Y1: intro Y2: 5a–g Y3: all

Note: CPD, continuing professional development; incl., including; MDT, multidisciplinary team; OMAA, Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia (competency reference codes 1a–j, 2a–e, 3a–b, 4a–h, 5a–g denote individual competency items within the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026), available in full in Table A1 in the Appendix A); TMD, temporomandibular disorders; Y1, Year 1; Y2, Year 2; Y3, Year 3.

9. Assessment Framework

The assessment framework is designed as a longitudinal, programmatic model providing ongoing, multi‐modal evidence of competency acquisition across all five OMAA domains. Assessment occurs at both formative and summative levels throughout each year, with progression requirements gating advancement between years. Assessment is additionally informed by principles of graduated supervision and entrustment‐based assessment. Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are progressively incorporated to evaluate increasing trainee independence across key specialist Oral Medicine activities, including comprehensive patient assessment, multidisciplinary case management, procedural skills, and specialist communication. Entrustment decisions are based on longitudinal supervisor observations across multiple clinical contexts and assessment modalities, including DOPS, CBDs, portfolio review, and multi‐source feedback.

To illustrate the entrustment framework in practice, six representative EPAs are described below. Each is evaluated against a five‐level entrustment scale: Level 1 (observation only); Level 2 (act with proactive direct supervision); Level 3 (act with reactive supervision on site); Level 4 (act with remote supervision); and Level 5 (act independently and supervise others). Progression is based on longitudinal supervisor observation across multiple encounters and assessment modalities rather than any single assessment event.

Representative EPAs include: (1) Comprehensive Oral Medicine Assessment and Diagnosis—structured history, examination, investigation, and management planning for new or complex referral patients (target: Level 4–5 by completion; assessed via DOPS, CBD, logbook); (2) Oral Mucosal Disease Diagnosis and Management—independent diagnosis and management of immune‐mediated, potentially malignant, or neoplastic conditions including biopsy and histopathological interpretation (Level 4–5 by completion; DOPS, CBD, portfolio); (3) Orofacial Pain and TMD Assessment and Management—biopsychosocial formulation and management including pharmacological, behavioural, and MDT referral components (Level 4–5 by completion; CBD, multi‐source feedback); (4) MDT Participation and Specialist Communication—case presentation at MDT, specialist report authorship, and clinician‐to‐clinician communication (Level 1–2 in Year 1 progressing to Level 4–5 by completion; direct observation, report audit, 360‐degree assessment); (5) Management of the Medically Complex Patient—risk stratification and oral health care of patients with significant systemic disease, medication complexity, or oncological history (Level 4–5 by completion; CBD, portfolio, supervisor entrustment rating); and (6) Procedural Skills—Diagnostic Biopsy and Salivary Gland Investigation—safe, consented performance of incisional, excisional, and minor salivary gland biopsy with appropriate anaesthesia and post‐procedural management (Level 2 in Year 1 progressing to Level 5 by completion; DOPS, procedural logbook). Entrustment level decisions are recorded in the PoE at each formal review point and contribute directly to progression decisions and final specialist panel PoE sign‐off.

Assessment governance within the OMAA curriculum operates on a dual‐moderation model. All formative assessments and the summative written examinations, OSCEs, and portfolio reviews conducted in Years 1 and 2 are locally moderated by the host institution's program convenor and clinical supervisor panel. PoE sign‐off at the end of each year requires endorsement by the supervising specialist panel at the host institution, confirming that the trainee has met minimum clinical case targets, demonstrated satisfactory progression across all five OMAA competency domains, and received a satisfactory 360‐degree professional behaviour assessment. At program completion, the conjoint FOMAA Examination, which comprises the written papers, OSCE, viva voce, logbook assessment, and case report, is conducted and moderated at the Australasian level under the governance of the OMAA. The minor research thesis examination requires external examiners appointed by individual program convenors drawing on national and international experts in the relevant area of research. This dual structure of assessment ensures that institutional autonomy is preserved for formative and developmental assessment while the exit standard is independently verified and nationally consistent across all training sites. Inter‐site calibration is supported through examiner training, standardised marking rubrics, and cross‐institutional representation on FOMAA examination panels, providing a mechanism for ongoing harmonisation of competency judgments across the Australasian training network.

Table 4 provides a summary of the assessment methods and progression requirements.

TABLE 4.

Assessment framework and progression requirements.

Assessment method	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Formative	End‐of‐term portfolio/logbook review; case presentation	Bi‐monthly portfolio and clinical supervisor review; structured case discussion; journal club	Monthly supervisor case review; research supervision; peer‐reviewed journal club
Summative	Written examinations; OSCEs (min. pass 50%, no critical action failure); Portfolio review	Written examinations; OSCEs (min. pass 50%); Portfolio review; 360‐degree professional behaviour assessment	Conjoint FOMAA Examination (written, OSCE, viva voce, case report); minor thesis examination; comprehensive Portfolio examination
Progression threshold	Pass all summatives; PC sign‐off on PoE; minimum clinical case numbers	Pass all summatives; satisfactory 360‐degree; cumulative clinical targets met	Pass conjoint FOMAA exam; minor thesis examination; specialist panel PoE sign‐off; aggregate case log met

Abbreviations: CBD, case‐based discussion; CPD, continuing professional development\; DClinDent, Doctor of Clinical Dentistry; DOPS, direct observation of procedural skills; FOMAA, Fellowship of the Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia; min., minimum; OMAA, Oral Medicine Academy of Australasia; OSCE, objective structured clinical examination; PC, program convenor; PoE, Portfolio of Evidence.

9.1. Portfolio of Evidence

The PoE is the central assessment instrument across all 3 years. Assessment decisions are supported by longitudinal input from multiple supervisors to promote consistency and calibration of competency judgements across training settings. Trainees maintain a reflective, evidence‐based record of their progress against OMAA competency benchmarks, incorporating:

• A clinical logbook in standardised OMAA format.

• Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) and sessional clinical assessments.

• Case‐Based Discussion (CBD) records.

• Multi‐source feedback (360‐degree professional behaviour assessment).

• Research outputs and milestones.

• Evidence of teaching and leadership activity.

• A continuing professional development (CPD) log.

9.2. Minor Thesis

The minor thesis designation reflects a scope distinguishable from a standalone doctoral degree while remaining substantive in research standard. The thesis is expected to comprise a focused, hypothesis‐ or question‐driven study within a recognised Oral Medicine clinical domain, typically 20 000–30 000 words inclusive of references and appendices, and of a standard suitable for submission to a peer‐reviewed journal. Research is developed progressively across the 3 years, beginning with literature review and ethics application in Year 1, followed by methodology, ethics approval, and data collection in Year 2, and culminating in analysis, writing, and submission in Year 3. The thesis is examined by a minimum of two examiners, at least one external to the host institution, both holding specialist qualifications in either Oral Medicine or a directly relevant discipline. Assessment criteria include clarity of the research question, quality of the literature review, methodological rigour, accuracy of data analysis, validity of conclusions, quality of written expression, and overall contribution to knowledge in Oral Medicine. The thesis may be accepted without amendment, accepted subject to minor or major amendments, or referred for substantial revision. Successful thesis examination is a mandatory requirement for award of the DClinDent degree and eligibility to sit the conjoint FOMAA exit examination. Specific word length requirements, formatting standards, and submission procedures are governed by the regulations of the candidate's host institution.

9.3. Remediation

Trainees who do not meet progression requirements at any point will be offered a structured remediation plan developed in consultation with their program convenor and discipline lead, with reassessment at an agreed milestone. The number of permitted reassessment attempts is governed by the host institution's assessment policy.

10. Discussion

This paper presents the first nationally published, competency‐aligned curriculum for 3‐year DClinDent postgraduate training in Oral Medicine in Australasia, grounded in the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026). Several features of the curriculum merit discussion in the context of the published international literature on Oral Medicine specialist training.

UK GDC Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum (2023) is the most directly comparable published national model and served as the primary international reference against which the OMAA curriculum was benchmarked [6]. Both share a competency‐based structure, PoE assessment architecture, and a conjoint exit examination. The UK curriculum permits training duration reduction of up to 24 months for applicants with full GMC registration, a provision that reflects the historical dual medicine‐and‐dentistry entry requirement, whereas the OMAA curriculum is framed as a uniform 3‐year DClinDent program [6]. The AAOM postdoctoral competency framework (2015) takes a narrower scope than either the UK or OMAA models, focusing on three clinical domains and omitting dental sleep medicine as a distinct training area [8]. The OMAA curriculum explicitly includes dental sleep medicine as a longitudinal domain across all 3 years, reflecting the expanding role of Oral Medicine specialists in the management of sleep‐disordered breathing in the Australasian practice context. In this respect the OMAA scope is broader than the AAOM framework and more closely aligned with the UK GDC curriculum, though the OMAA extends further to formally incorporate telehealth competencies as a distinct clinical placement modality, an element absent from existing published national curricula.

The WWOM VI internationally validated competency set (2015) provides a useful reference for evaluating the clinical breadth of the OMAA curriculum [10]. The five OMAA competency domains encompass all major clinical categories validated by the WWOM VI, namely oral mucosal and soft tissue disease, salivary gland disorders, orofacial pain, TMD, neurosensory conditions, and medically complex patient management. Dental sleep medicine was not a primary focus of the WWOM VI competencies but has since been recognized internationally as a growing clinical field of Oral Medicine practice. The OMAA curriculum therefore extends the WWOM VI framework to reflect contemporary Australasian scope of practice. Bez and colleagues argued in 2017 that European Union member states should agree on a minimum 3‐year postgraduate standard for Oral Medicine training to achieve uniformity across residency programs; this goal remains aspirational at the time of writing [12]. The OMAA curriculum demonstrates that a 3‐year, nationally standardised model is operationally feasible and can be documented in a form suitable for peer‐reviewed publication and external quality assurance. Importantly, the curriculum also provides a transparent and reproducible benchmark framework for accreditation, external quality assurance, and potential adoption or adaptation by emerging Oral Medicine training programs both within Australasia and internationally.

The adoption of a spiral learning framework reflects well‐established principles of constructivist educational theory and is consistent with approaches employed in medical postgraduate training [21]. By revisiting core domains such as orofacial pain, oral mucosal disease, and oncology at increasing levels of complexity across the 3 years, the curriculum ensures both conceptual consolidation and progressive clinical independence, rather than episodic exposure to isolated topics.

The inclusion of formal digital health and AI competencies in Year 1 reflects a growing evidence base supporting the integration of AI‐assisted diagnostics in healthcare and oral medicine contexts [23, 24]. Embedding this literacy early in training, rather than treating it as an elective supplement, positions graduates to engage critically and safely with emerging technologies at program completion. To our knowledge, no currently published national Oral Medicine curriculum formally incorporates AI integration as a named learning area, representing a distinctive contribution of the OMAA curriculum to the international literature.

The explicit, longitudinal embedding of cultural competency including specific engagement with First Nations health priorities aligns with national health policy imperatives in Australia and New Zealand and is consistent with recommendations of the Australian Dental Council and Dental Council of New Zealand regarding culturally safe dental education and practice [22]. Existing published curricula from the UK, USA, and international frameworks do not address First Nations or Indigenous cultural safety as a specific training component. This represents a deliberate departure from curricula that treat cultural safety as a discrete, isolated module rather than an integrating thread across all years of training and may offer a model for other national curricula to adapt in their own indigenous health contexts.

The use of a conjoint exit examination benchmarked against the FOMAA Fellowship Examination is intended to ensure equivalence with alternative specialist registration pathways and to facilitate harmonisation across Australasian institutions. The dual‐pathway model DClinDent degree plus FOMAA Fellowship is analogous to arrangements for other dental specialties in the region and mirrors the intercollegiate examination structures employed in the United Kingdom [25, 26].

The minimum clinical case targets described in this curriculum (Table 2) are intended as thresholds rather than ceilings. In keeping with CBME philosophy, competency sign‐off by the clinical supervisor panel takes precedence over case number alone [13]. Where trainees achieve the minimum case targets but have not yet demonstrated competency, additional supervised encounters should be arranged before progression is approved.

There are recognised limitations to this curriculum as presented. First, the case targets are minimum thresholds requiring periodic review as evidence accumulates regarding the case volume needed for competency acquisition in each domain. Second, implementation fidelity will depend on the availability of appropriately qualified clinical supervisors and sufficient patient volume, which varies across training sites. Variability in patient demographics and referral patterns across institutions may also influence the spectrum of clinical exposure available within individual programs. Accordingly, supplementary external rotations, inter‐institutional collaboration, and multidisciplinary referral exposure are built into the current programs to ensure breadth of clinical experience across all competency domains. Third, the integration of telehealth clinical placements while appropriate for contemporary practice requires site‐specific infrastructure and governance arrangements that fall outside the scope of this curriculum document.

Fourth, the OMAA curriculum was developed through expert consensus across all Australasian DClinDent (Oral Medicine) program convenors and heads of training, providing a strong foundation of practitioner knowledge and institutional experience. However, independent external validation has not yet been undertaken, and this is identified as the highest priority for the next phase of curriculum development. A structured Delphi study is planned as the primary validation methodology, modelled on the approach employed by Atkin and McMillan (2019) for the UK medical competency framework and the WWOM VI international survey (2015) [7, 10]. The planned Delphi process will invite participation from a purposively sampled panel of Oral Medicine specialists, program convenors, clinical supervisors, recent DClinDent graduates, and referring clinician stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand, with the aim of achieving ≥ 80% consensus across competency domains, clinical case targets, and assessment framework components in a minimum of two iterative rounds. International representation from the UK, North America, and European Oral Medicine programs will be sought to benchmark the OMAA curriculum against comparator training systems and to support potential international adoption or adaptation.

Prospective outcome measurement will be established as a parallel priority. The following indicators are proposed as the primary outcome metrics for ongoing program evaluation: (i) FOMAA Examination pass rates by sitting and by institution, reported annually to the OMAA Credentialing and Peer Review Subcommittee; (ii) time‐to‐completion data for DClinDent (Oral Medicine) graduates across all Australasian training sites; (iii) graduate specialist registration rates with the Dental Board of Australia and the Dental Council of New Zealand within 12 months of program completion; (iv) graduate‐reported self‐assessment of preparedness for independent specialist practice, collected via a structured survey at program exit and at 12 months post‐completion; (v) clinical supervisor assessment of graduate readiness for independent practice, using a standardised entrustment rating instrument; and (vi) research thesis completion and publication rates as a proxy measure of research training outcomes. Aggregate de‐identified outcome data will be reported to the OMAA Curriculum Working Group on an annual basis and made available to training institutions to support internal quality assurance.

The curriculum will be subject to formal scheduled review on a 3‐yearly cycle, aligned with the accreditation review cycles of the Australian Dental Council and the Dental Council of New Zealand. Each review cycle will incorporate accumulated outcome data from the metrics above, feedback from trainees, clinical supervisors, referring clinicians, and consumers collected through structured annual program evaluation surveys, any relevant updates to the OMAA Essential Competencies, changes to specialist registration requirements issued by the Dental Board of Australia or the Dental Council of New Zealand, and developments in the international Oral Medicine curriculum literature. Unscheduled targeted review may be triggered by material changes to the specialist registration framework, significant shifts in the scope of Oral Medicine practice, or findings from the Delphi validation process. All revisions will be endorsed by the OMAA Credentialing and Peer Review Subcommittee prior to implementation.

11. Conclusions

The OMAA 3‐year DClinDent curriculum for Oral Medicine specialist training represents the first published, competency‐aligned postgraduate training framework for the specialty in Australasia. Benchmarked against the UK GDC Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum (2023) and the internationally validated WWOM VI competency framework (2015), and extending beyond existing published curricula to encompass dental sleep medicine, telehealth clinical placement, AI integration, and longitudinal First Nations cultural competency, it provides a comprehensive and regionally contextualised model for specialist training. By mapping all learning activities to the OMAA Essential Competencies (2026) and linking program completion to a conjoint FOMAA exit examination, the curriculum offers a transparent and reproducible framework for national implementation and external quality assurance. Publication of this framework is intended to support comparability of training outcomes across institutions, advance the international literature on postgraduate Oral Medicine education, and provide a replicable model for regions still developing formal specialty training infrastructure.

Author Contributions

Sue‐Ching Yeoh, Ramesh Balasubramaniam, Michael McCullough: conceptualisation. Sue‐Ching Yeoh, Ramesh Balasubramaniam, Michael McCullough: writing – original draft. Sue‐Ching Yeoh, Ramesh Balasubramaniam, Michael McCullough, Ajith Polonowita, Maryam Jessri: writing – review and editing.

Funding

The authors have nothing to report.

Disclosure

This curriculum was developed through a joint collaboration of all program convenors/heads of training of DClinDent (Oral Medicine) programs in Australia and New Zealand at the time of development, together with the OMAA Curriculum Working Group. The DClinDent degree is the registrable specialist qualification recognized by the Dental Board of Australia and the Dental Council of New Zealand. The curriculum was endorsed by the OMAA Credentialing and Peer Review Subcommittee in 2026.

Ethics Statement

The authors have nothing to report.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Appendix A.

TABLE A1.

OMAA essential competencies for specialists in oral medicine.

Domain	Competencies
Professionalism	Generic
On graduation, an oral medicine specialist will have the knowledge and skills to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgement, adaptability and responsibility as a practitioner and show leadership in the profession.	A graduate specialist is expected to be competent in the following, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Recognising the personal limitations and scope of the speciality and knowing when to refer or seek advice appropriately.
	bPracticing with personal and professional integrity, honesty and trustworthiness.
	cProviding patient‐centred care, including selecting and prioritising treatment options that are compassionate and respectful of patients' best interests, dignity and choices and which seek to improve community health.
	dUnderstanding and applying the moral, cultural, ethical principles and legal responsibilities involved in the provision of specialist care to individual patients, to communities and populations.
	eRecognise a professional and statutory duty of candour and act accordingly within established governance, legal and regulatory systems, including equality and diversity.
	fDisplaying appropriate professional behaviour and communication towards all members of the clinical team and referring health practitioner/s.
	gUnderstanding and applying legislation including that related to record‐keeping.
	hDemonstrating specialist professional growth and development through research and learning
	iSupporting the professional development and education for all members of the dental and/or health community
	jDemonstrating leadership in the profession.
2Communication and social skills	Generic
On graduation, an oral medicine specialist will be able to interpret and transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to dental and non‐ dental audiences.	A graduate specialist in expected to be competent in the following, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Identifying and understanding a patient's, or their patient's guardian or carer's expectations, desires and attitudes when planning and delivering specialist treatment.
	bCommunicating eUectively with patients, their families, relatives and carers in a manner that takes into account factors such as their age, intellectual development, social and cultural background.
	cUse of technological and telecommunication aids in planning and delivering specialist treatment.
	dCommunicating eUectively in all forms of health and legal reporting.
	eInterpreting and communicating knowledge, skills and ideas.
3Critical thinking	Generic
On graduation, an oral medicine specialist will have the expert, specialised cognitive and technical skills in a body of knowledge or practice to independently analyse critically, reflect on and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories and research and apply established theories to a body of knowledge or practice.	A graduate specialist is expected to be competent in the following, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Critically evaluating scientific research and literature, products and techniques to inform evidence‐based specialist practice.
	bSynthesising complex information, problems, concepts and theories.
4Scientific and clinical knowledge	Generic
On graduation, an oral medicine specialist will have a body of knowledge that includes the extended understanding of recent developments in Oral Medicine and its professional practice, as well as knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to Oral Medicine and its professional practice.	A graduate specialist in expected to be competent in the following areas of knowledge, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Historical and contemporary literature
	bThe scientific basis of dentistry including the relevant biological, medical and psychosocial sciences.
	cDevelopment, anatomy, physiological and pathology of hard and soft tissues of the head and neck.
	dComprehensive patient evaluation with history taking including medical, psychosocial and specific history relating to symptoms and/or condition, of patient, of any age.
	ePerforming appropriate clinical examination
	fThe range of investigative techniques, laboratory and imaging, with appropriate request and interpretation of results to guide patient care.
	gTechnical and clinical procedures to establish diagnosis and for management of diseases and disorders.
	hManagement and treatment planning with multidisciplinary engagement for complex cases.
	Specific
	A graduate specialist is expected to be competent in the following areas of knowledge, as is relevant to Oral Medicine
	The basis and management of oral mucosal and perioral lesions, and conditions
	bThe basis and management of disease of the orofacial bones
	cThe basis and management of salivary gland disorders
	dThe basis and management of infections of the head and neck region
	eThe basis and management of oral and maxillofacial oncology
	fThe basis and management of neurosensory disorders
	gThe basis and management of orofacial pain
	hThe basis and management of temporomandibular disorders
	iThe basis and management of dental sleep medicine
	jOral and maxillofacial manifestations of systemic disease
	kThe principles and application of general medicine
	lThe principles and application of pharmacotherapeutics
5Patient care	Generic
On graduation, an oral medicine specialist will, with a high level of personal autonomy and accountability, be able to apply highly specialised knowledge and skills within Oral Medicine or professional practice. This includes, clinical information gathering, diagnosis and management planning, clinical treatment and evaluation.	A graduate specialist is expected to be competent in the following, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Applying decision‐making, clinical reasoning and judgement to develop a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan by interpreting and correlating findings from the history, clinical examination, imaging and other diagnostic tests.
	bManaging complex cases, including multidisciplinary management.
	cManaging complications related to disease or disorders and their treatment
	dRecognise, manage and where required provide basic and immediate life support for medical emergencies, in line with accepted guidelines.
	Specific
	A graduate specialist is expected to be competent in the following, as relevant to Oral Medicine
	Diagnosing and managing oral mucosal and soft tissue conditions in the oral and maxillofacial region
	bDiagnosing and managing disorders of major and minor salivary glands
	cDiagnosing and managing the oral and maxillofacial manifestations of systemic disease and disorders
	dDiagnosing and managing orofacial pain
	eDiagnosing and managing neurosensory disorders
	fDiagnosing and managing temporomandibular disorders
	gManaging medical diseases and disorders as part of a multidisciplinary team as relevant to the practice of Oral Medicine

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.