DENTAL FACULTY. WHAT IS A DENTIST DIFFERENT FROM SPECIALISTS IN OTHER SPHERES OF MEDICINE
Get to the root!
Kozma Prutkov
The words of epigraph became the grounds for old joke: “Wise men and dentists look into the root!” Dentistry is really a unique specialty. So, most doctors-dentists treat the disease that injures almost all mankind – dental caries. Besides, this disease is incurable; tooth enamel is the solidest tissue in the organism and cannot regenerate. And its restoration requires involving such spheres as physics, chemistry, material engineering, and esthetics into dentistry. A dentist shall have the exceptional capabilities of sculptor, artist, designer in order to restore a human smile, to return not only the lost function of teeth and jaw apparatus but to provide with acceptable esthetics of face. Dentistry is not limited by treatment of teeth: facial surgery, implantology, orthodontic treatment of facial abnormalities and deformations, orthopedic restoration of integrity in tooth rows, therapy for diseases of tunica mucosa of mouth and paradontium tissues, prevention, neurodentistry – it is not the full list of spheres that are united by the term “dentistry”. Often it is a dentist, who becomes the specialist that first diagnoses the serious diseases, syndromes, birth defects as mouth cavity, especially tunica mucosa are rather precisely mirror the state of many internal organs.
From what everything started.
Everything changes, nothing disappears
Ovidius
Soon the dental faculty of NMU will be 100 years old. And the dental education started in Kyiv in 1919, when the odontologic institute with four years of study was established on the base of three nationalized private dental schools. On 18, May, 1920 the odontologic institute was joined on the rights of faculty to Kyiv institute of health care. However twice – in 1931 and in 1945 the faculty was separated into individual institute, and only in 1955 the dental institute was finally reorganized into faculty at Kyiv medical institute.
The first dean at odontologic faculty in 1920 was K.P. Tarasov. The personality of this unique human united many interesting things in itself. Thus, after receiving the medical education at military hospital for a long time he was engaged in psychiatry and only then entered Kyiv dental school. Having received the dental specialty, he made much in the field of practical odontology and organization of dental aid. During the hard times for the country the first dean at dental faculty managed brilliantly organizing the training of specialists-dentists. The family of K.P. Tarasov was very intelligent, and it is not surprising that one of her daughters – Alla Kostiantynivna – later became a famous actress (she made the speech with memories about her father at celebration of the 45th anniversary of dental faculty).
At the beginning of the 60-ies the faculty acquired its largest clinical base – dental building, where the Dental medical center of O.O. Bohomolets NMU is based now. The history of faculty is indissolubly united with such famous names as professors I.Y. Novyk, S.N. Weisblat, G.I. Semenchenko, A.I. Betelman, M.V. Fetisov, S.Y. Kryshtab, Yu.Y. Bernadskyy, M.F. Danylevskyy. In the course of time the scientific and educational potential of the faculty developed, its material technical base was improved.
Today of the faculty
If you want any changes in the future – become that change now
Mahatma Gandhi
The dental faculty today is the powerful community of specialists that trains the first class specialist in occupation “dentistry”, runs the active scientific and treatment consulting work and cooperates with the colleagues from different countries, among them – Kingdom of Sweden, Italian Republic, United States of America, People’s Republic of China, Federative Republic of Germany, Republic of Greece, Federative Republic of Brazil, etc.
Six special departments train future doctors with specialty:
– therapeutic dentistry (head at department – professor A.V. Borysenko)
– surgical dentistry and facial surgery (head at department – professor V.A. Malanchuk, corresponding member in NAMS of Ukraine, Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine, President in Ukrainian association of facial surgeons)
– orthopedic dentistry (head at department – professor V.P. Nespriadko, Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine)
– children’s therapeutic dentistry and prevention of dental diseases (head at department – professor L.O. Khomenko, Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine, President in Ukrainian association of preventive and children’s dentistry)
– surgical dentistry and facial surgery of children’s age (head at department – professor L.M. Yakovenko)
– orthodontics and propedeutics of orthopedic dentistry (head at department – professor P.S. Flis, Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine, Honorary President in Association of orthodontists of Ukraine).
The main clinical base of the faculty is the Dental medical center that contains 300 dental installations, divisions in all directions of dentistry, clinical laboratory, radiology and anesthesiology department, dental laboratory. The center is furnished with modern diagnostic and treatment equipment. The new lecture hall, computer classes, rooms for practical classes on homunculi have been waiting for students, the clinical offices are repaired and furnished with modern dental installations. The perspective plan for development of dental faculty and medical dental center anticipates its transformation into one of the most powerful bases for training of specialists in Europe.
As of today, the dental faculty of O.O. Bohomolets NMU is:
- over 1,500 national and over 350 foreign students
- over 250 teachers (15 professors, Doctors of Sciences, 52 assistant professors, 161 assistants, 52 teachers and senior teachers)
- powerful scientific schools in different directions of dentistry, known in world dental community
- possessing the practical skills on homunculi at the second course
- running the clinical reception by students, starting already from the third course
- participation and victories of students in all-Ukrainian Olympiads in dentistry, contests of professional mastership
- work of scientific students’ clubs, participation and victories of students at the faculty in scientific conferences at University and outside it, including far abroad; prize places in the contest of students’ scientific works by MES of Ukraine
- international intellectual students’ competitions “Brain ring in dentistry” and “What? Where? When? – in dentistry”
- and much more interesting, useful and necessary things for training of qualified doctor-dentist.
The dentists-graduates from NMU successfully work in many countries all over the world and always remember their Alma mater.
