Dental Faculty: a century-long journey

 

At the end of the 19th century, according to the law of 1891 «On the transformation of the training of dental art», there were two ranks for specialists in dental medicine: dentist and teeth doctor. The title of dentist was obtained through training in the private office of the dentist on an individual program with the subsequent passing of the examination commission at the university. Dentists were limited in professional rights: for example, they should not be engaged in the treatment of oral diseases, except for dental diseases. The title of dentist was received by graduates of dental schools with a 2.5-year course of study according to the program approved by law. At the same time, it was necessary to have a general education of at least six classes of the gymnasium. The title of dentist was awarded after passing the exam at the medical faculty. Both categories of specialists in dental medicine did not receive general medical education and did not belong to the category of doctors. However, there were also doctors with higher education who specialized in dental treatment: they were called odontologists.

 

On October 1, 1918, a decree of the People’s Commissariat of Health was issued on the reform of dental education, which stated: «The dental education will be inextricably linked with the entire system of higher medical education». In the summer of 1919, the People’s Commissariat of Health issued a decree on the transfer of dental education to medical faculties of universities and on the closure of private dental schools, turning them into State Dental Clinics that existed as educational and auxiliary institutions at medical faculties of universities. The People’s Commissar of Health of Ukraine decided to immediately open instead of dental schools the Higher Scientific and Educational Institution – the State Odontological Institute with a four-year course of study. What happened next, Professor L.A. Bileikin describes in an article in 1924: «The Soviet authorities were so warm caring about odontological education that, leaving Kyiv, the People’s Commissioner of Health gave me, as the managing Odontological Institute, one hundred thousand rubles to support the Institute with a proposal to try to preserve it until the secondary arrival of the Soviet power, which was supposed to be in the near future. The Institute, which had 200 students, existed until October 1920… In October 18, 1920 Gubernia Executive Committee of Kyiv issued an order that the Odontological Institute was attached to the Institute of Health (now the Medical University) as a separate faculty».

So, the first Odontological Faculty in Ukraine was created, and Konstantin Prokopovich Tarasov was appointed its dean.

In those days, of the Dental Faculty was not always in demand among young people: «Preference of the Faculty of Medicine among young people, who are aspiring to higher medical education and related rights, naturally. The essence of the young Faculty of Odontology is not yet known, and its purpose is presented to the common people as a small owner of a goat’s foot and cover up the leaky teeth, which does not justify four-year training, because another year, and a student can be «real doctor» with the right to practice in all specialties, including dentistry. Not many people have chosen Odontfaculty. … Some of this has to be transferred to the account of those who are dismissed for non-payment… a significant number of the graduates already at the time of enrolment in the faculty considered their stay on it temporary, due to the lack of the opportunity during the admission period to meet their wish and right to enter the Faculty of Medicine» (K.P. Tarasov, from the report of the review of the faculty of odontology of the KMI for 1922-1923 academic year).

In 1930, the odontological faculty was renamed in dental faculty, and in 1931, it was transformed (reorganized) into an independent Kyiv Dental Institute. This significantly raised the authority of the dental profession among young people, the institute ceased to experience a lack of applicants. The Institute was provided with clinical bases on Khreshchatyk Street, 50, Shevchenko Boulevard, 17, Pushkinskaya Street, 22 and Bazarnaya Street, 18. In 1931 at the Kyiv Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, a clinic for maxillofacial surgery was opened, first with 16 beds, and since 1937 – with 40 beds, which operated on this base until 1964. In the pre-war period, the deans were Solomon Naumovich Vaisblat (1935-1938) and Isaac Solomonovich Ginzburg (1938-1940).

 

Before the war, from 1931 to 1940, the Kyiv Dental Institute has trained 1250 dentists. With the outbreak of war, in June 1941, the Kyiv Dental Institute was evacuated first to Kharkov, and then to Frunze, where he worked as a faculty of a medical institute. Most of the staff of the departments provided medical care in hospitals and other medical institutions. Many teachers, students and graduates were at the front. After the liberation of Kyiv in 1943, of the Dental Faculty was restored as part of the Medical Institute. With demobilization, employees of the department began to return to Kyiv.

 

 

 

In 1945, of the Dental Faculty was reorganized into a dental institute for the second time. Its educational base was gradually expanded, scientific and pedagogical staff was formed. In the academic year 1947-1948, about 1000 students had been studying at the institute.

 

According to an order No. 750 of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR of 31.12.1954 since February 1, 1955, the Kyiv Medical Dental Institute was liquidated, and the dental faculty of the Kyiv Medical Institute named after Academician A.A. Bogomolets was organized on its basis. The reorganization contributed to a significant improvement in the teaching and methodological work in specialized departments, the level of teaching of theoretical and general medical disciplines had increased. The faculty was headed by such outstanding figures as Alexandra Filippovna Kiseleva (in 1955-1960), Nikolai Fedorovich Danilevsky (in 1960-1962 and in 1966-1970), Vasilina Stepanovna Kovalenko (in 1962-1966 and in 1971-1985), Anatoly Pavlovich Grokholsky (in 1985-1988), John Vasilievich Dudko (in 1988-1993). In 1964 the main clinical base of the dental faculty of NMU was built – the dental building, the construction of which took into account the specifics of the profile departments. In the photo of clinical consultations, you can recognize young teachers who are destined soon to head the departments of the leading faculty of Ukraine.

 

The present, born of a century-old history

 

Phantom classes

Laboratories

Operating rooms

Lecture halls

The main treasure of the faculty is the people who work there

Department of Dental therapy

Head of the department: Yuliia Kolenko, Doctor of Medicine, Professor

Department of Oral and maxillfacial surgery

Head of the department: Vladyslav Malanchuk, Corresponding member of NAMS of Ukraine, Doctor of Medicine, Professor , Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine

Department of Prosthetic dentistry

Head of the department: Valeriy Nespriadko, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine

 

Department of Surgical dentistry and maxillofacial surgery of pediatric age

Head of the department: Vladyslav Efimenko, Candidate of Medicine, Associate Professor

Department of Orthodontia and Propedeutics of Prosthetic Dentistry

Head of the department: Tetiana Kostiuk, Doctor of Medicine, Professor

 

 

Surgery of the Dental Faculty

Head of the department: Mykola Tutchenko, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Honorary Doctor of Ukraine

 

Internal Medicine of the Dental Faculty

Head of the department: Halyna Soloviova, Doctor of Medicine, Professor

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN OF DENTAL FACULTY

“Dentistry as a calling”. Interview with the dean of the Dental Faculty, Professor Nataliia Bidenko

Three women deans headed Dental Faculty of the Bogomolets National Medical University during its long history: Oleksandra Kiselova, Vasilisa Kovalenko, and today – professor Nataliia Bidenko. Nataliia Vasylivna started her career in such a responsible position on March 26, 2016.

How started your way in dentistry?

My parents graduated from the Polytechnic Institute, studying technical specialties. There were engineers and railway workers in the family, and only our neighbor and mother’s friend was a dentist. Perhaps it was she who turned me on to dentistry, at the time when I was choosing a profession. And even from childhood, I was always attracted to biology and it was interesting to do something by hands. Dentistry combines both biological preferences and physical tendencies. In 1981, I entered the first year of Kyiv Medical Institute (now Bogomolets National Medical University). In 1981, I began my first year at Kyiv Medical Institute (now known as Bogomolets National Medical University).

What was the life of a freshman thirty years ago?

In the 1980s, the institute had a vibrant amateur art scene (which still exists today), but back then it was almost a cult. Representatives of this art scene visited us in our first year.They forcibly gathered half the class for auditions: those who had naively mentioned their talents during the interview. I was assigned to play the bandura because I taught myself to play the guitar and piano.

I escaped from the bandura to the Student Theater of Variety Miniatures (STEM). It was centered around Dr. Vitaliy Faletrov – a talented person with a unique sense of humor. At that time, we had bold jokes, the theater went on tours, and won prizes. We hosted Hippocrates Evenings, Dentist Days, and today, we are trying to revive these traditions. This year, Dentist Day will be held for the first time in perhaps twenty years. STEM also worked very closely with the then Head of the Department of Latin, Yuriy Shanin. It was during my first year that I met this remarkable person who impressed me and remained a lifelong friend. He was a model of intelligence at the university. Yuriy Shanin introduced me to the newspaper “Medical Personnel”. I drew for the newspaper’s section “Crocodile in a White Coat”.

Please tell me exactly what you drew.

They were humorous sketches of student life. The “most serious” works were created for the 145th anniversary of the institute, celebrated at the National Opera of Ukraine. Yuriy Shanin wrote a poetic script: “… Kyiv is still not a giant, it has no philharmonic and trams, but there is the first dean of the doctors – the great surgeon-ophthalmologist Karavaev…”. I drew the scenery for the performance and portraits of the university’s luminaries. It was an extremely interesting period, as we did not have cameras, and I needed to paint portraits of Betz, Karavaev, Kozlov… Their portraits were not easy to find in libraries, so I made it simpler – portraits of famous scientists hung in the anatomy department, so I took a graph paper notebook and sketched the portraits, and then transferred them to large drawing sheets at home. It was a funny story: a passing lecturer asked, “What are you doing here?”, and I answered, “I am drawing Betz.”

How did your life develop after graduation?

In 1986, I graduated from Kyiv Medical Institute. I was assigned to Kyiv region, then to Ivankiv. It was the year of the Chernobyl disaster. At that time, I traveled around Kyiv region with expeditions, conducting dental (and other) examinations and providing assistance. The first years of working with people were very valuable experiences for me, as learning at the university is one thing, and applying knowledge in practice is another. In 1991, I returned to the university as an assistant in the Department of Dentistry and a doctor at the dental clinic (now the Dental Medical Center). Among my teachers and mentors were Larisa Khomenko, Mykola Danilevskyi, and Vasilisa Kovalenko. I still remember the high level of lecture delivery. At that time, it was rightly considered that Kyiv Medical Institute was first in practical training of dentists, with Moscow and Leningrad coming second and third. In prosthetic dentistry, I was introduced by two assistant lecturers – Petro Flis and Valeriy Nespriadko, and in surgery – assistant Vladyslav Malanchuk. Today, those assistants are well-known professors and academicians in Ukraine. I was involved in the student scientific society on surgical dentistry, but later pediatric dentistry won out.

Natalia Vasylivna, you are the founder of the brain-ring in dentistry in Ukraine. Please tell us how the idea of creating such competitions originated.

The intellectual game “Brain-Ring” was first held at the faculty in 2000. That was the year of its founding. The faculty was preparing for the dental Olympiad. While preparing questions and students for this event, the idea came up: “Why not do something more interesting?” Perhaps the term “Brain-Ring” was first mentioned by Marina Antonenko, who was then the Deputy Dean, and I seized on the term. The competition later became so popular that participants and guests from various cities in Ukraine, and later from abroad, came to the university (this was during the period of international brain-rings). Brain-Ring is an unexpected child that grew up and became distinctive. Later, surgical brain-rings and intellectual games of NMU began to appear.

Since when have you been engaged in scientific research and what topics have you worked on throughout your doctor career?

I started engaging in science during my second year of study. I participated in a student scientific work competition at the Department of Biochemistry, organized by the Ministry of Education, and won a prize. While working at the Department of Surgical Dentistry with future Professor Vladyslav Malanchuk, we studied jaw fractures, invented a device, and received a patent for the invention. Since 1992, I resumed my scientific work at the University. My candidate’s dissertation focused on children with thyroid problems. I worked at the endocrinology dispensary in Pushcha-Vodytsia, in a hospital with many children affected by the Chernobyl disaster, and collaborated with diaspora doctors who came to help examine and treat these children. We undertook very interesting projects – we started work on determining the radiation dose received in tooth enamel, collaborating with the Institute of Physics. We conducted epidemiological surveys in endemic areas of fluorosis (Odesa region, Moldova, Poltava region) with representatives from the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology. The defense of my candidate’s thesis took place in 1998 at a joint Academic Council meeting, which included academicians Mykola Amosov and Oleksandr Shalimov. In 2012, I defended my doctoral thesis on dental status and the treatment of caries in children under 3 years old. When choosing the topic, I realized that it was crucial to thoroughly study this gap in dentistry. It is an extraordinarily broad topic, as caries is a paradoxical disease – it affects almost everyone, is incurable, and completely predictable, meaning it can be prevented through proper child care and parent education. Sometimes a dentist is the first person who can predict a general disease based on changes in the oral cavity. Dentistry is not just about “filling holes in teeth”; it encompasses a vast range: maxillofacial surgery, oral mucosa, numerous syndromes (about 400 syndromes manifest in the oral cavity), and congenital issues. The truth is one, but there are many paths to it, one of which is through dentistry.

How do you see the faculty in the future?

Recalling my studies at the faculty, I remember the high level of those who managed to enroll 30 years ago. Today, we are maintaining and preserving the reputation of the Dental Faculty. We aim for the faculty to be popular and competitive, so students understand that they will receive both theoretical and practical knowledge, work with patients, and have opportunities for development. We have introduced a student and group rating system, and the process of reformatting groups after student dismissals has become easier. I am confident that only those with a high level of competence should be allowed to treat patients. The faculty’s scientific work has intensified. We are working to ensure that there is a civilized student science at the university. We want to nurture cultured, intelligent people – the intellectual medical elite. Dentistry is indeed a unique specialty in that it allows for early practical work, with continuous improvement.

When did dentistry become established as a distinct science?

Recalling my studies at the faculty, I remember the high level of those who managed to enroll 30 years ago. Today, we are maintaining and preserving the reputation of the Dental Faculty. We aim for the faculty to be popular and competitive, so students understand that they will receive both theoretical and practical knowledge, work with patients, and have opportunities for development. We have introduced a student and group rating system, and the process of reformatting groups after student dismissals has become easier. I am confident that only those with a high level of competence should be allowed to treat patients. The faculty’s scientific work has intensified. We are working to ensure that there is a civilized student science at the university. We want to nurture cultured, intelligent people – the intellectual medical elite. Dentistry is indeed a unique specialty in that it allows for early practical work, with continuous improvement.

When did dentistry become established as a distinct science?

Dentistry as a science has a deep history. The earliest recorded data about dentists dates back to 2000 BC, with the first references appearing in Ancient Egypt on tombstones of doctors who treated teeth. Dentist’s Day, celebrated on February 9, is considered to be the Day of St. Apollonia of Alexandria. The history began in the 3rd century AD. Apollonia of Alexandria was a Christian martyr who was tortured for her faith – her jaws were beaten, all her teeth were knocked out, and she was threatened with burning. Given the nature of the torture, she has since been invoked in prayer by those suffering from toothache. In the 18th century, the notable dentist Pierre Fauchard published the first book on odontology, compiling practical and scientific information on dental treatment and hygiene. It is believed that Pierre Fauchard was the initiator of making Apollonia the patroness not only of those suffering from toothache but also of those who help alleviate that pain – dentists. Thus, Fauchard defined the dentist as a specialist.

What is your life slogan?

Those who seek will find. To quote the writer Myroslav Dochynets: “If you don’t know what to do – just go,” and the world will open up to you.