School of Dentistry – (M.Sc.)

The degree programme in Dentistry produces professional figures able to carry out the dentistry profession. The general objectives and the study programme structure described below refer to the contents of the new system laid down in the Ministerial Decree concerning New Degree Classes – 2nd cycle degree programme regulations, and defines the 2nd cycle degree programmes in compliance with the Directives of the European Union and the University Teaching Regulations of the University of Bologna. The study plan includes 360 Credits (CFU) over 6 years, and 60 CFU per year. The distribution of the 360 credits is laid down to comply with the conditions indicated in the annexes to the Decree, which specifies the credits to be allocated in the disciplinary fields which make up the “indispensable” learning activities for training to become a dentist.

For the credits (CFU), which correspond to an average of 25 hours of study by the student, it is proposed to allocate an average value of 8 hours of lecture per CFU and 12 hours of practical work/internship per CFU, in line with the guidelines of the University of Bologna. The remaining portion of the credit is available to the student for self-study.

The managers of the individual professional course units are responsible for the managing the internships which by law are allocated 90 CFU. An ongoing assessment must be made for each internship, which shall be taken into consideration by the professor for the purposes of the final examination score. The physiopathological and clinical knowledge of general and dental medicine acquired during the learning activities included in the study plan and the practical clinical activities will determine and define the professional profile of the dentist working in countries of the European Union.

At the end of the six year programme, Dental School graduates will have acquired the knowledge and technical skills to work professionally in both the public and private dentistry field. Graduates will also have developed the learning skills needed to continue specialist studies. They will be able to carry out activities relating to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired diseases and anomalies of the teeth, mouth, jaw bone, temporomandibular joints and relative tissues, as well as dental rehabilitation, prescribing all the medicines and products needed in exercising the profession. They will possess a level of professional, cultural, operational and decision-making autonomy which will permits them to keep constantly abreast of the profession, having followed a study programme which offers a holistic approach to oral health issues in both healthy and sick patients, also in relation to the physical and social environment that surrounds them.
Concerning general issues, the first two year period aims to cover basic learning activities which offer the students an introduction to the foundations of the structural organisation and vital functions of the human body and includes course units which deal with the problems of the doctor-patient relationship and the understanding of the principles lying behind scientific methodology. Students will learn the methods of handling patients with mouth and dental problems.

The following three years include the study of medical, surgical and specialist subjects, particularly referring to clinical problems linked to oral pathologies. These learning activities will be carried out together with the study of dentistry subjects and professional clinical internships.

Having, during the first two years, acquired knowledge concerning the general systems and the etiopathogenetic principles lying behind organic, functional and homeostatic alterations, the anatomopathological conditions of the most common diseases are then assessed, introducing the general principles of pharmacological and anaesthesiological sciences.

The sixth year includes integrated clinical course units aimed at the treatment of patients with general health problems and complex odontostomatological problems. A course unit in maxillofacial pathology and treatment is presented which, like the others, is set within a context of global patient care.

In the sixth year, clinical sessions in conservative dentistry and endodontics, oral surgery, periodontology, orthodontics, gnatology, general dentistry, pedodontics and prosthetic dentistry continue to develop and integrate the skills matured in the various clinical areas during the previous years, highlighting the relationship between systemic pathology and the oral cavity. The lecture and seminar teaching methods focus mainly on the interdisciplinary discussion of the clinical case studies proposed.

Issues relative to the general organisation of the profession will also be included.