The Single Cycle degree programme in Dentistry produces professional figures able to exercise the dentistry profession. The general objectives and the curriculum described below refer to the contents of the new system laid down in the Ministerial Decree concerning New Degree Classes – single cycle degree programme regulations, and defines the 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 allocated to the subject areas covering the “indispensable” learning activities for training to become a dentist.
Each credit (CFU), corresponding to an average of 25 hours of study by the student, is allocated an average 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 professors in charge of each vocational course unit are responsible for managing the internships for that course, which by law are allocated 90 CFU. Each internship will be assessed by the supervising professor, also for the purposes of the final examination score. The physio-pathological and clinical knowledge of general and dental medicine acquired during the learning activities included in the curriculum and the practical clinical activities will determine and define the professional profile of the dentist working within the European Union.
At the end of the six year programme, Dentistry graduates will possess the knowledge and technical skills to work professionally in both the public and private dentistry field. Graduates will also possess the learning skills required to continue onto specialist studies. They will be able to perform activities relating to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired diseases and anomalies of the teeth, mouth, jaw bone, temporo-mandibular 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 for lifelong learning, having completed a curriculum offering a holistic approach to oral health issues in both healthy and sick patients, also in relation to their physical and social environment.
Concerning general issues, the first two years of the programme covers basic learning activities introducing the students to the foundations of the structural organisation and vital functions of the human body, including course units which deal with the problems of the doctor-patient relationship and the understanding of the principles underlying scientific methodology. Students will learn the methods of handling patients with oral and dental problems.
The following three years include the study of medical, surgical and specialist subjects, particularly referring to clinical problems linked to dental pathologies. These learning activities will be performed together with the study of dentistry subjects and professional clinical internships. Having learned about the general systems and the etiopathogenetic principles underlying organic, functional and homeostatic alterations during the first two years, students will then assess the anatomo-pathological conditions of the most common diseases, studying 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 dental problems. A course unit in maxillo-facial 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 endodontia, oral surgery, parodontology, orthodontia, gnatology, clinical dentistry, paediatric dentistry and prostheses continue to develop and integrate the skills matured in the various clinical areas in 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 tackling the general organisation of the profession are also included.
