The department was founded in 1998 (Order No. 186-L dated 05/20/1998) and was called the Department of Propaedeutic Dentistry. A few months later, the dental disease prevention course was added, and the department was named the Department of Propaedeutics and Prevention of Dental Diseases. Since September 01, 2021, the department has been renamed the Department of General Practice Dentistry.
She headed the department from the moment of its foundation until 2020, Doctor of Medical Sciences, ProfessorSkorikova Lyudmila Anatolyevna.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of the staff of the department, as well as the support of all related dental departments, it was possible to ensure the full functioning of the department in a short summer period by the beginning of the academic year 1998.
Since 2020, the department has been headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor Arutyunov Armenak Valerievich.
The department currently employs candidates of medical sciences, associate professors R.K. Fattal, A.A. Ovsyannikova, N.P. Bychkova; candidates of Medical Sciences, department assistants N.M. Tsarinskaya, V.I. Kolodkina, O.A. Pavlovich, S.B. Khagurova; department assistants H.Y. Khanakhok, E.T. Doeva, M.M. Sovmiz; laboratory assistant S.T. Janet.
The main work at the department is teaching disciplines and modules on the basic profile of dentistry. Today, due to the introduction of new educational standards into the educational process, students of the I, II, III and V courses study the following disciplines at the department: propaedeutics of dental diseases, prevention and communal dentistry, fundamentals of dental prosthetics and clinical dentistry.
There are 3 internships under the supervision of the Department of General Practice Dentistry: introductory practice, introduction to the specialty, practice in obtaining professional skills and professional experience in preventive dentistry, and clinical practice in clinical dentistry.
The classrooms of the department are equipped with televisions, stands containing information on dental instruments of various profiles, filling materials and materials for orthopedic dentistry, means and methods of oral hygiene. Methodological recommendations approved by the CMS have been compiled and printed for each subject, which contain all the basic material necessary for studying the future specialty, as well as test tasks for each section of the specialty. At the moment, work is underway on the revision of methodological manuals and the development of workbooks.
The department conducts educational and methodological work. Classroom classes are held once a week according to the curriculum and follow a specific pattern. A survey of students is conducted to identify the level of initial training. The main time is allocated to the practical part, which is given a lot of attention.
Part of the practical training is role-playing games, which are successfully used at the department and allow students to show interest and literacy. At the end of the lesson, students report on the results of their work, as well as fill in the gaps identified during the initial survey. As a result, the student receives three grades: for independent work, theoretical knowledge and practical work. Classes are conducted by assistants and associate professors, candidates of medical sciences, who have the first and highest qualification category in therapeutic, orthopedic, and surgical dentistry. The variously illustrated lectures in the form of computer presentations contain basic and up-to-date material.
Currently, the primary training setting is considered to be the acquisition of not only knowledge, but also skills for the successful practical work of a dentist. The Department of General Practice Dentistry is fully committed to ensuring their development. The department has prepared phantoms for endodontic manipulations. Classrooms equipped with micromotors with handpieces, dental materials and instruments have been allocated for propaedeutics classes. Dental technicians made models to demonstrate the clinical and laboratory stages of manufacturing artificial crowns and bridges. For the surgical section of propaedeutics of dental diseases, sets of tools for tooth extraction have been formed, individually provided simulators for suturing, plastic phantoms for splinting.
Students get acquainted with materials science in the framework of propaedeutics of dental diseases. Future doctors master the physico-mechanical, technological, and manipulative properties of basic and auxiliary materials used in dental clinics. In the practical part of materials science, students practice the technique of taking impressions, learn the algorithm of using impression masses and sealing materials. The main result of studying materials science is the knowledge of the main groups of dental materials included in the standard of dental care, the ability to competently choose the optimal one for a given patient.
The department has educational and treatment rooms for practical classes.
Classes in parallel with the cathedral base are held at the KubSMU Multiprofile Accreditation and Simulation Center. Two dental phantom classrooms are equipped with modern installations, tools and materials, and phantoms for dissection, which helps to master manual skills more effectively. In the laboratory, dental technicians demonstrate various stages of manufacturing crowns and bridges, as well as casting technology. The department has micromotors and angular tips for performing preparation of phantom teeth.
Within the framework of the discipline of prevention and communal dentistry, students study the organization and equipment of the prevention room in a dental clinic, dental instruments, methods and methods of sterilization, and the specifics of examining the oral cavity of patients of different ages. Future doctors master the detection of dental deposits, hygiene index and periodontal index techniques, personal hygiene items and products, prevention of caries, non-carious lesions, and periodontal diseases. Students get acquainted with the implementation of various types of oral sanitation, medical examination of the population at the dentist. The prevention of diseases of the oral mucosa in people with systemic diseases, dental anomalies and deformities, during surgical interventions in the oral cavity and maxillofacial region is also being studied. In addition, students study a brief overview of epidemiology, planning, and evaluating the effectiveness of prevention programs.
Practical classes are organized for students within the framework of the PKK discipline on the basis of the dental clinic of the university. Here they learn the basics of examining a patient, conducting and interpreting additional examination techniques, and master modern techniques and materials used by dental hygienists.
Since 2020, a new module “Fundamentals of dental technology” has been introduced into the educational process. Within its framework, students get acquainted with laboratory methods of manufacturing removable and non-removable orthopedic structures. Classes are held at the University’s dental laboratory.
During the period of the department’s existence, 2 doctoral and 10 candidate theses have been defended. The staff of the department has published more than 300 scientific papers, received 19 patents for inventions, and made 5 rational proposals.
For 15 years, 67 interns and 19 residents have been trained at the department in the specialties of Dentistry, Therapeutic Dentistry, and Orthopedic Dentistry.
Research work at the department allows students to be involved in it. Every year, each teacher prepares students with a report for the student scientific conference, which has been held for several years as a subsection of dentistry directly at the department for students of I-II courses. The student Olympiads of professional skills held at our department play a significant role in comprehending the specialty. Students trained by our teachers successfully participate in inter-regional games and Olympiads ( Voronezh, Volgograd, Moscow), regularly winning prizes. As a result, future doctors gain experience in independent research activities, applying it later in senior courses, and later in practical work.
The staff of the department has done a lot of productive work during its existence. The department does not stop there, and in the future it will continue to optimize the educational process in the light of the latest modern achievements.