1. The Core Dental Curriculum

Educational mission. The educational mission of the College of Dentistry is to graduate a scientifically knowledgeable, biologically oriented, technically competent, socially sensitive practitioner of dental medicine. We expect students and graduates to adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct and ethics and function effectively as a member of the nation's health care delivery system. Our graduates must be competent in the prevention, diagnosis and care of patients' oral-facial conditions that affect overall health and patient well-being. A competent practitioner is one who is able to begin independent, unsupervised dental practice.

Educational philosophy. The College of Dentistry's highest commitment is to academic excellence. The development of the competent graduate in the art, science, and practice of dentistry is the foundation of our educational philosophy. It is paramount that the educational environment be humanistic and reflects the values of integrity, honesty, respect, fairness and cooperation. It is equally important that faculty and staff develop, integrate and facilitate effective and active learning. These efforts must result in graduates who possess and demonstrate knowledge and skills in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains.

Curriculum Format. The curriculum strives to encompass the College's educational mission and philosophy and uses a competency-based approach to education and student evaluation. The basic curricular format is diagonal; that is, the amount of time devoted to clinical experiences increases with time while the time devoted to didactic course decreases as the student moves through the curriculum. The curriculum includes integrated educational experiences in the basic, behavioral and clinical sciences.

The Doctor of Dental Medicine curriculum spans four years and utilizes a biologic, psychological and social approach to foster an integration of basic, behavioral and clinical sciences. The timing and sequence of courses are designed to help students develop the requisite knowledge base and rationale they will need for clinical patient care. Students presenting proper credentials of having gained prior knowledge of a dental course or module will be allowed to take a written examination and complete a laboratory or simulation project, as appropriate. Depending on the results of the examination(s), the student may be exempted by the course director from the course without credit.
The basic sciences provide dental students with foundation knowledge in anatomy, physiology, cellular and molecular biology, virology, immunology, microbiology and nutrition. The behavioral sciences provide dental student applied knowledge in the areas of interpersonal communication, human behavior and ethics. The clinical sciences develop a student's therapeutic and clinical decision-making skills.
Electives allow students the opportunity to vary their program according to their individual interests. Each student is encouraged to enroll in at least one research-oriented elective, and all students must complete a minimum of six credit hours of electives for graduation.

Competency-based dental education. The UFCD curriculum provides students with the mechanism for developing competency as clinical dentists in preparation for the practice of general dentistry. Graduates will be competent to provide a wide spectrum of dental care, either directly or through referral, while remaining responsible for all aspects of patient care. In this sense, the general practitioner is expected to understand the indications and contraindications for contemplated treatment, and recognize when the scope of treatment is beyond his/her capability. The curriculum is designed so that the students develop and/or enhance their knowledge, skills and values required of a competent practitioner. Students must be deemed competent in these knowledge, skills and values by the faculty prior to graduation.

The new dental graduate of the University of Florida College of Dentistry must demonstrate professional behavior including ethical conduct, critical thinking based on a sound scientific foundation, assessment of the outcomes of care, lifelong learning, and active participation in the community. In order to confirm or establish and then maintain the oral health of patients, the dentist must first be competent in interpersonal communication skills and the biomedical sciences. In addition, the general dentist must be able to manage behavioral factors that affect oral health and the delivery of oral health care. Assessment must precede any treatment and enables the general dentist to provide appropriate oral health care. In order to maintain or establish a healthy oral environment, the general dentist must be competent to provide emergency, preventive, therapeutic, and maintenance care using evidence-based clinical judgment. When oral conditions are healthy and stable, prevention of disease and maintenance of health are the goals of subsequent care. When active oral disease exists, control of etiology and elimination of the disease and restoration to health are the goals of subsequent care. Competent clinical care is based upon an extensive biomedical and behavioral science foundation.
Educational experiences occur throughout the predoctoral program in order to foster the development of appropriate knowledge, skills and values essential to the practice of dentistry. The development of competency occurs in the clinical environment through interactions among students, faculty, and patients. These experiences are based upon, and serve to reinforce, concepts learned in self-instructional material, conferences, seminars, preclinical activities, and lectures. Students are expected and encouraged to review appropriate instructional material while progressing through the clinical program. Further clinical educational experiences and academic advisement occur through the TEAM Program.

Enrollment and other policies. Registration in College of Dentistry (DEN) courses is restricted to students who are currently admitted to a program in the College of Dentistry and who are classified 0DN to 8DN.

While the college will use all of its resources to provide sufficient patients for students, the ultimate responsibility for procuring patients and completing clinical courses and degree requirements rests with the student.

Because the health needs of Florida and the nation are constantly changing, and effective curriculum in dentistry is dynamic and requires frequent revision and reorganization. For this reason, the curriculum described in this Bulletin is a projection for the 2000-2002 academic year and is subject to change from year to year, not only in content but also in the educational methods utilized and the year in which any component is to be completed. Thus, there can be no guarantee that the curriculum course content, or degree requirements will be identical in each subsequent year.

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