Dentistry

Course outline
Course structure
Formal requirements
Academic Advisors
Contact

 

Heicudent: Studying Dentistry in Heidelberg

Towards new Licensing Regulations for the Practice of Dentistry

The basic structure of the Licensing Regulations for the Practice of Dentistry ZÄPrO has been in place since 1955. Unlike the courses in human medicine prior to the amendments to the Licensing Regulations for Physicians ÄAppO, practical teaching content and teaching formats geared to clinical practice have been progressively integrated into the dentistry programmes from an early stage. Pre-clinical training includes patient simulation courses and the simulation of elementary stages of treatment paving the way for integrated patient treatment courses in the clinical stage of training. Examination formats with practical theme complexes and independent therapy and treatment for patients are also very largely in line with the examination methods that will be obligatory in future.

However, independent, problem-oriented and media-assisted learning and the potentialities of interdisciplinary cooperation have been neglected. Hitherto, the emphasis has been on imparting highly specific specialist knowledge to the students, relegating social and communicative skills, individual responsibility and enhanced motivation for learning, and sensitivity to the perspective of the patients to the background. But all this, plus the commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing education, is of equal importance in any medical course. Just as crucial is the integration of the scientific component. Dentists with a surgery of their own require scientific competence in the form of critical thinking and the reasoned response to, and assessment of, information. To engage in comprehensive, evidence-based dentistry in their surgery, they require critical basic knowledge of the mechanisms of knowledge appropriation, scientific methodology, and scientific proof.

The key question dictating all reform efforts is: “What should a dentist graduating from the Dentistry programme at Heidelberg University be capable of in practice?” The basic skills required of the future dentists were defined in accordance with this question.

After this definition of the requisite skills, the next stage was to lay down the learning objectives and agree on the teaching content and methods best suited to achieving them.

New simulations, examinations, interdisciplinary theme complexes and problem-oriented learning were integrated into the pre-clinical stage of training. Orthodontics and restorative dentistry were accorded more time and weight within the prosthetic simulation courses as a whole, with a view to introducing a more didactic structure and interdisciplinary teaching into the pre-clinical stage before the adoption of a new AOZ.

In short, the intention behind a new dentistry curriculum with new teaching methods was to assure better and more competent care for the patients.

Course outline

The legal foundations for the Dentistry programme at Heidelberg University are the Examination Regulations for Dentists dated 22 April 1971 (BGBI I, No. 36, 30 April 1971) and the Study Regulations for the Heidelberg University Dentistry course. The Examination Regulations regulate the structure, organisation and duration of the course, the subjects to be taught, examination content and prerequisites for examinations. On the basis of the Examination Regulations, the Study Regulations determine the sequence of individual classes and, where necessary, the prerequisites for admission to those classes. It also defines the preconditions for the award of credits and determines the extent to which individual classes and course-integrated examinations can be repeated.

In semesters 1 to 4, focus is placed on basic scientific content (Anatomy, Histology, Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry and Physiology), initial content specific to Dentistry, however, (introduction to the professional field) is also taught. Subsequent to this, in semesters 4 and 5, students complete courses in Dental Propaedeutics and Phantom courses 1 and 2 in Prosthodontics.

The content of these Phantom courses is unified at a cross-disciplinary level by the outpatient departments specialising in Dental Prosthetics, Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics.

In semester 6, the second stage of the programme revolves around foundational aspects of general medicine, including General and Specific Pathology, Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology, Microbiology and Hygiene. There are also simulation courses in all sectors of Dentistry providing students with more intensive preparation for contact with patients and for the treatment courses.

The clinical stage of the programme (semesters 7 to 10) is dedicated to the integrated interdisciplinary patient-treatment courses. In all sectors of Dentistry the students engage in independent, practice-oriented therapeutic activity, monitored and evaluated by the interns, the senior medical staff and the professors of the relevant outpatient departments.

The statutory provisions in the Licensing Regulations mean that the study of Dentistry is highly regimented. Students must expect to spend at least 35 hours of every week attending compulsory classes, a prerequisite for admission to the state examinations.

Course structure

University training for dentists is scientific and practical. The programme takes at least 10 semesters and encompasses a pre-clinical and a clinical stage, both lasting 5 semesters. Each stage of the programme concludes with an examination.

The pre-clinical stage focuses first of all on the basic theoretical and scientific knowledge required for a later understanding of nosology and for clinical treatment. Alongside the core scientific subjects Biology, Physics and Chemistry, students also receive instruction in the pre-clinical disciplines Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry.

After these theoretical classes and an introduction to Dental Materials Science, simulation courses provide thorough training in the manual skills required and courses with the Phantom prepare students for the treatment of patients.

Training in Prosthetic Dentistry has been fully geared to the clinical requirements encountered in practice and thoroughly modernised accordingly. Today, much of the work done by dental technicians can only be accomplished on the computer screen and with machine-assisted procedures.

Dentistry students require the so-called Instrument Case for the pre-clinical and clinical parts of the course. The costs involved total approx. EUR 9,000.

During the pre-clinical stage of the programme students are required to take two state examinations. The intermediate Science Examination can be taken after two semesters at the earliest. It encompasses Physics, Chemistry and Biology and is oral. The intermediate science examination is not a caesura in the ongoing course of studies, but students have to pass it before they can register for the intermediate Dentistry Examination. The intermediate Dentistry Examination can be taken after five semesters at the earliest. It encompasses Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Prosthodontics and is oral and practical. Students can only embark on the clinical stage of the course if they have passed the intermediate Dentistry Examination.

In the clinical stage of the course, students are introduced step by step to the scientific fundamentals of nosology. The dentistry subjects proper cover the areas Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Restorative Dentistry, and Orthodontics. Students are familiarised with the techniques required for anamnesis, diagnosis and prognosis and the preparation of a dental care plan. They are expected to learn the various methods underlying dental treatment and operation techniques.

Instruction in the areas of Pharmacology, Internal Medicine, Pathology, General Surgery, Dermatology and Otolaryngology ensure a connection to General Medicine.

After thorough preparation with the Phantom and in classes of a technical nature, students move on to their practical clinical training involving the supervised treatment of patients.

After five semesters at the earliest, the clinical stage of the programme leads to the Dental Examination. This takes a number of months and is both oral and practical. Students who have passed the Dental Examination can apply to the relevant state authority for a licence to practise dentistry (Approbation).

A doctorate in Dentistry offers students a special opportunity to engage in scientific thinking. This is designed to enable them to integrate medical research progress into their future professional activity. Most students begin their doctoral dissertation while they are still studying. The topic can be chosen from any of the medical subjects figuring in the Dentistry programme. Students are free to select their topic and are best guided by their personal preferences and the research opportunities provided by the chosen subject. The research activities of Heidelberg’s Hospital for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases centre on Dental Prosthetics, Restorative Dentistry, Biomaterials, Materials Testing, Dental Radiology, Craniofacial Surgery, Malocclusions, Cell Culture Research, Tumour Genesis and Tumour Therapy.

 

Formal requirements

Admission to the first semester

To apply for a place as a first-term medical student, the first institution to turn to is the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung, a central council regulating admissions to universities. At the same time, you have to apply for inclusion in the higher-education selection procedure (AdH) at Heidelberg University. Here the Test for Medical Study Courses (TMS) is an important selection criterion for admission to medical courses in Heidelberg.

Information on the higher-education selection procedure at Heidelberg University:

• Application procedure
• Ranking system
• Bonus points system
• Other procedures
• Test for Medical Study Courses (TMS)
• Admission Regulations

If you require personal counselling on the higher-education selection procedure (application for medical courses) and the TMS, you can contact us by phone every Tuesday of the year from 2 – 4 pm: +49 (0)6221 566807

During the TMS registration phase (1 December to 15 January) and the application stage for the course (1 June to 15 July) we are available by phone (same number) at other times as well. The recorded announcement on the phone will give you the relevant details.

On the websites of the University you will also find more information on the various university entrance qualifications.

Admission to higher semesters

To apply for admission to higher semesters, please contact Heidelberg University’s Central Administration offices: Direct application for admission to higher semesters or Change of study location via exchange.

The Central University Administration is also the right address for applications for an exchange of study places, matriculation, exmatriculation, re-registration, vacation semesters, study fees. More information here..

Service phone: +49 (0)6221 545454

e-mail portal: studium@uni-heidelberg.de

For more information on the structure of the Dentistry programme in Heidelberg, consult the website HeiCuDent – Heidelberger CurriculumDentale. In the case of a move to Heidelberg from another university or an exchange of study places, you can obtain personal counselling about potential repercussions on the course of your studies from the academic advisors of the Study Dean’s office.

International applicants

There are special regulations for international applicants. Please consult Heidelberg University’s International Relations Office (Akademisches Auslandsamt, Seminarstraße 2) for more information. International applicants are invited to participate in a preparatory course taking place in the summer semester prior to the beginning of the course proper.

Study and examination regulations

Study Regulations (23 July 2010)
Study Regulations (28 September 2016)

Examinations board

Issues arising in connection with examinations, credit transfer and academic credential recognition are dealt with by the Study Dean’s office or the State Examinations Office for Medicine. For more information, consult the academic advisor(s) indicated below.

Fees

Tuition fees at Heidelberg University are payable at the beginning of each semester.

Heicudent Department for Teaching and Study

Eva Slenzka
Head Hospital Heidelberg – Hospital for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, Level 02, Office 143
phone: +49 (0)6221 566010
e-mail: Eva1.Slenzka@med.uni-heidelberg.de

 

Academic Advisors

Dr. Simona Schick
e-mail: simona.schick@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Head Hospital Heidelberg – Hospital for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, Level 02, Office 143
Thursdays 10 – 12 am (after appointment by telephone)
phone: +49 (0)6221 56 6010

Teaching coordinators

Dr. Lydia Eberhard (clinical phase)
e-mail: lydia1.eberhard@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Dr. Simona Schick (pre-clinical phase)
e-mail: simona.schick@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Contact

Heidelberg Medical Faculty

Im Neuenheimer Feld 346
69120 Heidelberg
e-mail: studiendekanat@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Internet: www.medizinische-fakultaet-hd.uni-heidelberg.de/Studium.7.0.html

University Hospital Heidelberg

Hospital for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400
69120 Heidelberg
phone: +49 (0)6221 566041
Internet: www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/Startseite-Mund-Zahn-Kiefer-Klinik.1295.0.html

Student representation

Hospital for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, Level 02, Office 123b
e-mail: fszahnmedizin@stura.uni-heidelberg.de
Internet: https://fszahnmedizin.stura.uni-heidelberg.de/