Education Programmes of Dental Public Health

Department of Dental Public Health

In the department of Dental Public Health students are taught in three disciplines - "Medical Psychology", "Social Medicine and medical ethics", and "Dental Public Health."

1. The course in "Medical Psychology" provides knowledge and competencies relevant to current understandings of the bio-psycho-social model in medicine. A major objective of the course is to help students develop communication skills in the dental practice. The psychological training will allow future dental specialists to improve their socio-psychological proficiency in patient-physician communication, teamwork and dental care.
The course is taught in one semester - III and includes 15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of practical exercises.

2. The course in "Social Medicine and Medical Ethics" provides knowledge and competencies regarding the nature of public health, its measuring instruments, determinants, and ethical principles that regulate the dental profession. It also provides a basic knowledge in global public health issues and their solution, as well as moral conflict resolution approaches for the private dental practice.
The course is taught in one semester - IV and includes 15 hours of lectures and 30 hours of practical exercises.

3. The course in "Dental Public Health" provides knowledge and competencies regarding the structure and organization of The National Health and Dental Care System in Bulgaria and other European countries; It also provides information about current health legislation and regulations; dental health as an integral part of general health, health assessment indices, epidemiology, promoting awareness and prevention related to oral diseases; organization of the dental practice - ergonomic standards for dental space planning and equipment setup; basic knowledge about professional risk factors and their prevention; starting and managing a dental practice.
The course is taught in two semesters - V and VI and includes 45 hours of lectures and 60 hours of practical exercises.