Reformbemühungen in der Zahnmedizin – nationale und internationale Ansätze

Bärbel Kahl-Nieke, Nico Vonneilich

The Study of dentistry in Germany is in need of reform. The actual regulation on licensing dentists in Germany is from 1955, with the last changes made in 1993. Recently there have been different initiatives related to reform: a national catalogue of competency-based learning objectives in dental education (NKLZ), changes and stipulations in the respective rules relating to undergraduate curriculum in dental medicine, and an initiative of the Germany Ministry of Health to tackle and reorganize dental education in Germany.This article presents and reflects on these reform efforts in the context of actual teaching in Germany, Europe, and the United States.The reform process is an opportunity for dental education in German faculties of medicine. New dentistry programs are allowed at all faculties with model educational programs in medicine. Therefore, an example of actual reform efforts are presented based on the experiences of Hamburg. Research on dental educational programs revealed interesting approaches in dental education in other European faculties of medicine. Selected faculties were visited. These experiences led to the formulation of five main goals of reform: interdisciplinary study, problem- and symptom-based learning, early patient contact, science-based education, and communication training. The main goal is a dental education program designed along science-based, prevention-oriented, multidisciplinary, and individualized dental care that contributes to the life-long oral health of patients.