Table 1.
Presence of a national curriculum in dentistry/cariology in different countries in Asia and Arabia
| Country | Dental schools (public/private), n | National curriculum dentistry/cariology exists | Compulsory | Cariology clearly described domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia (KSA) | 28 dental schools (20 public/8 private) | No | No | No, but some schools teach cariology as a “stand-alone” course |
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| UAE | 5 dental schools (5 private/semi-government) | No, individual schools follow WHO, USA, and UK curricula | Yes, for teaching cariology, but not as national curriculum | Varies: undergraduate schools have base cariology curriculum on the aetiology, pathology, prevention, and treatment of dental caries in different domains |
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| China | 112 colleges/universities (mostly state schools) | Yes | Yes, compulsory courses (base courses, clinical courses, and clinical skills training) + optional courses online (national excellent courses) | Yes, it is mainly included as a subsection in a compulsory course of operative dentistry and endodontics It is also involved in courses like oral histopathology, oral biology, preventive dentistry, and paediatric dentistry |
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| Republic of Korea | 11 dental schools (6 public/5 private) | No national curriculum for dentistry/cariology | Yes, dental schools should obtain certification from KIDEE | Yes, usually included in preventive dentistry, paediatric dentistry, and conservative dentistry as a subsection |
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| Lebanon | 3 dental schools (2 private/1 public) | No national based dental curriculum Each dental school has its own curriculum |
No, each university has the freedom to design the curriculum and the assessments methods | No, it is not defined as a separate domain, but certain aspects of cariology are described under different specialties |
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| Egypt | 44 dental schools (20 public, 4 community colleges nonprofit, 20 private) | No national curriculum, but international curricula (USA, UK, etc.) are followed | Yes, cariology is incorporated in compulsory preclinical and clinical undergraduate courses | No, but cariology is covered in courses taught by different departments mainly in terms of aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention and treatment |
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| India | 313 dental schools with undergraduate programme (42 public/271 private, 26,949 seats) 259 dental schools with undergraduate and postgraduate programme (6,228 seats) | Yes, however, cariology is handled by departments of oral medicine and radiology, public health dentistry, paediatric and preventive dentistry, conservative dentistry and endodontics, oral pathology, and microbiology | Yes, all dental colleges in India have to comply with DCI regulations in terms of curriculum, delivery and assessment. However, universities have freedom in designing the delivery and assessment | No, but certain aspects of cariology are described under each handling department |
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| Russia | 52 dental faculties mostly state dental schools/1 private dental school | Yes, and cariology is a module in a curriculum | Yes, but the national curriculum may contain an elective component, which varies from 8 to 30% of the total program and may be planned by the university | Yes, cariology is rather clearly described and part of the module “dentistry” Cariology is taught at the departments for cariology and endodontics, preventive dentistry, pedodontics, and clinical dentistry |