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College of Dentistry

The College of Dentistry is relatively a newly established faculty at Kuwait University, established vide an Amiri Decree in 1996, which paved the way for requisite groundwork for raising an internationally compatible Dentistry facility and program. The faculty’s mission is to promote oral and general health in Kuwait through education, research and cooperation with other professional health institutions and authorities, as well as the community at large. The faculty is committed to providing leading professionals and experts in oral health in Kuwait through teaching, training, research and clinical practice. The Faculty is an integral part of the Health Sciences Centre (HSC), offering a six-and-a-half years program, with the Dental students continuing their studies together with the medical students for two-and-a-half years in the Faculty of Medicine, taking courses in Oral Anatomy, Oral Microbiology, Oral Pathology, etc., and from the 9th to the 13th semesters, the students study the clinical education program in Dentistry.

The Faculty is presently operating from its administrative office at Hawally, with few offices located at the Health Sciences Centre, fourth floor. The temporary dental clinic, located near Kuwait Dental Association, started functioning in 2002, and a temporary laboratory is located on the 5th floor of the HSC car park at Jabriya. The permanent University Dental Clinic is under construction near Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital, and is expected to be ready by 2005.

The Faculty’s programs are directed towards developing competency in comprehensive dentistry rather than mastering dental disciplines, and the curriculum encourages ethical behavior, scientifically based problem solving, critical thinking and life-long learning. The purpose is to prepare professional dentists in diverse dental specialties to meet national requirements, in collaboration with the Kuwait Ministry of Health (KMH), the Kuwait Dental Association (KDA) and the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialties (KIMS), for prevention of oral diseases and provision of oral health care.

The dental curriculum comprises 13 semesters, including 3 semesters of professional studies, 5 semesters of pre-clinical studies jointly with the medical students, and 5 semesters of dental studies. For the pre-professional and pre-clinical programs, the faculty’s pre-dental program consists of three components, the general University requirements, the English language and study skills and the science courses. The general University requirement provides a broad educational background, allowing students to become aware of their society, welfare, religion and heritage. The English language course equips them with the communication and study skills essential for pre-clinical and clinical programs, and the science courses provide them the necessary foundation in science in preparation for the biomedical and clinical programs.

The pre-clinical program includes courses in basic medical sciences, including courses at Faculty of Medicine, and an increasing number of dental subjects gradually incorporated into the curriculum beginning with the seventh semester. The Dental clinical educational program has both didactic and clinical components, with the clinical component advancing knowledge in handling materials used in the clinic, and allowing students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for patient care, through a series of structured patient-care simulation exercises, alongside actual clinical sessions. The clinical sessions are designed to familiarize students with oral environment through patient examinations and non-invasive treatment, and a comprehensive dental care (CDC) is provided in clinical setting. Community rotations are an integral component of the clinical education, to familiarize students with the prevailing oral health care system in Kuwait. An Elective Project Study is also scheduled from the second clinical year under the direction and supervision of a mentor from the Faculty of Dentistry or the dental community.

A total of 236 credit hours are necessary for the Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.) degree, which include 48 Credit Hours in the Pre-professional Program, 84 in Pre-clinical Program and 104 in Dental Clinical Education Program.

The faculty is organized into five departments, including Bioclinical Sciences (BCS), Developmental & Preventive Sciences (DPS), Diagnostic Sciences (DS). Restorative Sciences (RS), and Surgical Sciences (SS). The Faculty’s new premises are being constructed at the Health Sciences Center new complex at Jabriya, together with the state-of-the-art laboratories, clinical facilities and resources. The faculty lays special emphasis on research and development and is aiming at an impeccable regionally renowned and internationally compatible world class Dental Faculty

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