The University of Dental Medicine, Yangon ), is the leading university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 of dental medicine

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

, located in Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. The university, along with the University of Dental Medicine, Mandalay, is only one of two universities of dental medicine in the country. The annual intake into both dental universities is only 300. The country with a population of over 50 million had only about 1500 dentists in 2005.

History

The dental school's origins trace back to the Faculty of Medicine of Rangoon University. In 1964, the College of Dental Medicine became independent per the University Act of 1964, and was located near the Lanmadaw campus of then Institute of Medicine 1. The college turned out 50 to 60 dental doctors with Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degrees. In 1974, the college was upgraded into the Institute of Dental Medicine. Until 1998, when the Institute of Dental Medicine, Mandalay was opened, it was only institution of dental medicine in the country.

Programs

The university offers bachelor's (BDS), master's (MDSc), and doctorate (DrDSc) programs as well as graduate diplomas in dental science (DipDSc) and dental technology (DDT).