gms | German Medical Science

Objective: As there are no recent studies on the differences in anatomical dental curricula at German universities, we conducted an analysis to identify inter-institutional variability.

Methods: The analysis of study regulations, examination requirements and the survey of the 30 German anatomical institutes took place from October 2020 to April 2021.

Results: Only one of the surveyed anatomy departments offers an integrated approach to teaching anatomy, while the other universities teach a traditional anatomy curriculum. Dental students study anatomy for between two and five semesters. In 12 of the anatomy departments there is a joint medical and dental dissection course, with dental students focusing more on the head and neck region. In four of these 12 institutions, both dental and medical students study the same anatomical content. In all anatomical institutes, the dental students dissected the neck and head on their own. The brain was dissected by the dental students themselves in 20 institutions, demonstrated in seven and not dissected in three universities where students received neuroanatomical lectures. The thorax, abdomen and retrositus were dissected by the dental students themselves in 25 universities, in one university they were taught on prosected specimens and two universities reported voluntary dissection. In 5 universities the upper limb was dissected by the students, in 18 universities there was no upper limb dissection, in three universities it was done voluntarily, in three others partially (upper arm) and in one university the upper limb was already prosected. In six universities the lower limb was dissected by the students themselves, in two universities it was voluntary and in one university the lower limb was prosected. The remaining 21 universities did not dissect the lower limb. 16 universities reported that students dissected the genitalia, two voluntarily and one studied on a prosected specimen. In 11 other universities, students did not dissect the genitalia (see figure 1 [Fig. 1]).

Discussion: Although an increasing number of universities offer an integrated curriculum, only one German university offers the same for dental students. There seems to be a consensus on the importance of head and neck preparation for future dentists. On the other hand, the most diverse teaching approaches were found for the extremities and the reproductive organs. Their relevance seems questionable. There are contrasting and contradictory studies on joint teaching, describing either a greater appreciation or a greater demarcation between the disciplines [1], [2]. Furthermore, studies show that students do not prefer either self-dissection or prosection, while some authors suggest that prosection is most appropriate for dental students [3].

Take home message: There is no single dental curriculum, and the question of the best teaching approach remains unanswered. We hope that the results of our study will stimulate discussion on the design of a clinically relevant, optimal dental anatomy curriculum.