Graduate and undergraduate geriatric dentistry education in a selected dental school in Japan

Geriatric dentistry and its instruction are critical in a rapidly ageing population. Japan is the world's fastest-ageing society, and thus, geriatric dentistry education in Japan can serve as a global model for other countries that will soon encounter the issues that Japan has already confronted. This study aimed at evaluating geriatric dental education with respect to the overall dental education system, undergraduate geriatric dentistry curricula, mandatory internships, and graduate geriatric education of a selected dental school in Japan. Bibliographical data and local information were collected. Descriptive and statistical analyses (Fisher and chi-squared test) were conducted. Japanese dental schools teach geriatric dentistry in 10 geriatric dentistry departments as well as in prosthodontic departments. There were no significant differences found between the number of public and private dental schools with geriatric dentistry departments (P = 0.615). At Showa University School of Dentistry, there are more didactic hours than practical training hours; however, there is no significant didactic/practical hour distribution difference between the overall dental curriculum and fourth-year dental students' geriatric dental education curriculum (P = 0.077). Graduate geriatric education is unique because it is a 4-year PhD course of study; there is neither a master's degree programme nor a certificate programme in geriatric dentistry. Overall, both undergraduate and graduate geriatric dentistry curricula are multidisciplinary. This study contributes to a better understanding of geriatric dental education in Japan; the implications of this study include developing a clinical/didactic curriculum, designing new national/international dental public health policies, and calibrating the competency of dentists in geriatric dentistry.