Faculty of Stomatology

 Dentistry is one of the youngest branches of medicine. In pre-Soviet Armenia, the dental care of the native population was in an extremely poor condition, or rather, it did not exist at all, if we do not take into account a few special dentists who worked privately in Yerevan and Alexandropol. After the establishment of the Soviet regime in Armenia, a number of state medical institutions were founded, and dental care offices also began to operate next to them.

In 1925 The first Transcaucasian Congress of odontologists was convened in Tiflis, where Alexander Mashur reported on the progress of the works in Armenia.  development of dentistry in the USSR is due to the opening of the first dental clinic in Yerevan in 1929, where 34 dentists and dental technicians worked, on the initiative of Mashur. The ranks of dentists were replenished with specialists invited from other Republics.

    In 1932, relevant Committee of the Ministry organized courses of 6 and 9 months duration for dentists and dental technicans  to provide the mentioned branch with personnel, , where mainly paramedics with 10 years of work experience were admitted. In 1933, 35 dentists and 26 dental technicians graduated these courses. A major role in the development of dentistry was played by Seda Margaryan. She has graduated from the Medical Faculty of Yerevan Medical Institute, was trained in leading dental clinics in Moscow and Leningrad and worked in Yerevan.

In 1936, the dental school was founded, which operated until 1949.

In 1937, the school broadened its scope by opening a dental technical course, where 40 students studied during the first year. In 1937, a one-year dental course was established on the school basis, where 26 dentists were trained. Those courses initiated the development of dentistry in Armenia.

In 1946, a maxillofacial surgery clinic with 25 beds was opened at the Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, which operated until 1965, where surgical dentistry was taught by A. Sahakyan, and since 1956  by G. Yeghiyan. In 1946, a dental department was opened at the medical school with a duration of 3 years of study.

  In 1949, the Yerevan dental school was closed. The necessity of training the  high-quality specialists had raised. Until 1958, dental care in Armenia was lagging behind a number of Republics of the USSR, the main reason of which was the lack of dental specialists with higher medical education and the slow growth of dental institutions chains.

The dental service in Armenia began to be fully formed from the 60s of the 20th century.

In 1961, by the joint decision of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union and the Ministry of Health, the Stomatological Faculty was established at the Yerevan State Medical Institute in order to train dentists with higher education and provide high-quality dental professional care to the population of the republic.

In 1961-1962 academic year, the first admission was announced, as a result of which 48 people were admitted to the Stomatological Faculty.

In 1963, united dean’s office of the stomatological, sanitary-hygienic and pediatric faculties was established under the leadership of associate professor K.H Karapetyan.

After the opening of the stomatology faculty in 1961, the dental service in Armenia became to form very active. In 1963, the dental department was completely formed under the leadership of Gevorg  Egiyan. Iveta Petrosyan, Eduard Kilikyan and Eduard Gevorgyan were sent to Moscow for post-graduate education to prepare highly qualified staff. In 1963, Anna Minalyan, under the supervision of Georgy Eghian, became the first postgraduate student of the Yerevan State Medical Institute.

During 1969-1970 academic year, the stomatological faculty  was formed separately, and a dean position was successively assigned to professors M.S.Gavalov and Nikoghosyan G.G. In subsequent years, the position of dean of the faculty was occupied by associate professor Frangulyan L.A., assoc. prof. Hovhannesyan Mikayel I., assoc. prof.Petrosyan Iveta G., prof. Tatintsyan Valery G., prof. Bakhshinyan Margarita Z., prof. Qanqanyan Aramazd P., assoc. prof.Margaryan Marina M., assoc. prof. Baroyan Karine M. Since September 2011 the dean office is headed by  professor Yessayan Lazar K.

In 1972, the Republican Stomatological Out-patient Clinic was founded. In 1987, the Dental Center of the World Health Organization was opened at the Republican Stomatological Out-patient Clinic.

During 1966-1967 academic year, faculty of stomatology had its first graduates . Among the 47 graduates of the faculty, 39 were citizens of Armenia and 8 were representatives of the Armenian diaspora.

Today, the total number of students enrolled in the stomatological faculty of Yerevan State Medical University named after M. Heratsi, is about 1000 students.

Basic education at the faculty of stomatology is organized according to continuous and integrated educational program lasting 5 years with further postgraduate studies of 1.5-3 years. The education is organized in Armenian, Russian and English. Basic education is followed by clinical residency training lasting 1.5-3 years. In university Stomatological Out-patient Clinic (SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, SOC 4) training courses for doctors are also implemented.

During education the students along with the theoretical subjects study also professional and related disciplines. Much attention is paid to the self work of students, conducted under the direct supervision of the teacher. Practical classes are carried out using various didactic materials, dental training phantoms.

Graduates of the Dental Faculty are awarded diplomas of state standard with the qualification of a stomatologist.

Among graduates of the faculty there have always been a lot of nominal scholarship students and also students with high academic achievement. Many of them later passed advanced training courses in higher educational institutions of Russia, Europe and the USA, replenishing the ranks of highly qualified medical personnel of the Republic of Armenia.

Teaching of specialty disciplines is carried out at the following departments:

• Department of Therapeutic Stomatology,
• Department of Pediatric Stomatology and Orthodontics,
• Department of Surgical Stomatology and Maxilo-facial Surgery,
• Department of Prosthodontics

and Center excellency of the stomatological education.

During the trilingual (Armenian, Russian and English) training at the faculty the students study both theoretical, professional and related clinical subjects in accordance with international programs and standards. In the center of improvement of practical skills of dental education practical training is carried out with the involvement of modern simulators, models, devices, necessary materials and tools.

The faculty closely cooperates with internationally recognized Universities, not only in the exchange of experience in educational and clinical fields, but also in the framework of joint serious researches in the scientific field, publications of many scientific research works and other achievements.

The basic education in the educational program of the specialty ” Stomatology ” is carried out in a 5-year continuous and integrated program. The study load of each  10 semesters is 30 ECTS credits. The annual workload is 60 ECTS credits, 1 credit is equivalent to 30 academic hours. During their studies, students study both theoretical, professional and clinically related subjects. The teaching process of theoretical courses is carried out in university buildings (biochemical,  administrative, laboratory, anatomical), the teaching process of clinical courses is carried out in the simulation center of the university, in university hospital complexes /”Muratsan” and “Heratsi”/, in polyclinics /”Muratsan” and “Heratsi”/ , in clinical diagnostic and pathological laboratories attached to the mentioned complexes, in University Stomatological Out-patient Clinic (SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, SOC 4)and in university clinical establishments located in other health and preventive institutions and Stomatological Out-patient Clinics of the republic. The teaching process is carried out by the teaching staff of the departments. Professors who teach in clinical departments are practicing doctors.