Vitebsk Medical University will resume training of dentists from among Belarusian students

This year, Vitebsk State Medical University plans to resume admission of Belarusian citizens to the Faculty of Dentistry. For two years, young men and women who dreamed of becoming dentists could only enroll in Minsk Medical University or foreign universities, while VSMU admitted only groups of foreigners on a commercial basis for this specialty.

At the same time, Vitebsk has an excellent base for the practical training of dentists. This is a specialized clinic located next to the university's administrative building. Yuri Chernyavsky, Head of the Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, said that daily, in two shifts, 50-60 third- to fifth-year students work with patients under the guidance of nine experienced teachers. Six thousand VSMU students have the opportunity not only to receive free dental treatment using the latest materials but also to undergo preventive examinations. The management of the regional dental clinic, with which VSMU has established close contacts, is also interested in young specialists. Certified doctors from the institution work side-by-side with future colleagues, treating patients from nearby neighborhoods in several offices of the VSMU dental clinic. The university and the clinic jointly purchase modern materials and equipment, and students have access to well-equipped radiology and surgical rooms.

In general, practical training occupies a significant portion of the education of future dentists. By the third year, they hone their professional skills to an automatic level by practicing on simulators that are anatomically very similar to humans. In the third year, they work with real patients, visiting the clinic once a week, and in the fourth and fifth years, they see patients for three weeks twice a year. By the way, considering the current prices in private dental offices, not only university students seek treatment at the VSMU clinic.

— More than 90% of the current doctors in the region's dental clinics are our graduates, — emphasizes Yuri Chernyavsky. — At the same time, the demand for personnel in this field remains high. They are in high demand not only in Belarus but also abroad, which means these specialists will not be left without work.

This year, 76 students are graduating from the fifth year of the dental faculty, 17 of them came from Turkmenistan, Latvia, Syria, and Palestine. The young people with whom we managed to communicate are satisfied with the profession they are receiving and look to the future with optimism.

Alexander Kutynko, "Vitebskiye Vesti"