The goal of the entire programme is to prepare motivated dentists for a career in a multitude of areas, including clinical practice, teaching and research.
Outline of the Endodontic programme
The programme consists of self-development by reading literature, taking seminars and doing research to accomplish a broad base of scientific knowledge and critical reasoning in the field of endodontics, and well supported decision making. Those theoretical skills are combined with preclinical training, clinical experience and collaborating with experts in other fields to achieve competence in the entire span of endodontics which is necessary to provide complex endodontic care, and to advise and teach others.
Textbooks are used to create a solid base to start from. Subsequently, with scientific literature – research articles – the scientific knowledge will be expanded over the three years.
The clinical part involves extensive training in diagnosis and treatment of endodontic diseases, pain, trauma, surgical endodontics and special-care patient’s groups. After completing preclinical training, treatment of referred patients starts, already during the first year of the programme. In the first year it will include consultations and orthograde treatments. From the second year on, surgical procedures will also be part of the clinical training.
Research training, within the field of endodontology, starts in the first year of the programme. At the end of the final year, students present the results of their individual research projects in a written report which is suitable for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Degree
After successfully completing the programme, which includes passing the final exams including presentation and oral examination of both their clinical work and research project, the candidate will be awarded a certificate. All Oral Health Sciences students are conferred a joint master’s degree in Oral Health Sciences by both the University of Amsterdam and VU Amsterdam, which specifies the chosen graduation profile. Graduates in Endodontology are eligible for 'endodontist specialist' member status from the European Society of Endodontology and will be recognised as ‘tandarts-endodontoloog’ (i.e. endodontists) by the Dutch Society of Endodontology (NVvE).
Department of Endodontology
The department of Endodontology at ACTA provides both undergraduate and postgraduate education, conducts research and has a referral clinic for (complex) endodontic care in which the care is provided by postgraduate students, under supervision of staff members – endodontists – of the department. Dr Hagay Shemesh is the head of the department.
The department of Endodontology at ACTA has been offering a postgraduate endodontic programme since 1992. It is one of the English-taught postgraduate programmes in Europe which has been accredited by the European Society of Endodontology (ESE).
In the Master Oral Health Sciences, the profile director – dr Annemarie Baaij – is responsible for the content and organisation of the profile specific courses of the programme Endodontology. She is affiliated to ACTA since 2008, when she graduated from the undergraduate dental training there. Both her postgraduate training in Endodontology and her PhD on education in Endodontology, she did at ACTA as well. Annemarie practices as an endodontist in a referral clinic and is vice chair of Education and Scholarship Committee of the European Society of Endodontology.
