INTEGRATION OF BIOMECHANICS KNOWLEDGE IN THE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF MASTERS OF DENTISTRY

Abstract

The paper presents the results of research into the prospects of integrating knowledge of mechanics and biomechanics in the professional training of future masters of dentistry. The content and structure of the selective educational discipline «Biomechanics of the dental and jaw apparatus. Physical foundations of gnathology». During the last three decades, there has been a noticeable progress in dentistry, which is not limited to technological innovations, but is also characterized by the reconfiguration of dentistry in a biophysical, physiological context. A significant proportion of dental diseases and complications is associated with insufficient knowledge of the biomechanics of the locomotor and maxillofacial apparatus and understanding of the multifunctionality of the interrelationships of elements and tissues of the maxillofacial system in normal and pathological conditions, improper use of this knowledge in reconstructive dentistry, diagnostics and prevention of dental diseases. The relevance of such studies in Ukraine is significantly increased due to the increase in the number of patients injured in the war that the russian federation waged on our territory. Having analyzed the educational and professional programs and curricula of leading medical institutions of higher education, we found out that the issue of integration of knowledge of mechanics and biomechanics in the professional training of masters of dentistry is timely and relevant and requires a systematic and comprehensive approach to their study. A discussion was held in focus groups, which included senior year students of specialty 221 «Dentistry», teachers of specialized departments of the Faculty of Dentistry, practicing dentists. In each of the focus groups for discussion, emphasis was placed on a certain aspect of the investigated problem: understanding the essence of the basic laws of biomechanics and their role for future professional activity; the frequency of patient appeals with problems, the solution of which required gnathology competences; the need to create a special educational discipline, its scope, content, place in the curriculum. The conducted research, as well as the study of foreign experience, showed the need to develop a selective educational discipline, which would be the basis for the systematic integration of biomechanics knowledge in the professional training of a Master of Dentistry and created the prerequisites for developing its content and structure.