History and description
The Postgraduate Program in Dentistry of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing – FFOE of the Federal University of Ceará – UFC at Master’s and Doctorate level, Concentration Area: Dental Clinic, aims to train qualified professionals to the pursuit of higher education and work in the job market with a critical view of reality and with the knowledge necessary for the practice of evidence-based Dentistry.
It also aims to develop scientific investigation skills that enable professionals to identify problems, develop hypotheses, plan and carry out research in the area of Dental Clinics; prepare technically and scientifically to carry out Dental procedures in accordance with technological advances and finally stimulate critical capacity and continuing education based on scientific evidence. Furthermore, it seeks to train human resources in an integrated manner between teaching, research and extension activities, aiming at integration between undergraduate and postgraduate courses to strengthen FFOE-UFC as an institution that generates new knowledge in the region in which the institution inserts.
The Postgraduate Program in Dentistry (PPGO) of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing – FFOE of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Concentration Area: Dental Clinic, had its accreditation approved by CAPES in 2005 for the level master’s degree, receiving grade 4. Subsequently, in 2009, the PPGO had the doctorate level approved and implemented, ratifying the scientific and management maturity of the Postgraduate studies within the scope of FFOE and UFC.
From its accreditation until the 2012 evaluation, PPGO received grade 4 and, based on the reports presented by CAPES, implemented actions on several fronts with a focus on concept 5. Perseverance combined with continuous work resulted in grade 5 received by PPGO in quadrennial evaluation (2013-2016), repeating the great success in the evaluation process for the period 2017-2021, consolidating the “very good” concept by CAPES.
Now, responsibilities increase and actions were planned with the aim of solidifying and paving the way towards concept 6 with a view to the next evaluation to be carried out by CAPES. This current scenario reflects the profile of the PPGO, which, since its implementation, has been inserted in the context of training qualified human resources, where the professional is a mix between an excellent researcher and an extremely qualified teacher, capable of entering universities or companies in the country and even abroad, with a philosophy of direct and constant interaction between science and the profession, disseminating this professional profile to the institutions that will welcome professionals trained in the Program.
Regarding its teaching staff, the program has 31 permanent professors and 6 collaborating professors, who carry out their research based on three lines of study: (1) applied clinical and experimental therapy; (2) epidemiology in Dentistry; (3) evaluation of dental materials.
Following recommendations from CAPES, PPGO currently has 44 ongoing research projects, which function as umbrella projects, presenting a homogeneous distribution in terms of the number of projects per permanent professor, and which include postgraduate and undergraduate students.
The curricular matrix is made up of subjects with theoretical and methodological foundations under the responsibility of permanent teachers, and which were designed to support the development of research lines and projects, being aimed at didactic-pedagogical training. The disciplines demonstrate adherence and support to research lines and projects. They are inserted into a flexible curricular structure and credit offering model and were designed to meet the profile of the graduate proposed here.
The PPGO has played a key role in the training of qualified Masters and Doctors in the State of Ceará and the Northeast Region, as it is among the few Programs in the region that have a doctorate level course, in addition to the fact that this is reflected in the nucleation from other Postgraduate Programs in Dentistry by PPGO graduates.
Since its initial accreditation, more than 300 masters and more than 130 doctors have been trained. These aspects strongly indicate that the PPGO has contributed significantly to the imminent change regarding professional qualifications in Dentistry, considering the current scenario of the job market in the Northeast region of Brazil, particularly in the state of Ceará.
Since it implantation, the PPD acts in three principle research lines. These are :
- Evaluation of Dental Materials
Objectives:
- To know the physical-chemist and biological properties e of the dental materials.
- To verify the correct indication, handling and performance of the dental materials in the clinics.
- Epidemiology in Dentistry
Objectives:
- To determine the frequency and thee distribution of oral diseases in groups of people or populations.
- To study the historic aspects of the development of the epidemiology as scientific field and it relation with public healthy politics.
- To verify the coefficients and indicators of the principle problems in public health.
- Clinic and applied experimental Therapeutics
Objectives:
- To evaluate and to establish the scientific support for the clinic procedures realized in Dentistry.
