TEACHING BIOCHEMISTRY TO DENTAL STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

The Dental Faculty in the University of Malaya was started in 1972 with 32 students in the first year for a course of four years leading to the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). In 1995, the dental course was extended to a 5-year course. This paper describes the biochemistry course curriculum desription, student intake, student assessment on the course and performance of student professional examination from 2005 to 2010. Biochemistry is taught only to the students as basic dental sciences at the first year in the 5-year dental curriculum. From June 2010, biochemistry will be taught as one of the subjects in the new integrated basic dental sciences together with physiology, anatomy and oral biology. Annually, about 70-80 new students are admitted to read Dentistry. Throughout the biochemistry course, the students are given oppotunities to assess the course and the teaching of the course for each block of 3-5 lectures.
This is especially important for the dental teachers to improve their teaching and presentation skills to the students. The undergraduates have to take the final professional examinations at the end of two semesters (10 months). About 10% of the students have to spend one additional month for the supplementary examination. About two to three percent of the students may have to repeat the course for an additional year as these students do not acquire sufficient merit to pass the course. The important information and experiences of teaching biochemistry to dental students as a core subject as mentioned in this paper will be an important standard yardstick and reflection to compare with the new curriculum where biochemistry is taught as an integrated basic dental science curriculum in the future years to come.