The course is designed to introduce dental students to the core principles of Dental Public Health and their application to population-based oral health nationally and internationally. 

Students will learn the importance of public health functions, fundamental concepts of health promotion and diseases prevention at a population, community and individual levels with the emphasis on health needs assessment, health promotion and risk prevention related to oral health in the community.

Applied epidemiology and trends of dental caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer on international and national levels will be discussed, common dental indices to measure these and oral health trends will be addressed including the impact of oral health on the individual and the community. 

Students will explore strategies for preventing common oral diseases at individual and community levels including appropriate use of fluorides, pit-and-fissure sealants. 

Disparities in oral health status and issues of the access to dental health care will be highlighted and the ways of reducing inequalities will be addressed. Brief overview of different healthcare systems and the importance of dental and non-dental workforce models in improving access to and utilization of dental healthcare services will also be made. 

The DPH course will also provide students with the necessary foundation of knowledge required to practice effective "Evidence-based Dentistry" and to select appropriate preventive interventions and strategies to promote oral health and control dental diseases at the individual and population levels. 

Ethical reasoning related to the practice of population-based dental public health as well as individual patients will be highlighted with the emphasis on raising the awareness among dental professionals in recognizing the importance ethical issues, including informed consent, confidentiality and patient autonomy. 

Course aims at developing the capacity for lifelong learning and professional growth and obtaining the leadership skills and developing the ability to participate in the provision of integrated inter-professional care directed towards health promotion, better patient care and quality of services improvement.