Department of Odontology

The Department of Odontology (School of Dentistry) is located in the Panum complex and is a part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen


The department provides knowledge and expertise from many different areas of the field of dentistry as well as corresponding and associated fields.

The provides a solid foundation for the education and research which are the core tasks of the department.

The department houses a large clinical section (appr. 200 units) and several research laboratories providing optimal facilities for clinical training and supporting research activities.

Approximately 450 students are enrolled in the dental study programmes (appr. 290 women) and 100 new students are admitted each year. In addition the departments offers a postgraduate programme in orthodontics as well as PhD programmes and continuing education for dentists and dental staff.

You can find information about the different areas in the menu on the left.


A brief history

The dental education programme was established as an independent subject in Denmark in 1888. From 1941 to the end of 1990 the School of Dentistry was an institution of higher education with its own rector and senate.

In the late 1970s an integration of the health education programmes was discussed and a decade later the University established the Faculty of Health Sciences, which included the Central Department of Odontology comprising two scientific and one clinical section.

In the 1990s a revision of the dental education programme resulted in 60% joint courses with the medical programme, full implementation from 1992.

The Department of Odontology received its current designation with the introduction of the new university law in 1993.

The first school of dentistry was located in a residential flat in central Copenhagen (Nygade) in the early 1890s. The school moved its location twice, first in 1894 to Stormgade where the facilities were shared with the Teachers College and a school museum, and in 1928 to Trommesalen. In 1941 the school moved to newly constructed facilties in the eastern part of Copenhagen (Jagtvej).

During the years 1983-86 the school moved yet again to the recently erected Panum Institute in the northern part of central Copenhagen, - a part of the University's Nørre Campus.

The Panum Institute is currently under reconstruction in order to provide better facilities for educations and research in health and medical sciences. Construction of new addition The Maersk Tower began in 2012 and was officially initiated in January 2017. 

Read more about the Maersk Tower and the building process

Sources:
Ib P. Sewerin: Tandlægeskolen i København 1888-2000 - Liv og historie. Munksgaard Danmark, 2005
Tandlægebladet no 9, June 1988, year 92: 100 år Københavns Tandlægehøjskole.
Copenhagen Royal Dental College 1888-1988. Royal Dental College/Informationsudvalget (pamphlet).