Faculty of Dental Science

Goals

1. To attain and maintain excellent and qualitative learning through high level training in dentistry and various allied dental healthcare professions and postgraduate programmes.
2. To provide effective and efficient oral healthcare services to the human populace.
3. To effectively address the oral health care needs of the society.
4. To train professional dental practitioners who will utilize theoretical models, knowledge derived from research, and critical thinking skills to assist individuals and communities adapt to changing health needs by providing reliable, effective and acceptable professional health service in the homes, communities and health care institutions and the society at large.
5.  To train professional dental practitioners who will be intellectually stimulated to continually improve their practice skills through the utilization of research findings.
6.  Provide sound academic professional background for professional dentist who would be capable of working anywhere in the world with sufficient management ability to play leadership role in training and the practice of dental science.
7. Offer general and professional education for dentists who will be able to utilize psycho-social and physical factors in health promotion, health maintenance and health restoration.
8. To produce world-class, flexible and pro-active dental-practitioners capable of performing dental and maxillofacial surgery skills in a variety of settings, therapeutically assisting individuals, families and communities with diverse backgrounds and health problems to attain optimal health.
9.   Prepare dental-practitioners capable of relating the role of health services to the broader social system, and who will be engaged in life-long and self-directed learning

Structure of the Faculty

1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology/ Surgery
3. Department of Child Dental Health
4. Department of Preventive Dentistry
5. Department of Restorative Dentistry

Training Facilities

Medical Library/Departmental Libraries

The medical library has a total of 1100 holdings specifically for the need of the Faculty of Dental Sciences and College of health Science in General. The reference is section has adequate number of reference materials that cut across all discipline/specialty of the Faculty of Dental Sciences. The libraries have both physical and e-resources and which are subscribed regularly. There are several international research journals and databases, in addition to several national and regional journals. Each department has a departmental library that comprises of both the physical section and the e-library section that is equipped with computers. The Departmental libraries open daily from 8:00AM to 6:00PM. The libraries are equipped with internet facilities and connectivity through campus-wide optic fibre cable.

Philosophy of the Faculty

The philosophy of the Faculty of Dental Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, takes cognizance of the philosophy of Dental profession vis-a-vis the philosophy of education for Nigeria. 1. The Dental profession believes that man is a bio-psychosocial being and his needs are the focus of all dental activities. Man is a member of a family and families make up communities. 2. The health care systems exist to meet the needs of the consumers of health care by providing primary, secondary and tertiary health maintenance activities to ensure that individuals, families, groups and communities are assisted to maintain a high level of wellness. 3. The human environment is a major factor in man’s status. It is therefore necessary to conceptualize the individual and the environment as open systems engaged in continuous and dynamic interaction. 4. University education is the key to the growth of a profession. Optimal professional Dental education can be achieved in an institution of higher learning that provided a foundation for general education in the various sciences and arts. 5. Dentistry is a science based on the knowledge of behaviour that enables changes in the client system to be monitored by utilizing the scientific method of enquiry while providing oral health interventions to individuals, families, groups and communities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health care. 6. Professional Dental education is built upon theoretical base that seeks to develop continuous self-directed practice. Current health care demands, require an innovative approach in professional preparation and a curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the society.

The Values adopted by the Faculty:

Truth- Excellence- Diligence- Quality- Respect- Commitment- Proactivity- Leadership– Justice- Honesty- Commitment- team work- Ethics- Continuing Education of belonging – Equity- Fairness- innovation and creativity.

Faculty Address

Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Health Sciences, U.D.U. Sokoto, Nigeria

Dress Code

The Usmanu Danfodiyo University has outlined a definitive dress code that specified the type of dressing that is not tolerated on campus. Sanctions attracted by offenders are also clearly given. Students are expected to abide by the rules governing the dress code.

School Uniform and Style

Students in the Department are expected to wear specified uniform while on clinical setting (in the hospital wards). The uniform is being identified by the department as follows: i. Female students should wear a fitting gown, with short sleeves, that should stop below the knees. Or, a short sleeve fitting shirt that stops above the knees and long trousers. A cap, scarf or hijab could be worn on the head. ii. Male students uniform comprise of a short sleeved shirt and long trousers. The uniform must be in pure white cotton dress, accompanied by pure black covered shoes. Students are allowed to wear their lab coats during skill demonstration in the department.