Outline and History of Dental School
Outline
The school of dentistry was established in 1951 as the first institution among the national universities devoted to both education and research in dentistry. The basic educational program leading to the Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) Degree consists of approximately 1.5 years of pre-professional study and 4.5 years of study in the School of Dentistry.
The School of Dentistry, Osaka University is not merely a place where future dentists are educated. It also stands at the “Frontier of Oral Science” where comprehensive study and education that transcend the boundary between basic dental science and clinical dental science are carried out.
History
| 1926 | Dental Division was established in Osaka Prefectural Medical School. | |
| 1931 | Osaka Prefectural Medical School became School of Medicine Osaka Imperial University, and the Department of Dentistry was established in the following year. | |
| 1947 | Osaka Imperial University was renamed “Osaka University” | |
| 1950 | The Dental Department was established in the School of Medicine. | |
| 1951 | Apr. | School of Dentistry consisting of 6 departments ( Oral Anatomy , Oral Pathology , Dental Materials, Operative Dentistry, Oral Surgery and Prosthodontics )was established with 30 students . Professor Shigeie Yumikura was appointed as the Dean. |
| 1952 | Apr. | Three departments of Oral Physiology, Pharmacology and Orthodontics were established ( a total of 9 departments). |
| 1953 | Apr. | Three departments of Preventive Dentistry, Endodontics and the Second Prosthodontics were established (a total of l2 departments). |
| Aug. | Dental Hospital was founded. Clinics for Operative Dentistry, Endodontics, Oral Surgery, Prosthodontics, Orthodontics and Oral Hygiene with 27 beds were established. Professor Yasushi Watanabe was selected as Directo Chief of the Dental Hospital. | |
| 1954 | Mar. | The first 10 students graduated with DDS degree. The first part of the hospital construction started. |
| 1955 | Jul. | The 30-year special postgraduate program was launched. Department of Oral Surgery2 was established (a total of 13 departments and 8 clinics). |
| 1956 | Apr. | The section C of the Hospital building was constructed(2,943 ㎡ ). |
| 1959 | Apr. | Department of Oral Biochemistry was established(a total of 14 departments). |
| 1960 | Mar. | Construction of the Section B of the Hospital building was completed (3,311㎡ ). |
| Apr. | EnroIlment of student increased to 40. The Graduate School of Dentistry for Ph.D course was founded (31 students). Dental Technology Institute was founded. | |
| 1962 | Apr. | Pharmacy Division was establislhed. |
| 1963 | Apr. | Department of Oral Biochemistry and Oral Hygiene were renamed to Department of Biochemistry and Preventive Dentistry, respectively. |
| 1964 | Apr. | Department of Oral Microbiology was established(a total of 15 departments). |
| 1966 | Apr. | Enrollment of student increased to 60. Number of beds increased to 40. |
| May. | Construction of the Section A of the Hospital building was completed(5,034㎡ ). | |
| 1969 | Apr. | The Second Department of the Oral Anatomy was established (a total of 16 departments). |
| 1970 | Mar. | Extension of the Section B of the Hospital was completed (561㎡ ). |
| 1972 | May. | Department of Oral Radiology was established(a total of 17 departments). Clinic for Oral Radiology was established (a total of 9 clinics). |
| 1973 | Apr. | The Division for Maxillofacial Disorders was established. |
| 1974 | Nov. | The Central Research Laboratory was established. |
| 1975 | Oct. | Clinic for Pediatric Dentistry was established(a total of 10 clinics). |
| 1976 | May. | Department of Pediatric Dentistry was established(a total of 18 departments). Division of Nursing was established. |
| 1978 | Oct. | Clinical Laboratory was established. |
| 1981 | Apr. | Department of Dental Anesthesia was established(a total of 19 departments). Student enrollment increased to 80. |
| 1982 | Apr. | Clinic for Dental Anesthesia was established(a total of 11 clinics). |
| 1983 | Aug. | The School and the Hospital moved to the new buiidings at Suita campus. |
| 1984 | Feb. | The extension of the section A of the building was completed(715㎡ ). |
| 1987 | Dec. | Further extending of the section A of the building was finished(89㎡ ). |
| 1988 | Apr. | Division of Special Care Dentistry was founded in the Hospital. |
| 1989 | Mar. | The extension of the section A building was finished(252㎡ ). The Facility for the High Dose Radiation Therapy was completed(292㎡ ). |
| 1990 | Apr. | The number of student enrollment decreased to 65. |
| 1996 | Oct. | Completion of MRI-CT building(225㎡ ). |
| 1997 | Apr. | Division for Interdisciplinary Dentistry was established. |
| 1999 | Jun. | Vice Director of the Dental Hospital was newly assigned. |
| 2000 | Apr. | Graduate School was reorganized into a two-major system. I. Course for Integrated Oral Sciences and Stomatology(with 31 graduate students) Division of Pathogenesis and Control of Oral Diseases Division of Oromaxillofacial Regeneration Division of Functional Oral Neuroscience Division of Diagnostic Dentistry(Cooperating Department) Division of Craniofacial Development Biology (Affiliating Division) II. Course for Molecular Oral Biology and Dentistry (with 24 graduate students) Division of Oral Infections and Disease Control Division of Oral Biology and Disease Control Division of Oral Developmental Biology Division of Community Dentistry and Informatics (Cooperating Department) School of Dentistry adopted a department system and established 15 departments. |
| 2001 | Apr. | Eleven clinical Departments were re-grouped into three Clinical Departments including Dental Diseases, Division for Tooth and Supporting Tissues Disease and Division of Prosthodontics and Orthodontics and Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Disease. |
| 2004 | Apr. | National University Corporation Osaka University was founded. |
| 2006 | Dec. | Construction of the Section E of the Hospital building was completed (4,813㎡ ). Construction of the Section F of the School building was completed (5,854㎡ ). |
| 2007 | Feb. | Hospital Safety Management Section was established. |
| Apr. | General Dentistry Treatment Center was established. | |
| 2009 | Aug. | Research Center for Frontier Oral Bioscience was established. |
| 2010 | Apr. | Center for Translational Dental Research was established. |
| 2016 | Sep. | Administration Center for Dental Education was established. |
| 2017 | Apr. | International Station for Intractable Oral Diseases was established. |
| 2018 | Apr. Jul. | Center for Oral Cancer was established. Center for Dental Implant was established. Joint Research Laboratory : Advanced Functional Materials Science was established (until March 2024). Office of Strategic Innovative Dentistry was established. Joint Research Laboratory : Advanced Oral Environmental Science was established (until June 2024). |
| 2020 | Apr. | Joint Research Laboratory of Next-generation Science for Oral Infection Control was established (until September 2022). |
| 2021 | Apr. | Center of Innovative Dentistry was established. Joint Research Laboratory : Science for Oral and Systemic Connection was established (until March 2026). Joint Research Division for Oral Data Science was established (until March 2025). |
| 2022 | Apr. | Bioinformatics Research Unit was established. |
| 2023 | Apr. | Section C and D of the building were renovated. Reorganized 8 divisions in the Courses for Oral Sciences into 5 divisions and 23 departments for the purpose of promoting integrated research |