Development of a Gerodontology course in Athens: a pilot study A. E. Kossioni and H. C. Karkazis Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece Aim: To describe the development of an undergraduate Gerod- ontology course in Athens Dental School. Background: Because of demographic changes, undergradu- ate dental curricula should place appropriate emphasis on the oral care of the elderly. Therefore, the Athens Dental School Curriculum Committee authorised the development of a new Gerodontology course. Methods: The new course was introduced in the 10th (final) semester of undergraduate studies. Teaching responsibilities were shared amongst staff from various Dental School depart- ments and the National Health System. The course was elective and mainly didactic, consisting of seminars within the Dental School, educational visits to hospitals and geriatric day centres and elective clinical work in the comprehensive care clinic. The students evaluated the course at the end of the semester and indicated its strengths and weaknesses from their perspective. Conclusion: The new course was generally satisfying. Based on the experience and evaluation of the first pilot year and taking into consideration the existing barriers, we plan to improve and expand educational activities, mainly including improved meth- ods of teaching and assessment, and more clinical assignments. Key words: geriatric dentistry; undergraduate dental education; curriculum development. ªBlackwell Munksgaard, 2006 Accepted for publication, 21 December 2005 D emographic, scientific and social changes have refocused dental education. The elderly popu- lation is steadily increasing. Approximately 18.6% of the Greek population is over 65 years of age, with a mean life expectancy at birth of 78.94 years. These patients have a wide range of dental needs. They have more natural teeth than in the past and often a complicated medical history, causing additional prob- lems in their dental management (1–3). Therefore, appropriate emphasis on geriatric education is expec- ted to be provided by dental schools. The dentists of the future must be competent to treat the long-term and recently edentulous older patients, as well as the dentate ones (3). According to the 2001 DentEd report (4), ‘It is important that the undergraduate curriculum, places an appropriate emphasis on the oral and dental care of elderly patients’. Moreover, the UK General Dental Council (GDC) in the report: ‘The First Five Years’ (5) clearly states: ‘Given the profound demo- graphic changes affecting the population and the significant increase in the numbers of older adults with some natural teeth, the GDC would expect to see specific emphasis on this throughout the curriculum’. In 2001, 98% of US dental schools required didactic teaching in geriatric dentistry and all schools taught at least some aspects on the topic (6). However, whilst utilisation of dental services by the elderly is increas- ing in the USA (2, 6), a significant proportion of graduating dental surgeons in US dental schools feel that they have been insufficiently trained in gerodon- tology and feel unprepared for practice (7). Geriatric dental education is limited in Australia (8), whilst in Europe it varies considerably. In a recent study in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, it was revealed that a special lecture or practical course in gerodon- tology is provided in all Swiss, a few German and no Austrian dental schools (9). From the socio-economic point of view in many European countries, as in the UK (3), and Greece, oral health care has a low priority for many older people, mainly because of financial barriers. Therefore, the need for treatment is in- creased, as well as the need to educate the dentists. During recent years, it has become evident that a high percentage of patients utilising the Athens Dental School clinics are elderly, requiring special procedures and appropriate treatment planning. In 2003, the school decided to revise, refocus and restructure the existing undergraduate curriculum. The desire is to move towards a student-centred educational ap- proach, with clearly stated educational objectives 131 Eur J Dent Educ 2006; 10: 131–136 All rights reserved Copyright ª Blackwell Munksgaard 2006 european journal of Dental Education