Message from the Dean

Hiromichi Yumoto, DDS, PhD, Dean

On behalf of all our faculty, staff and students at Tokushima University Faculty of Dentistry, I am pleased to welcome you to our faculty and to our website. The Faculty of Dentistry started with the establishment of the School of Dentistry in 1976 as the only dental school in Shikoku Island and 8th national dental school in Japan. Then, in 2007, the School of Oral Health and Welfare was established and became part of our faculty. This initiative pioneered an integrated system of education and research that combines dental medicine with oral health and welfare.

The Faculty of Dentistry is located on the Kuramoto Campus, which also hosts the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Taking advantage of this environment, we aim to train professionals capable of practicing team-based healthcare in close collaboration with medical, health, and welfare fields. We cultivate dentists, dental hygienists, and social workers who possess strong ethics, advanced expertise, and a research-oriented mindset, enabling them to contribute both locally and globally.

In today’s super-aging society, dental care requires close collaboration with medical, welfare, and administrative services. To meet these needs, we emphasize multidisciplinary training. We have defined clear graduation competencies, developed a structured curriculum, and strengthened student-centered education. Since 2022, a new curriculum has been introduced to further enhance the quality of dental education.
From 2024, the common examinations (CBT and OSCE) required before clinical training became mandatory for eligibility to take the national examination. We have also implemented the revised 2022 Model Core Curriculum and are fully prepared to respond to these reforms.

We hope that students will build a strong foundation as healthcare professionals and grow into individuals who contribute not only to dental care in Japan but also to the global advancement of dental medicine.

This year marks our 50th anniversary. Building on our history and looking ahead to the future, we will continue to fulfill our mission of “supporting life through oral health.”

Please join us in promoting oral health and oral sciences!

Hiromichi Yumoto, DDS, PhD, Dean