What is a dentist?" asks Toshiyuki Yoneda, dean of the Graduate School of Dentistry at Osaka University. "I am afraid that dentistry is still viewed as a surgical-based vocation involving filling cavities and pulling teeth. We want to destroy this antiquated view because we believe that the future skill sets of dentists must cross many disciplines, including pharmacology, law, and even the arts." The heart of the problem in Japan is the rapidly aging population. "The majority of patients in Japan are middle-aged or above, and traditional ailments such as tooth decay are no longer the main issues for dentists," says Yoneda. "For example, periodontal disease in an elderly patient can be linked to other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so dentists must be able to understand these other systemic disorders. We must revise the education curricula for dental schools to include a deeper understanding of molecular biology and pathophysiology."
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