Dental education and special dental practitioner-cultivating system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period

Background/purpose: During the Japanese colonial period, Taiwan had no dental school but had a medical school. This study explored the dental education and research activities in the medical school and special dentist qualification system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. Materials and methods: This study analyzed the “related incidents and documents of dental education and research and dentist qualification system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period” and explored the dental education and research activities in the medical school and special dentist qualification system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. Results: In 1914, Taiwan Government Medical School hired Dr. Kaname Ansawa, the earliest dental teacher in Taiwan, to teach dental courses in the medical school. In 1918, the “Theory of Dentistry” was considered to be the first independent “Dentistry” subject in the medical school. In 1936, the Faculty of Medicine of Taipei Imperial University listed “Dentistry & Oral Surgery” as an independent graduation examination subject. For dentist qualification system, a qualified physician who had finished dental courses and training could apply for a dental specialty license to work as a dentist. Taiwan Government Medical School (Dentistry) Research Department was the earliest department involved in the teaching and research of dentistry in the medical school and was also an educational institution for cultivating dental practitioners in Taiwan. Conclusion: In the Japanese colonial period, although no dental school was established in Taiwan, there were rich dental education and research activities in the medical school and a special dentist qualification system.