Prepared by: Professor Jadranka Keros
The history of the School of Dental Medicine within the University of Zagreb encompasses three developmental periods, namely: the initial period of the dental institution from 1922 to 1948, the organization and operation of the Department of Dentistry from 1948 to 1962, and the foundation and rise of the School of Dental Medicine from 1962, over four decades to the present day.
Almost eighty years ago, on 20 January 1922, the Department of Odontology was established at the School of Medicine of the University of Zagreb, where teaching was entrusted to Assistant Professor Dr. Eduard Radošević. The conditions for teaching at that time, especially in clinical subjects, were very modest and cramped, so it was not until 1933 that a dental outpatient clinic was opened within the Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, which became a Department the following year. In 1935, the Department grew into a Dental Clinic with the head Prof. Dr. Eduard Radošević and two assistants, but still within the Otorhinolaryngology Clinic. In 1939, the Dental Clinic became independent, and Prof. Dr. Ivo Čupar was appointed head of the clinic, who developed the Department of Odontology from that core. The selection of another teacher in the Department of Dentistry, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Juraj Kallay, who greatly improved theoretical and practical teaching, was also important in this development.
After World War II, in 1948, a separate Department of Odontology began operating at the School of Medicine of the University of Zagreb, in which, according to a special program, classes lasted five years. In this, students of the Department of Odontology attended classes together with students of general medicine, and from the third year of study, classes were held separately for students and in addition to professional dental subjects. The first teachers were Dr. Živko Bolf and Dr. Miroslav Suvin.
In 1951, the Ministry of National Health of the People's Republic of Croatia, on the proposal of the Council for Higher Medical Education, issued an Order on the structure of the Department of Odontology and its relationship with the School of Medicine in Zagreb. The teaching was divided into general medical and professional subjects, and then, in addition to the existing lecturers, in 1952, prof. Dr. Ivo Čupar, Dr. Zdenko Njemirovskij, Dr. Vitold Ritterman and Dr. Dalibor Svoboda. In the school year of 1954, the first eight students completed the study of Odontology.
In 1957, the name of the Department of Odontology was replaced by the name of the Department of Dentistry, and the graduated students received the academic title of doctor medicinae stomatologicae. Structural changes were evident in 1958 and 1959, and five departments were established in the renovated building at Gundulićeva 5: the Department of Dental Surgery (Head Dr. Dalibor Svoboda), the Department of Dental Prosthodontics (Head Dr. Miroslav Suvin), the Department of Dental Pathology (Head Dr. Zdenko Njemirovskij), the Department of Jaw and Teeth Regulation (Head Dr. Živko Bolf) and the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry (Head Dr. Oskar Štern).
The dental study program finally received its first vice-dean in the academic year 1960/61 - Prof. Dr. Miroslav Suvin.
Following the advancement of all biomedical fields, dentistry developed into a separate profession, and independent dental higher education institutions, or faculties, were founded in Europe and America. As a result of these events and the persistent efforts of our leading experts, the independent School of Dental Medicine of the University of Zagreb was founded by a decision of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia in 1962, and Prof. Dr. Živko Bolf was elected as the first dean. This created important prerequisites for further educational, scientific and professional progress, and over the decades to the present day, the curriculum has been supplemented and modernized by introducing new teaching content. For this purpose, new faculty departments were established, and in 1971, a decision was made to make the General Hospital "Dr. Mladen Stojanović" a clinical teaching base for the education of dental students. This ensured excellent teaching of clinical medical subjects. The teaching of basic medical subjects was resolved in such a way that the teachers of these subjects from the School of Medicine entered into a contractual business relationship with the School of Dental Medicine, thus promoting teaching to a higher level. In recent decades, postgraduate teaching has been developed, continuing education for dentists has begun, and many distinguished experts from all over the world have become guest professors at our Faculty.
Today, the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, with its organization, curricula and work results, is the leader of the profession in Croatia. It cherishes everything that is positive in its tradition and at the same time strives to meet the conditions and achieve and ensure European standards.
