Page 27 - The Dental Workforce in Malaysia

Introduction | 9

from 1:869 for oral pathology and oral medicine to 1:2,730 for paediatric
dentistry, which was recorded in 2016. Trained MOH specialists are also
allowed to perform care at the tertiary level in one-stop centre clinics
after they have undertaken a short or structured course (Oral Health
Programme Malaysia, 2018).

Development of Malaysian dental education

The aim of training and education in Malaysia is to supply the workforce
for the healthcare provision system and to ensure they are well equipped
with sufficient skills, abilities, knowledge and competencies to deliver a
good quality of service.

Educational training for dentists

The first Malaysian dental school was established in 1972, at the
University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. The University of Malaya is
one of the oldest universities in the country and their first intake under
the dentistry programme consisted of 32 students. The second dental
school was established in 1997 and subsequently, the third dental school
was opened in 1998 (Oral Health Division Malaysia, 2003). These
schools were established following the full approval of the MOH. The
expansion has continued rapidly with the approval of 13 more dental
schools across Malaysia in the past 10 years, which brings the number of
approved dental schools to 16 (Table 1.1). Presently in 2016, local dental
students are enrolled and trained in 13 schools; six public universities
and seven private institutions of higher learning (Malaysian Dental
Council, 2017). The three remaining approved dental schools have not
yet recruited any students (Malaysian Dental Council, 2014a), and one
of them was reported as facing financial crisis and might be closed down
(Ramachandran, 2014).
All public dental schools (n=6) in Malaysia are fully subsidised
by the government, whereas, private dental schools (n=10) are funded
either by private organisations, family businesses or corporate entities,
as shown in the Table 1.1. Nevertheless, both private and public dental
sectors are regulated by the same authorities, the MDC and the Malaysia