Dear Students, Academic and Administrative Colleagues,
Lokman Hekim University, established in Ankara as a health-focused higher education institution, has developed a distinctive academic model by bringing together five health-related faculties—an approach that remains uncommon in Türkiye. Among these, our Faculty of Dentistry has advanced rapidly since its founding and reached an important milestone by graduating its first cohort in the 2023–2024 academic year.
Our Turkish and English programs follow a five-year curriculum of equivalent structure and rigor. During the first three years, students build their foundational competencies through basic medical sciences, theoretical dentistry courses, and preclinical practical training. Preclinical courses are carried out on the 5th and 6th floors of our faculty building in fully equipped prosthodontics and multidisciplinary phantom laboratories, where procedures later performed on patients are first practiced in simulation environments replicating real clinical conditions. Beginning in the spring semester of the third year, students also take part in clinical observation sessions, allowing them to become acquainted with clinical practice on site.
The fourth and fifth years constitute an intensive clinical phase in which students, under the supervision of faculty members, take responsibility for planning and delivering patient diagnosis and treatment from start to finish.
Our faculty is a member of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), and our curriculum is aligned with the standards recommended by ADEE and implemented across European Union countries. As a result, the program encompasses the full set of competencies expected of a dental graduate within the EU. In addition, our curriculum complies with the National Core Curriculum for Undergraduate Dental Education (DUÇEP-2024), which is required for all dental faculties in Türkiye.
Because the practice of dentistry centers on the human being, we attach great importance to cultivating empathy in our students and ensuring that they demonstrate care, precision, and sound judgment—particularly in patient-based clinical settings. Our academic staff is deeply committed to supporting this development.
Our educational mission is to train contemporary dentists who are proficient in current technologies, capable of analytical and integrative thinking, and steadfast in their adherence to ethical principles. Dentistry is a distinguished profession that brings together science and art and is closely linked to aesthetic understanding. As digitalization increasingly shapes healthcare delivery, many technologies that enhance efficiency and improve comfort for both practitioners and patients have become integral to dental practice. The educational components of these technologies are comprehensively incorporated into our curriculum.
The growing interest shown in our faculty by both national and international students reflects the strength of our academic staff and the quality of the education we provide. Our goal is to deliver the finest dental education in Türkiye and to train dentists who uphold ethical values and remain true to the professional oath attributed to Hippocrates. Administering this oath as you step into your profession is among our most meaningful traditions.
It is our foremost responsibility to equip you with contemporary knowledge and to see you graduate as dentists who take pride in being alumni of the Lokman Hekim University Faculty of Dentistry. I extend my sincere appreciation to all members of our academic and administrative staff who carry out this important mission with dedication.
With my warmest regards,
Prof. Dr. LALE KARAAĞAÇLIOĞLU
Dean, Faculty of Dentistry
