The History of the Dentistry School in Alexandria
The Dentistry School in Alexandria started in 1927 when Dr. Abd El-Rahman Omar, director of the Amiri hospital, issued a report to the Health Minister's deputy demanding the establishment of a department in the hospital for treating dental diseases. At that time, the hospital did not include a specialty physician in the field of dentistry.
In 1930, the first physician specialized in Dentistry was appointed, Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Farghaly, who practiced Dentistry without any special qualification. In 1945, the Dentistry School was established as one of the departments in the School of Medicine in Alexandria. Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Farghaly was assigned as president of the school; he then received a diploma in dentistry. The administration of the School of Medicine sought to recruit some professors in dentistry from King Fouad University in Cairo to work in the Dentistry School in Alexandria, but managed to assign only Dr. Morad Samy for a few days every week. Therefore, some foreign specialty physicians were recruited to teach in the School of Dentistry including Dr. Ennis, Dr. Matts, in addition to a foreign assistant specialized in Prosthodontics, Mr. The first official academic year began in 1945; five scholastic years were determined for studying in the school. They began with a preparatory year in the School of Science in Moharram Bek, followed by four scholastic years that included lectures and practical lessons in cooperation with the School of Medicine, in addition to specialty subjects in the field of dentistry. The first to join were two students; however, the number of students gradually increased every year. The first class graduated in 1949 which consisted of two students, Dr. Gamal El-Din Ahmed Al-Debba and Dr. Ibrahim El-Attar. The medical specialties in the School were limited to five specialties and they were: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Oral medicine - Operative Dentistry - Orthodontics and Prosthodontics. These specialties increased to ten specialties with the scientific development and advancement by the end of the twentieth century; these specialties were Prosthodontics - Oral Pathology - Oral Biology - Orthodontics - Oral Surgery - Maxillofacial Surgery - Biomaterials - Pedodontics & Community Dentistry - Oral Medicine, and Operative Dentistry
