Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Eduard Melnichenko (1979-2001) is the founder of the Pediatric Dentistry Scientific School in the Republic of Belarus. He was a supervisor of 25 Ph.D. thesis and 1 doctoral thesis.
Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Tamara Terekhova was a Head of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry in 2001-2020. Under her guidance 2 doctoral and 11 Ph.D. thesis were completed.
Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Natallia Shakavets is a Head of the Department of Pediatric since 2020. Under her supervision 2 Ph.D. thesis were completed, currently 3 Ph.D. thesis are being carried out.
Many scientific issues have been investigating since Department was founded: features of herpetic infection in children, the oral status, prevention and treatment of oral pathology in children with different somatic diseases, features of dental care for children with inflammatory diseases and congenital pathology of the maxillofacial region, epidemiology and prevention of dental diseases, study of the impact of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident on the oral status in children.
Topic of research work of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry for the period 2017-2021 is «Features of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of major dental diseases in children» (state registration no.20121628). Academic staff is involved in research in following fields:
- epidemiological assessment of children’s oral status in the Republic of Belarus according to international standards;
- study of dental status indicators (the state of hard dental tissues, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and oral hygiene) and risk factors for dental diseases in children of different age groups and taking into account concomitant somatic pathology;
- development and implementation of differentiated schemes of medical and preventive dental care for children, taking into account the indicators of dental and somatic health;
- study of the prevalence and features of the clinical course of inflammatory odontogenic diseases in children; development and implementation of new schemes for the diagnosis and treatment of surgical pathology of the maxillofacial region in children;
- assessment of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of various methods of individual and group prevention and treatment of dental caries in preschool and primary school children;
- study of the effectiveness of modern filling materials and treatment methods in the clinic of children's therapeutic dentistry.
During the period of existence of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, based on the results of scientific research, the Department staff published 13 monographs, more than 1,600 articles and abstracts in journals and collections of the Republic of Belarus, the CIS and far abroad, received 14 patents for inventions, 21 certificates for innovation proposals, published 4 collections of scientific papers, made 725 reports at city, national and international forums and conferences.
Employees of the Department actively cooperate with colleagues from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Uzbekistan, Germany, Canada, Austria, and are members of international organizations in the field of dentistry: the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry (IAPD), the European Association of community dentistry (EADPH), the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (EAPD).
Thus, research work is an integral part of the activities of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. The field of scientific interests of the staff is diverse, research of current problems of Pediatric Dentistry is based on a deep analysis and modern methodology, forming a number of areas of scientific activity. The active scientific activity of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry undoubtedly helps to develop the theory and practice of Pediatric Dentistry and makes a significant contribution to the development of Belarusian science.