History and objectives

The Program

The Postgraduate Program in Dentistry (Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics) at FORP / USP offers Master’s and Doctorate courses with the main objective of training proactive students in the development of their academic activities, including teaching and research.

The Pediatric Dentistry Master’s course began in October 1998 with the enrolment of the first class in February 1999. The Doctorate degree was set up in June 2006 and started in February 2006. The Program underwent a process of restructing at the end of 2024. The orthodontics department was created and the Pediatric Dentistry area expanded with the objective of strengthening the training of specialised human resources in both areas, consolidating new lines of research, increasing scientific production and fostering Internationalisation.  As a result of the expansion, the Program officially became known as the Postgraduate Program in Dentistry (Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics).

 

Since the 2010–2012 four-year period, the Program has been rated 6 by CAPES — a concept that reflects it’s excellence and remains valid to this day.

 

A little about us

A little about us…

Postgraduate studies at FORP/USP began in 1983 with the Oral Rehabilitation Program (Master’s level), extending to the Doctorate in 1987. Until 1997, the Unit only offered the Postgraduate course in Oral Rehabilitation. From then on, with the progressive extinction of the Dental Residency courses (active between 1985 and 1993), new courses were implemented in the areas of Restorative Dentistry (Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry), Oral Biology, Periodontics (including oral and Maxillofacial Surgery) and Pediatric Dentistry.

The Pediatric Dentistry Department, part of the Children’s Clinic Department at FORP/USP, led to the creation of the “Stricto Sensu” Postgraduate course in the area, with the purpose of training new teachers and researchers, advancing scientific knowledge, qualifying academic production and increasing the capture of resources from funding agencies. The Master’s degree was launched in 1999 with a score of 3 awarded by CAPES, but by the end of the first three-year period, it had already achieved a score of 5. The Doctorate course was implemented in 2006, also with a score of 5, and was later raised to a score of 6 in 2010. It is a concept that remains in force.

Throughout the 25 year history, the Program has consolidated itself with great regional, national and international impact, directly influencing the teaching of Dentistry through the implementation of clinical protocols based on scientific evidence, contributing to public policies, technological development with patent registration, and international partnerships — with scientific production published in qualified journals, the exchange of students and teachers. In addition, there have been agreements with renowned institutions abroad.

The Program’s teaching staff has historically been comprised of professors from the Pediatric Dentistry discipline, with the collaboration of Professors from other areas of FORP/USP, as well as from other USP and UNESP units. This collaboration has resulted in significant scientific production, strengthening internationalization and qualification of human resources, with an impact on different levels of society.

Over the years, FORP/USP Orthodontics faculty members have also qualified and joined the Program as collaborators and, later, as permanent members. The natural exchange between the two areas, which belong to the same Department, has resulted in the maturation of Orthodontics within the Program, with an important contribution to the training of new faculty members in the area.

Orthodontics Professors have been actively involved in supervising dissertations and theses, raising funds and conducting research of high clinical and scientific relevance, published in prestigious journals. Their participation in research groups registered with the CNPq, such as “Prevention in Dentistry” and the “Centre for Dental Research in Special Patients”, is also noteworthy.

With the restructuring of the Program in 2024, the Orthodontics area was created and the Pediatric Dentistry area was restructured in order to expand the Program’s activities and train specialized human resources in both areas, as well as  consolidating new lines of research, increasing scientific production and favoring Internationalization. Furthermore, the Program was renamed the Postgraduate Program in Dentistry (Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics).

By December 2024, the Program had awarded 287 degrees, 175 of which were Master’s students, 112 of which were Doctorate/Direct Doctorate students, 9 of which were DINTER graduates.

 

To carry out its activities in 2025, the Program has 24 faculty members, 21 of which are permanent staff – of which 15 (approximately 71.4%) are exclusively dedicated to this Program – and 3 collaborating faculty members, in addition to 57 doctorate students and 47 master’s students.

 

Objectives

The Postgraduate Program in Dentistry (Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics) aims to develop basic, clinical and translational research projects, with an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and multicentric nature. It also seeks to develop the ability to formulate hypotheses in students and the capacity to look for answers and reaching conclusions. This will lead to the forming of proactive researchers specialized in the areas of Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics and related fields.

For this to happen, the teaching emphasizes the reading and critical analysis of dissertations, theses and scientific articles, among others, developing a sense of evaluation. As a consequence,  postgraduate students are enabled  to plan and execute basic, applied and translational research projects and to develop the competence to supervise scientific work at the undergraduate and graduate levels; developing the entrepreneurial spirit in the different actors (students, professors, technical-administrative staff) involved in the PPG; and encouraging the development of projects that generate patent deposits.

The Program also strengthens undergraduate and graduate education by generating knowledge from research projects, supervised and carried out jointly by its faculty, and by training professionals qualified to teach classes (theoretical/practical clinical and laboratory) in undergraduate and graduate courses; There is  an emphasis on training in the preparation of audiovisual and teaching resources. In addition, it seeks to train professionals capable of working in different sectors of the public and private job market related to teaching/research as well as in the industrial and third sectors; and to develop social responsibility in students through involvement in community service activities.

Other objectives include: increasing sustainability actions in the PPG; strengthening interfaces with basic education (Elementary and High School); disseminating the results of research developed in the Program in qualified national and International journals; seeking International insertion through agreements and partnerships with Centres and Universities, aiming at cooperation and mobility between teachers and students in Teaching and Research activities; obtaining resources from funding agencies, necessary for carrying out projects, acquiring equipment  for the mobility of teachers and students in activities in the country and abroad; encouraging the formation of research centres in different locations in Brazil and abroad; promoting welcoming actions for Postgraduate students who have  emotional, financial and/or academic difficulties, especially with the creation and implementation of the FORP/USP Welcome Group.