The SBMC (Swiss Biological Medicine Center) and its academy (SBMC Academy) in Teufen have been promoting cooperation between dentistry, medicine and pharmacy for years. This cooperation dates back to 1958, when the Paracelsus Clinic was founded, which combined medical and dental areas under a common treatment concept. Despite a pandemic-related interruption, the academy’s teaching activities were resumed in a new form in September last year. The SBMC Academy has a long tradition as an internationally oriented institution, which is also continued in its current form. A particular focus is on the inclusion of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in combination with proven complementary healing methods from Switzerland and abroad.
Interdisciplinary cooperation and professional exchange between medicine and dentistry have been the concern of numerous professional societies and universities for years. The SBMC Academy has responded to this endeavor and since 2008 has integrated neurobiology as an additional communication space between medicine and dentistry. This approach, known as NAM dentistry, combines neurobiology, anatomy and metabolism to improve the comprehensibility of dentistry and promote interdisciplinary exchange. The SBMC Academy expands dentistry beyond craft and mechanical aspects to include comprehensive oral medicine.
The aim of the SBMC Academy is to provide postgraduate training for doctors and dentists with a strong practical focus so that what is learned can be applied immediately in daily work. Practical experience is an advantage, as basic knowledge is required. The knowledge transfer aims to make it easier for dentists to integrate with other specialist areas. Digitization and rapid access to current science should support practical work. Overlapping diagnostics are conveyed in an understandable way so that dentists can apply them in everyday life. At the same time, the SBMC Academy explains dentistry to specialists in such a way that they can integrate it into their treatment process. This collaboration forms the basis for areas that are not yet established, such as sports dentistry, biological medicine, biological dentistry, as well as Longevity Medix and Longevity Dentistry.
Through the accreditation of the SBMC Academy as an affiliated institute of the DTMD, the academy can now impart new knowledge internationally at university level. Therefore, another area of the SBMC Academy will be the creation of master’s degree programs.
In addition, the SBMC Academy is involved in the standardization and certification of dental societies. Certifications of national societies for sports dentistry are currently underway.
The SBMC Academy’s first international master’s program in sports dentistry has just started. The master’s program is modular. National societies that have already been certified have the opportunity to have their basic courses recognized. This means that the courses are internationally comparable and can be credited towards European credits (ETCS). This recognition makes it possible to obtain a “Certificate of Advanced Studies” (CAS).
By taking courses from the Continua range, the CAS can be extended to a “Diploma in Sports Dentistry”.
Finally, it is possible to choose special topics from sports dentistry in a modular way, which completes the master’s program in sports dentistry. Doctoral studies are being considered.
The SBMC Academy is also a partner of the DGSZM, ÖGSZM and the NAM Research Institute, as well as the University of Catani.