For the first time in the Caribbean, a record of 100 percent passes have been obtained by dental students who wrote Part C of the final examination of the Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The examinations were held at the University of the West Indies School of Dentistry in Trinidad on Saturday May 14, 2005. Seven candidates sat the examination and all were declared successful.

Professor S R Prabhu, Caribbean Regional Dental Advisor to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and a member of the Dental Faculty at Mount Hope, stated that the success rate is historic in that to the best of his knowledge no dental training/examination center of the RCS Edinburgh in the world has ever recorded a 100 percent success rate so far at their MFDS final examinations.

Dr. David Felix, Secretary of the Faculty of Dental Surgery in a letter to Campus Principal Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie wrote: “the 100 percent success rate is clearly very impressive and is a mark of the high caliber of the graduates as well as the commitment of the staff at the Dental School who have been involved in helping them to prepare for this examination”.

In 2002 the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh recognized the internship program offered at the School of Dentistry and accepted the School as a center for its post graduate diploma courses and examinations leading to the Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) of the Royal College. This recognition of the internship program provides nearly 30 candidates with an opportunity to write MFDS examinations every year.

Professor Prabhu also stated that the number of recognized places offered in Trinidad is the highest for any single training and examination center in the world outside of the UK and Ireland. It is also worth noting that at the MFDS Part A examination held in Trinidad in April 2005 the success rate was 83 percent, the highest among all RCS Edinburgh centers in the world including the one in Edinburgh. These figures clearly indicate the high standards maintained at the School of Dentistry in its training.