Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In South Africa the general dental practitioner has sole re$ponsibility for the provision of child dental care. Accordingly, at Stellenbosch University the objective of the undergraduate paedodontic curriculum is to train a general dental practitioner who is able to provide comprehensive dental care for all categories of children.As this approach is not in accordance with that prevailing in most countries, particularly countries acknowledged to be leaders in the field of 'paedodontics, the objective of this investigation is to examine and test the validity of the philosophy of paedodontic education as it exists in South Africa in general and at the University of Stellenbosch in particular.