Dental Surgery and Subspecialties

The Faculty of Dental Surgery was established at the inauguration of the College. It is run by a Chairman and a Secretary supported by an elected 9-Member Board. The chairman is the chief examiner of the Faculty. The Faculty has sub-specialties including:

Restorative Dentistry: Specialty focuses on replacing damaged or missing teeth. Fillings, crowns (“caps”), bridges and implants are common restorative options.

Pediatric Dentistry is an age-defined specialty that provides both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care for infants and children through adolescence, including those with special health care needs.

Orthodontics: Specialty deals with abnormal alignment of the teeth and jaw, misaligned bite patterns and focuses on modifying facial growth.

Periodontology is the specialty of dentistry that encompasses the science, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of supporting and surrounding tissues of the teeth and dental implants. It includes maintenance of health, function and esthetics of all the supporting structures of the teeth (gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum, alveolar bone and sites for tooth replacement).

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology is the speciality of Dentistry and discipline of Pathology that deals with the disease states of oral and maxillofacial tissues, organs and related structures. The science of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology thus comprises the causes, pathogenesis, natural history, distribution and prognosis of oral diseases and disorders.

Oral Medicine: The specialty is concerned with the oral healthcare of patients with chronic, recurrent, and medically related disorders of the oral and maxillofacial region and with their diagnosis and non-surgical (medical) management. These disorders include salivary gland disease, oral mucosal disease, oro-facial pain and neurological disorders, oro-facial musculoskeletal disorders and oral manifestations and complications of systemic disease.

Oral Pathology: Oral pathology is a laboratory based sub-specialty of pathology. Oral pathologists carry out dissection of biopsies, and then make a microscopic examination of samples of the biopsy with the use of stains. The pathologist then writes a pathology report describing the histological appearance, suggests a diagnosis and may choose to advise treatment. Oral pathologists are especially involved in the staging of oral cancer and premalignant lesions.

Community Dentistry: This specialty of dentistry deals with the prevention of oral disease and promotion of oral health. It is involved in the assessment of key dental health needs and coming up with effective solutions to improve the dental health of populations rather than individuals.