• Outpatient procedures
• Alveolopasty (pre prosthetic surgery)
• Apical cyst enucleation
• Apisectomy (endodontic/root end surgery)
• Biopsy of jaw pathology
• Biopsy of Oral mucosal lesions
• Closure of diastema (interdental space between upper front teeth)
• Cautery of oral bleeding lesions
• Dental Implants
• Endodontics (root canal treatment)
• Extraction
• Frenectomy
• Gingivectomy
• Habit counselling
• Incision and drainage Impaction (surgical removal of Impacted teeth)
• Intermaxillary fixation
• LASER dentistry (ablation of oral mucosal lesions, and other treatment procedures)
• Labial gland biopsy
• Mucocele excision
• Oral hygiene instructions
• Orthodontics- Removable and fixed
• Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics deal with the correction of malocclusion such as open bite due to habits such as tongue thrusting or thumb sucking, deep-bite, cross-bite, and buck teeth with fixed appliance or braces. It focuses on getting teeth aligned to functional occlusion, redirecting disproportionate jaw growth by functional appliance, correcting malocclusion in craniofacial anomalies like cleft lip and palate etc

• Dental malocclusion corrections with fixed appliance
• Functional appliance for growth modulation
• Correction of developing facial asymmetry due to crossbite or malocclusion
• Camouflage treatment for borderline skeletal malocclusion.
• Arch expansion treatment for cleft lip and palate patients
• Static and active orthoses for burn cases post commisuroplasty
• Removable appliance
• Habit breaking appliance

• Guides senior house officers during clinical procedures
• Teach medical students and P.G registrars who come for training
• Teach dental assistants and hygienists
• Attend CME, CDE and give lectures

• Undertake research in relevant areas of dental practice
• Co-ordinate audits and clinical research work in the unit
• Guides post-graduate residents in doing research.
• Periodontal surgery
• Prosthodontics (treatment with dentures)

• Inpatient procedures
• Maxillofacial surgery procedures
• Alveolar bone grafting
• Mandibular osteotomy

• Maxillary osteotomy

• TMJoint ankylosis release and reconstruction
• Eminectomy
• Mandibular resection and reconstruction
• Oroantral fistula closure
• Open reduction and internal fixation for facial fractures
• Partial maxillectomy

Post-doctoral Fellowship – Advanced training in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery

Postgraduate Fellowship – General Dentistry

Refresher Course in Basic General Dentistry

Postgraduate Fellowship in LASER DENTISTRY

Advanced training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery – Post-doctoral fellowship

Number of seats – One per year

Duration of course – Two years

Minimum educational qualifications – MDS in oral and maxillofacial surgery from an Indian university recognised by the DCI

Introduction:

This 2-year course is intended for oral and maxillofacial surgeons to develop competence in clinical decision-making and surgical skills required to work as a specialist. The program affords a unique opportunity to train in a tertiary care hospital providing wide clinical experience. Candidates with an MDS in oral and maxillofacial surgery can apply for the course. The post will have academic, service and teaching responsibilities.

Training will be through a process of clinical mentoring and surgical apprenticeship. The trainee will maintain a clinical log book and there will be periodic assessment of skills in diagnosis, treatment planning and technical procedures. Participation in academic activities such as journal reviews, clinical meetings and scientific publication is expected. The candidates will have the opportunity to work with interrelated specialities including other dental specialities, ENT, Plastic Surgery, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Radiotherapy, Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Clinical research through an audit of maxillofacial databases will be required.

Postgraduate fellowship in General Dentistry:

General Dentistry may sometimes be referred to as “Family dentistry” or “Comprehensive Dental Practice”. It is the clinical discipline which provides a “whole person” approach to the vast subject of dentistry. This understanding enables a dentist to attend to the majority of patients attending the practice. The General Dentist is thus expected to be a multi-competent dental practitioner who resolves most cases himself and only refers cases to specialists when appropriate. Christian Medical College has been offering a Fellowship training programme in General Dentistry (FGD) since 2006.

This is a two-year fellowship which prepares trainees for a future career as a general dental practitioner, hospital dentist or even as a dental specialist after further training. The focus of training is on providing comprehensive and quality care to patients.

Clinical training includes rotation through different sections of the dental department across the year. Training will concentrate on the clinical skills of consultation, performing treatment procedures and review of patients. Trainees will work in a team under the guidance of specialists and clinical supervisors. Opportunities will also be available for work in individual practice and community settings.

Candidates will apply principles of dental management of medically compromised patients in a hospital setting. They will be on call and get to assist the oral and maxillofacial surgeons for casualty, ward and theatre duties. They will learn to work up, plan and present clinical cases having pathology, trauma or deformity.

General dentistry clinical skill training is obtained in minor oral surgery and all aspects of restorative dentistry, including conservative dentistry, endodontics, periodontics and prosthetic dentistry. Preventive care through counselling and review will be the mainstay of the comprehensive care of all patients. The program also provides experience in 4-handed dentistry, office safety measures, practice management and electronic records.

Academic training will include small group discussions and didactic lectures. Teaching will be clinical problem-based and focused on developing self-learning, logical reasoning and decision-making skills. Each trainee will be required to complete a clinical or management audit during the course. The candidates will maintain an electronic logbook and album of all comprehensive care cases attended to.

The annual intake for this fellowship is 4 and is open to those who have completed their BDS (Tamil Nadu Dental Council registration required). The selection is through an entrance examination and interview conducted in January each year. The course commences in February -March. A stipend is available for Fellows.

Refresher in General Dentistry (Basic General Dentistry):

This programme helps to refresh the dentist’s knowledge, skills and attitudes and develop competence in the practice of dentistry. It will include training in:

• General dentistry consultation skills
• Extraction skills
• Restorative dentistry skills
• Management of endodontic emergencies and anterior endodontics.
• Community dentistry
• Periodontal treatment
• Team skills

Assisting and observation in:

• Minor oral surgery
• Hospital dentistry (casualty, ward and OR)
• Specialty diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Prosthetics
• Molar endodontics

Skill development:

Skills are learnt through a process of knowledge, observation, coaching and hands-on application. Dentists will acquire the skills in the department through case discussions, problem-based learning, assisting other dentists, guidance & supervision from seniors, use of teaching aids including library and classroom facilities, online manuals, table demonstrations and skill lab using models. Candidates will also maintain log book entries of procedures done.

Consultation involves various skills which need to be learned and applied in the following areas:

• The actual decision-making process which includes History taking, examination, investigations, diagnosis and treatment planning (including referral).
• The process of communication and the doctor-patient relationship.
• The process of comprehensive evaluation and care of patients with more complex dental disorders or who are medically compromised.
• Counseling of patients with various categories of dental neglect.

Extraction skills:

The candidate should be fairly experienced in performing extractions, including quadrant extractions. He/she should be able to give local anaesthesia (including Pterygo mandibular N blocks) effectively and also be equipped to remove roots by the closed method, wherever possible, and to perform suturing of extraction sockets.

Restorative dentistry skills:

Through the course of training the dentist should be fairly competent in the selection of cases and performing different types of restorations (Class I to V) . This will require an understanding of the manipulative properties and application of the various filling materials available.

Endodontic emergencies and anterior endodontics:

The candidates should be able to plan the management of advanced caries and the use of diagnostic restorative procedures. They should have the skill to perform emergency pulp extirpation and endodontic procedures for single-rooted teeth.

Community Dentistry:

Dentists should be able to perform dentistry in a cost-effective, low-budget situation. They should also have the skills in patient education at the community level and conduct dental screening in the community and schools.

Periodontics:

Dentists should be skilled in periodontal charting, treatment planning and follow-up. They should also be skilled in scaling and closed curettage and be aware of basic periodontal surgical procedures.

Team skills:

Dentists should be able to work in a team both as leaders and partners. This involves learning the dynamics of professional teamwork including skills in chairside assisting and basic practice management.

Experience through assisting and observation:

Valuable clinical experience is obtained from assisting others including specialists in various tasks. During the period of training, through active participation, the dentists will be exposed to more technically demanding procedures as well as begin to understand the workflow and processes involved in different clinical areas. These areas include prosthetics, minor oral surgery, hospital dentistry and special diagnosis.

Knowledge base (didactic classes):

• Knowledge of the consultation process
• Consultation technique (History, examination, investigation, diagnosis, treatment planning, education)
• Doctor-patient relationship
• Ethics
• Communication and language skills
• Counselling

Basic knowledge about medical conditions and their relevance to the dental management of these patients viz.

• Cardiovascular diseases
• Rheumatic and congenital heart diseases
  Ischemic heart disease
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Bleeding disorders
• Biohazard diseases
  Patients on anticoagulants
• Liver disease
• Diseases affecting other systems like Respiratory disease, haematological disease, Neurological diseases, endocrine disorders etc.
• Other patients who may be medically compromised

Knowledge and understanding about the comprehensive care and dental management of patients who have:

• Deep carious lesions and indications for endodontics.
• High caries index
• Dental neglect
• Missing teeth (edentulous spaces)
• Impacted teeth
• Periapical lesions
• Cosmetic dentistry
• Oral habits and habit cessation
• Oral precancerous lesions and oral cancer
• Aggressive periodontal disease
• Head and neck malignancy requiring radiation and dental clearance
• Dental developmental disorders
• Patients with special needs e.g. children with developmental retardation.
• Gingival hyperplasia
• Perio-endo problems

Knowledge of procedures and rationale for:

• Surgical dentistry
• Periodontal surgery
• Conservative dentistry
• Endodontics
• Prosthodontics

Postgraduate Fellowship in LASER Dentistry

Number of seats – One per year

Duration of course – One year

Minimum educational qualifications – BDS from an Indian university recognised by the Dental Council of India

LASERS has been used in dentistry since 1994 to treat several dental problems. LASER dentistry is a minimally invasive treatment option that is now available for a wide variety of procedures in dental practice. This one-year fellowship course will introduce BDS graduates to the understanding of LASER physics and the use of LASER in dentistry. The fellowship trainees will also learn the basic scientific principles involved in LASER dentistry, get familiar with the safety aspects of using LASER in dental practice and have a clear understanding of the advantages of LASER applications in dentistry over the conventional methods.

The training will predominantly take place within the Department of Dental and Oral Surgery. The department provides for the dental care and treatment of more than 100 outpatients and inpatients each day. The treatment options that are provided in the department include a wide range of surgical and non-surgical treatments including Prosthetic, Orthodontic, Paediatric, Periodontic and Endodontic procedures. The trainees will be exposed to the applications and use of LASER in the different specialities of dentistry. They will be involved in the diagnosis and treatment planning of oral conditions that require treatment with LASER therapy. Teaching will also be incorporated through clinical case discussions and interactive lectures/seminars. All trainees are expected to maintain a logbook during their fellowship tenure. Apart from clinical responsibilities, the trainee will also be involved in designing clinical studies and audit of the clinical work.