ABOUT US

The department of Public Health Dentistry thrives to expand in scope & complexity with more emphasis towards a comprehensive dental care delivery & its impact on the oral health status of the people living in the underserved areas. Also, it focuses on enabling the dental students to be aware of their responsibilities towards the community by carrying out numerous preventive and public health services to the rural groups.

Unique Features:

• The department extensively carries out various health programmes, social welfare activities, rural health camps and school health programmes using mobile dental services on regular basis.
• The students and the faculty members parallelly indulge on many research activities extending theiracademic wings towards contemporary dental education.There are more than 70 research projects undertaken and more than 20 publications done by the students under the faculty guidance.
• The department screens and treats around 15000 patients annually. The department has its peripheral clinics located around the college (sadhanandhapuram and Keezhakottaiyur) to encourage better ease and accessibility to treatment among the population in the rural skirts.
• Regular camps are being conducted every month to promote oral hygiene and its awareness to people-en-masse. Around 200 dental camps are being conducted every year. Few to highlight
• Tobacco Awareness camp among the tea estate workers in Kothagiri Hills, Nilgiris, Tamilnadu in 2014.
• Observing the World No Tobacco Day 2015, Skits and Memes were organized at Tambaram Railway station for the benefit of general Public.
• Oral Health Awareness and Tobacco use awareness among Sea Farers, VOC port, Tuticorin, Tamilnadu in 2016.
• World Health Day 2017 on the theme “Depression??? Lets Talk”, a programme was conducted at Navajeevan Old age home, Perungalathur, Chennai.
• In 2018, a mass awareness programme illustrating the tobacco hazards was conducted among the Tribal Population of Yelagiri hills, Tamilnadu.
• The department possesses “Tobacco Cessation Clinic” where training have been given to the students to carry out rigorous cessation sessions and follow-ups for the benefit of tobacco users.
• The students are also trained to give school awareness campaigns on general and oral health, for the welfare of the students studying in the government schools located in and around the college, every week.
• We also support continuing dental education by organizing CPD programs regularly for the benefit of the dental fraternity and the students.
• The students are also encouraged and practiced participating at numerous Conventions and Conferences conducted nationally and internationally by various organizations and they have bagged many credits to the Department and the College till date.
• The department meticulously trains the students such that we won the national topper award for the highest score in Public Health Dentistry nationwide awarded by Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry in the year 2015 (Dr. Srudhy R)
• Gold medal from the department – the department bagged 2 university gold medals consecutively in the year 2017 (Divyalakshmi G) and 2018 (IrshathBegam I)

TREATMENT

THE ANTI-TOBACCO CESSATION CLINIC (TCC):

The Anti-Tobacco Cessation Clinic (TCC) is a component among current activities of Department of Public Health Dentistry. The TCC began offering services in 2016 as a pilot project and has since expanded into an ongoing program.

Goal:

• To bring about greater awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use and Tobacco Control Laws
• To provide treatment for tobacco dependence for the patients visiting our college.

MOBILE DENTAL VAN:

The mobile dental van is a dental hospital on wheels; it serves to provide dental care at door steps for people from remote villages and to sections of society with inadequate access to dental care.

Our department has a well equipped mobile dental van as a part of community service commitment, which is used for outreach programmes especially for underprivileged people, mentally retarded, physically handicapped, orphan children and elderly people.

Our dental van is well-equipped with reclining dental chair, suction motor and compressor connected to a portable generator. In addition it has emergency equipment like oxygen cylinder, pulse-oximeter and emergency drugs.

SATELLITE CLINIC:

In an attempt to reach the patients in remote areas, and spreading awareness regarding dental issues we run two satellite dental clinics at:

• Kelakottaiyur
• Sadhanathapuram

Patients are treated on a daily basis which includes OPD and other dental procedures on minimum cost.

TOPICAL FLUORIDE APPLICATION:

Fluoride is a natural mineral that builds strong teeth and prevents cavities. It’s been an essential oral health treatment for decades. Fluoride is especially helpful if you’re at high risk of developing dental caries, or cavities.

We at our department regularly treat children’s who are at high risk of developing dental caries with fluoride application.

DENTAL MUSEUM

Our department has a full-fledged dental museum, where patients are educated on regular basis and various dental models, charts and audiovisual aids were utilized for health education and motivational activity.

ORAL HEALTH EDUCATION:

Oral health education is referred to as the process of provision of the oral health information in such a way to the people that they apply the principles daily to everyday living. Oral health education helps to develop desirable dental health attitude and habits. It teaches reliable dental health information to people and helps to maintain oral hygiene.

Thus each and every patient coming to our department receives oral health education at end of their treatment.