The speciality of prosthodontics is the amalgamation of art and engineering with dental medicine. This most happening speciality of dentistry deals with rehabilitation and maintenance of oral function, while ensuring comfort, appearance, and health of the patients. This is a branch that has exploited the scope of modern digitisation and artificial intelligence to the maximum.
The department offers comprehensive training for the aspiring dentists. The Undergraduate program includes theory lectures and clinical training. Beginning with pre-clinical practical training in complete denture and partial denture construction on stone models in the first two years, followed by treatment procedures carried out on actual patients under the able guidance of the teachers, the students are trained to treat completely edentulous and partially edentulous patients with removable prosthesis. Various activities are also included in the curriculum like fun with dental materials, teeth setting competition etc to make learning more enjoyable.
The postgraduate programme is designed to prepare students for a career in teaching and research and also for advanced training in the rehabilitation of completely edentulous, partially edentulous patients and patient requiring maxillofacial prosthesis. In addition, the academic schedule includes seminars, journal club presentations, case presentations, and a library dissertation. The students also participate actively in national and international specialty conferences by presenting scientific papers, table clinics and scientific posters.
Implantology Program: Integrated Centre for Oral Implantology with Hands on Exposure to various Implantology protocols, functions in sync with the department of Prosthodontics, Periodontics and the OMFS department, ensuring a multidisciplinary approach, to cater to patients needing Implant Prosthodontics.
A well-equipped departmental lab with separate casting lab, ceramic lab and individual work stations for post graduates and technicians. The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment like Vita ceramic furnace, induction casting machine, to name a few. The laboratory facilitates the fabrication of a variety of dental prostheses of high quality to serve the patients.
The UK regulator for dental professionals, General Dental Council (GDC), has defined prosthodontics as “the replacement of missing teeth and the associated soft and hard tissues by prostheses (crowns, bridges, dentures) which may be fixed or removable, or may be supported and retained by implants”.
This specialized training enables prosthodontists to perform the more complex procedures required to restore and replace teeth and maintain oral health effectively. In addition to dealing with complex dental cases requiring bonding, bridges or dentures, and dental implants, and surgeries involving bone and tissue, prosthodontics also trains them in areas dealing with geriatric dental care, oral restoration for cleft palates and cleft chin, reconstruction after oral cancer, maxillofacial procedures, and treatment of snoring and sleep disorders like sleep apnoea.
Implant prosthodontics also involves the use of dental implants like crowns, bridges and overdentures but it is done in combination with the artistry and expertise that comes with prosthetic dentistry. This results in aesthetically pleasing replacements for even complex dental issues that are functional and durable.
Training in prosthodontics also involves teaching the aspiring prosthodontists the skills required to help patients maintain the prosthodontics once they have been put into place. The success and durability of prosthodontic restorations is primarily dependent on prosthodontic maintenance skills. In addition to good oral hygiene, regular professional cleaning around the restorations and periodic assessment of the prostheses for wear and tear, fractures or other issues is a requisite to ensuring the longevity of the prostheses.