Dental caries is the most common dental disease. It can lead to discomfort, pain and/or disfigurement of dentofacial aesthetics. Accurate and early diagnosis of dental caries and timely intervention to arrest its progression is of paramount importance in Conservative Dentistry. The bulk of the work in Conservative Dentistry involves restoration of decayed teeth using various restorative materials like amalgam, composite, glass ionomer etc. Since prevention is always better than cure, emphasis is placed on treating dental caries at initial stages using pit & fissure sealants and also involves minimal invasive dentistry procedures. Endodontics is the branch of dentistry that deals primarily with root canal treatment. Other treatment modalities are surgical endo treatment like apical resection and retrograde filling, treatment of endoperiod lesions, treatment of fractured teeth, avulsed teeth etc.

In addition to these, the department caters to the needs of cosmetic dentistry through tooth coloured fillings, laminates, crowns and tooth lightening treatments. The Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics Department at Amrita School of Dentistry is a result of meticulous planning. It consists of all the necessary facilities and equipment to impart training to students. It has a wellequipped clinical section, a preclinical laboratory with patient simulators, a chrome-cobalt casting lab and seminar rooms. The academic programme in Conservative & Endodontics spans the 4½-year BDS course, involving 600 hours of preclinical, clinical laboratory and theory classes. The students are guided in a step-by-step manner in diagnosis and treatment of dental caries and its sequale. The department has been planned in such a manner as to accommodate postgraduate training also as a part of future expansion.

Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology is concerned with the diagnosis and comprehensive medical management of diseases localised in the mouth, oral manifestations of systemic diseases and head and neck region. The Department is also actively involved in the prevention, detection and management of oral precancerous lesions and conditions, temporomandibular disorders, diagnosis of traumatic injuries and other bone disorders. In this Department, the students will be trained in the systematic evaluation of the patients. The activity of the Department is coordinated by well-qualified and competent full-time faculty, who are well-reputed in their respective fields of expertise.

Apart from the routine diagnostic equipment, a well-equipped Dental Radiology Department is attached to the department. The radiology section possesses state-of-the-art diagnostic modalities such as intraoral and extraoral X-ray machines, including orthopantomography unit with cephalostat attachment and RVG unit.

The Department plans to adopt innovative teaching methods to impart quality education and hands-on training in patient care for the students.

This department caters to the surgical aspects of the maxillofacial region in general and oral tissues in particular.

The surgical treatments offered range from minor dento-alveolar surgeries to radical cancer surgeries. The undergraduate training schedule aims to make the student proficient in minor surgical procedures like tooth extraction, biopsy, pre-prosthetic surgeries, infection management, etc. Training is also given in emergency and definitive trauma management and dental management of medically compromised patients.

The department teams up with the AIMS Head & Neck Surgery division to provide the patients with state-of-the-art treatment facilities in facial trauma, aesthetic surgeries, correction of cleft lip and craniofacial deformities, cancer surgeries and reconstruction including microvascular flaps.

This specialised branch of dentistry deals with the detailed study and identification of the pathologic process affecting the oral and maxillofacial region by correlating the clinical, radiographic and mainly microscopic studies. The practices of oral pathology include histopathology, cytology, biochemistry, hematology and the more recent additions like PCR, In-Situ Hybridisation etc. Since a vast majority of the diseases affecting the oral region are infections caused by micro-organisms, the study of Oral Microbiology is also included within this specialty. This department caters to the micro-diagnosis of oral lesions, thereby contributing to the exact recognition of the disease and charting the patient management including incidences of premalignancies and oral cancer. This has evidently elevated the importance of the specialty in the diagnosis of these entities.

This specialty is concerned with the prevention and correction of dentofacial deformities. Dentofacial deformities include protrusion of teeth, irregularities of teeth, abnormal dental and jaw relationships, abnormalities of the size and shape of jawbones and congenital deformities like clefts of lip and palate. Such deformities can produce structural, functional and aesthetic problems. A normal dental and jaw relationship is essential for normal oral functions like chewing, swallowing, and speech. Dentofacial deformities can also produce farreaching psychosocial problems.

There are three modalities of treatment in orthodontics to correct dentofacial deformities. They are orthodontic treatment, growth modification treatment and surgical orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontic treatment refers to moving teeth through jawbones to produce a better dental arrangement and relationship. This is usually accomplished with mechanical devices, which may be removable or fixed.

Growth modification treatment aims at normalising jaw size and shape in growing children who present with abnormalities of size/shape of jaw bones.

Surgical orthodontics (orthodognathic surgery) is meant to correct jaw size discrepancies in adult patients. The Department is well equipped and manned to offer specialised treatment in all three modalities of treatment mentioned above. Doctors who have specialised in Preadjusted Edgewise Appliance (PEA) therapy, growth modification therapy (headgear, chin cap, face mask, myofunctional appliances, etc.) and surgical-orthodontic procedures are available for managing routine and complicated cases. The progress of all cases is regularly monitored by a team of specialists and progress records are maintained. The Department is also well equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation. Strict aseptic precautions are taken to ensure prevention of crossinfection. No stone is left unturned in our endeavour to impart quality training to the students. The training offered includes theory, practical and clinical classes to ensure that the student will have accomplished proficiency in diagnosing orthodontic problems and undertaking preventive, interceptive and limited corrective orthodontic procedures, on successful completion of the training. Students are encouraged to communicate freely with the teachers for help in any matter pertaining to their studies.

Paediatric Dentistry is an age-defined speciality that provides primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health-care for infants and children through adolescence including those with special health-care needs. Early diagnosis and treatment of dental diseases helps to prevent the progression of the disease, minimize patient discomfort and the cost involved. At Amrita School of Dentistry, the department of Pediatric Dentistry is equipped with about 25 dental chairs, a sedation/general anaesthesia room, parent counselling room and play area for children. Experienced and senior faculty members supervise and train students. The training programme in Paediatric Dentistry starts at the II year BDS level with preclinical exercises; followed by didactic and clinical training during III year, IV year and internship. Students are trained in behaviour management and rendering dental treatment for patients with special needs.

Periodontology is the branch of dental science that deals with the supporting structures of the teeth. The longevity of the dentition and the maintenance of its health depend upon proper periodontal management, involving routine dental check up and prophylaxis. Periodontal surgical treatment procedures such as flap surgeries.and bone regenerative techniques using grafts and membranes are routinely carried out in the Department of Periodontics. Perioaesthetics is attained though various plastic procedures such as mucogingival surgeries, gingivoplasty, periodontal microsurgery etc. The surgical placement of implants is a comparatively new field that involves replacement of lost teeth with a bone integrating implant device. Recent advances in the field of molecular biology, genetic engineering and immunology are having a great impact in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of periodontal disease and more exciting avenues are expected to open in the field of periodontal research.

Prosthodontics is the art and science of the design, fabrication and insertion of artificial substitutes to replace the lost or congenitally missing teeth and contagious oral and maxillofacial tissues. Extensive training provides students with a special understanding of the dynamics of occlusion, facial aesthetics and preservation of healthy oral environment. Prosthodontics has evolved and established into several specialisations, which cater to different conditions in the patient's oral environment. Removable complete denture and partial denture prosthodontics were the common modalities of rehabilitating completely and partially edentulous conditions. Advanced prosthodontics offers fixed solutions through crowns and bridges, wherein the support of remaining natural teeth are used to replace lost teeth. Implant prosthodontics goes a step further and replaces lost teeth using the support of implants which are directly placed into the bone. Implant-supported prosthesis offers sensible and prudent solutions to patients.

The scope of maxillofacial prosthetics ranges from rehabilitation of a cleft in a newborn baby to prosthetic reconstructive efforts to manage surgical defects that cannot be rectified using plastic surgery. Undergraduate training in Prosthodontics involves 900 hours of clinical, theoretical and laboratory sessions spread over a span of 4½ years. The Department has been meticulously planned and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. It consists of a wellappointed clinic, two clinical labs, two pre-clinical labs, a ceramic lab, a chrome cobalt lab, a dental technology lab and an implantology clinic - all in one floor, making it one of the biggest and bestequipped Prosthodontic departments in the country.