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Department of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry
The specialty of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry continues to strive to provide evidence-based interdisciplinary, high-quality and safe oral health care for children visiting the department of Pediatric Dentistry while endeavouring to improve the oral health care of children from birth through to adolescence, and also for children and individuals with special health care needs.
The department is actively involved in treating patients referred from the Joint Cleft Clinic in association with the Department of Plastic Surgery (Goa Medical College) since June 2024. The department receives patients referred from the departments of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Paediatrics and ENT. The department conducts dental screening camps, oral hygiene emphasis and counselling for parents on the prevention of dental caries in special children at the Pediatric Neuro Rehabilitation Centre (Dept. of Pediatrics, Bambolim).
Teaching Staff
- Head of the Department: Dr. Ida de Noronha de Ataide
- Professor: Dr. Steven J L Rodrigues
- Assistant Professor: Dr. Paul Chalakkal
- Assistant Professor: Dr. Elaine Barretto
- Lecturer: Dr. Siya Dukle
- Lecturer: Dr. Rashmi Naik
- Lecturer: Dr. Dinesh Francis Swamy
- Senior Resident: Dr. Swapna Virdikar
- Senior Resident: Dr. Voleti Sri Srujana Aravinda
Non Teaching Staff
- Staff Nurse: Valeska Carneiro
- Staff Nurse: Sneha Gaude
- Staff Nurse: Maria D’mello
- Multitasking Staff: Sagar Holkar
- Multitasking Staff: Ajay Naik
- Multitasking Staff: Samiksha Mallik
Services Provided in the Department
- Restorative Procedures and Crowns: It encompasses restoration of cavities by materials like glass ionomer cements or composites. Stainless steel crowns are also used.
- Endodontic Procedures: It encompasses procedures like pulpotomy, pulpectomy, apexification or regenerative endodontics.
- Space Maintainers: These appliances need to be placed if primary teeth exfoliate or need to be extracted before the normal age of exfoliation. They prevent space loss due to teeth movement into the edentulous space.
- Removable Orthodontic Appliances: Minor tooth malpositions may be corrected using these.
- Oral Hygiene Instructions for Children and Parents: Parents and children are counselled about the importance of maintaining oral hygiene, in order to prevent the formation of plaque, caries or calculus on teeth.
- Oral Prophylaxis: Oral prophylaxis may be done manually or using ultra-sonic scalers to remove calculus or stains.
- Rehabilitation Procedures for Children with Cleft Lip/Palate: Children born with deformities like cleft lip/palate often face difficulties in eating or drinking due to the absence of an adequate lip seal or the presence of an oro-nasal fistula. In such children, an obturator temporarily closes the oro-nasal fistula and enables the child to eat or drink comfortably. The defect can later be closed using a surgical approach. In children without teeth, a feeding plate can be constructed to enable feeding.
- Topical Fluoride Application: Fluoride application on teeth makes them more resistant to bacterial attack, thus reducing the occurrence of caries. They are effective both on primary as well as permanent teeth.
- Extraction of Teeth: Extraction of primary teeth are performed under local anaesthetic methods.
- Patients with Special Needs: The department provides special care and treatment for those with special needs.
Academics
The department is currently equipped to teach and train BDS students in the subject of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry. Students start with lectures and clinical postings from 3rd year BDS. University exams are held at the end of final year BDS.
Postgraduation commenced in 2020 with an intake of 03 students per batch.
Publications (2024): 08
Awards
Dr. Paul Chalakkal:
- Excellence in Pedodontics – Indian Health Professional Awards. Received at Goa on 26th jan 2019.
- Specialist dentist (Pedodontist) of the year – Famdent excellence in dentistry awards. Received at Mumbai on 9th Dec 2018.
- Young Pedodontist Award – received at the 36th ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Lucknow on 14th Oct 2014.
- Most Proactive Academician award (National level title) – From Guident India (2014)
- Best paper award: Comparison between methods used to treat non-vital young permanent teeth – 40th ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Nagpur from 24-26 Oct, 2018
- Best paper award: Modified lingual arch – 39th ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Chennai from 13-16 September, 2017.
- Best paper award: Predicting palatally displaced canines – 36th ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Lucknow from 14- 16th Oct, 2014.
- Best paper award: Fixed partial denture framework to replace anterior edentulous space in the primary dentition – 3 designs – 35th ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Jaipur from 26-28 Sept 2013.
- Best paper award: New design space regainers – 33rd ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Mangalore from 4-6 Nov 2011.
- Best of best papers award: New Design Space Regioners – 33rd ISPPD Conference (Indian Society of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry) at Mangalore from 4-6 Nov, 2011.
Dr. Dinesh F Swamy:
- Carlos Salinas Award 2019 for Excellence in Peer Review – Journal of Special Care in Dentistry.
- Excellence in Pedodontics – Indian Healthcare Professional Awards 2018.
Dr. Neil de Souza:
- Best paper award at the 1st International Forensic Odontology Conference, Goa 2018
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