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Department of Public Health Dentistry
Public Health Dentistry is dedicated towards providing primary/secondary oral and dental care to patients across Goa. We aim to reach even the remote populations, who lack oral health care facilities. The department is actively engaged in outreach activities with the help of a fully equipped Mobile Dental Van. We also aim to train undergraduate and postgraduate students in the prevention and control of oral diseases and the promotion of oral health through organized community efforts. The Department encourages students to develop the skill of identifying health problems affecting society, conducting health surveys, providing health education and also deciding health strategies to solve health problems. Students, therefore, develop a positive and empathetic attitude towards the problems of society and take responsibility for improving their health. Besides this, the department offers comprehensive dental treatment and tobacco cessation facilities.
Teaching Staff
- Professor and Head: Dr. Amita Kenkre Kamat
- Professor: Dr. Ridhima Gaunkar
- Assistant Professor: Dr. Akshatha Gadiyar
- Lecturer: Dr. Vinayak Kamath B
- Lecturer: Dr. Fhelen Da Costa
- Lecturer on contract: Dr. Atrey Pai Khot
- Lecturer (Statistics): Mrs. Pallavi Vaingankar
- Senior Resident: Dr. Apurva Deshpande
- Junior Resident: Dr. Shubham Gawas
- Junior Resident: Dr. Rigdha Vernekar
- Junior Resident: Dr. Hema Kamat
- Junior Resident: Dr. Mitch Araujo
- Junior Resident: Dr. Apurva Arlekar
- Junior Resident: Dr. Shaneel Kamat
- Junior Resident: Dr. Apurva Kashi Naik
- Junior Resident: Dr. Neha Chatim
- Junior Resident: Dr. Padma Shet
Non Teaching Staff
- Staff Nurse: Ms. Sushmita Mandrekar
- Staff Nurse: Ms. Rudraksh Laad
- Staff Nurse: Ms. Manisha Rane
- Staff Nurse: Ms. Leena Shirodkar
- Attendant: Mrs. Umali U. Dhuri
- Attendant: Mr. Anand Talpi
Services Provided in the Department
The Department is equipped with six fully loaded dental chairs. Following services are being provided:
- Oral prophylaxis
- Restorations (Glass Ionomer cement and composite)
- Root canal treatment
- Preventive procedures (fluoride and pit and fissure sealant)
- Basic diet counseling and oral hygiene instructions are offered to all patients.
- Priority services are offered to Senior citizens, camp patients, differently abled children and immunocompromised patients.
- All necessary dental treatments and thereafter clearance is provided on priority basis to Cancer, cardiac and renal transplant patients prior to their respective medical and surgical procedures. The objective is to decrease the bacterial load in the oral cavity for a better prognosis and health improvement in such patients.
Tobacco cessation clinic
- Assist habitués to quit tobacco (smoke as well as smokeless forms)
- Patients undergo detailed evaluation, which focuses on the severity of their addiction & use, their motivation to quit and then personalised counselling is provided by consultants using appropriate strategies to aid quitting.
Satellite Dental Clinics
- The Department runs satellite dental clinics at the following centers where comprehensive oral health care is provided to patients:
- Rural Health and Training Centre, Mandur–started in January 2023
- Health and Wellness Centre, Ribandar–started in October 2021
- Modern Central Jail, Colvale–started in September 2016
Outreach Programs
The Department conducts check-up and treatment camps (with Mobile Dental Bus which is equipped with two fully functional dental chairs) with an aim to reach and provide essential dental care to population with limited access to health care.
- Attempt is made to visit various parts of Goa especially the rural population, school children, children with special health care and geriatric population.
- Different treatment procedures like oral prophylaxis, restorations, emergency root canal opening, extraction etc are performed.
- Dedicated camps for oral cancer screening are also conducted.
Academics
No. of BDS Students: 50
No. of MDS Students: 2 per year
No. of Publications (2024): 114
Patents: 13
Copyrights: 9
Design Registry: 12
Awards
The Department of Public Health Dentistry received National level Smt M. Susheela Best Outreach program award (Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry) for conducting an oral health promotion program in a very isolated area in the year 2024.
Goa Anti-tobacco film festival: In an endeavour to create awareness regarding the menace of tobacco in the state of Goa, the Department of Public Health Dentistry, in partnership with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) has been organizing the Anti-Tobacco Film Festival on May 31st since 2017. The Department is looking forward to organise the 7th edition of the festival in 2025 themed Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products.
Adopted Schools
The Department has adopted following schools to provide various health promotion activities which include check-up, treatment, awareness sessions, painting and quiz competitions etc.
- Sanjay Centre for Special Education, Porvorim – adopted in 2017
- Shri Mahalasa Narayani School, Verna – adopted in 2023
Adopted Village
The Department has adopted the village of Gaondongarem, Canacona in 2024 for providing oral health care to the villagers.
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