Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics is dentistry's first specialty. This specialty is concerned with the correction of disproportions of jaws and alignment of teeth both in children as well as adults to improve their facial esthetics, smile, oral health and function.

The department is headed by Dr. Sumitra, a Diplomate of Indian Board of Orthodontics and recognised PhD guide.  The post-graduate program in this specialty was established in 2007. The department has progressed towards excellence in teaching, patient care and research in the field of orthodontics. The strength of the department is a dedicated team of teachers, enthusiastic to facilitate learning through student-centric methods of teaching. The major emphasis is on evidence based clinical training with excellent treatment outcomes. The department provides high quality patient care using a variety of appliances and techniques. The teachers regularly update their knowledge and skill required to use the contemporary appliances, skeletal anchorage systems and orthodontic management of orthognathic-surgical cases. Interdisciplinary treatment is a very important aspect of learning and all the students are encouraged to learn the art and skill required to treat these cases.  Research is an integral part of the curriculum. Continuing dental education programs are regularly organized by the department to enhance the learning experience of the students. The main focus of the teaching program is to train them in acquiring self-directed lifelong learning skills. The training program enables them to prepare for advanced credentialing examinations. 

• It is the primary mission of the department to improve oral health by preserving and enhancing facial esthetics, oral function, self-esteem, overall health of the patients and service       of the   community.
• Student- centric innovative methods of teaching to provide them with a broad scientific foundation, a thirst for knowledge, and the ability to critically assess and implement the scientific advances.
• Evidence based orthodontic practice for substantial experience in clinical care.
• Value based education for instilling moral and ethical values. 

The undergraduate program in the department is directed towards providing the dental student with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize a developing or established malocclusion, provide preventive and therapeutic treatment within the scope of the general dental practice, consult as a team member with the specialist, refer cases requiring specialist care as appropriate, and coordinate comprehensive care of the patient.

Postgraduate curriculum is for duration of 36 months - three months of pre-clinical work followed by 33 months of clinical training. Five students are admitted every year for the post graduate program. The strength of the department is excellent clinical training with a variety of cases. Each postgraduate student starts with a minimum of 70 fixed orthodontics cases of her/his own. Additionally handles a minimum of 35 transferred cases.  The department trains MDS students with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct ethical, patient-centered and evidence based orthodontic practice. The main objective of the course is to train them to acquire self-directed lifelong learning skills. The students have substantial experience in clinical care by treating sufficient number and types of cases with varying levels of complexity. The postgraduate students gain experience in treating cases with contemporary Orthodontic appliances and techniques. They are introduced to a multidisciplinary approach to treatment with other disciplines e.g., Oral surgery, oral medicine and radiology, Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Pedodontics, Periodontics and Prosthodontics. The post graduate students also gain experience in teaching by taking classes for the undergraduate students. All the post graduate students are trained in ICT enabled microteaching prior to teaching the undergraduates.   

A team of full-time dedicated faculty supervises treatment of a wide variety of orthodontic patients, including patients with skeletal disharmony problems, medically compromised patients and special children. The curriculum is composed of seminars, journal clubs with emphasis on critical thinking about scientific content of the articles on new concepts of treatment. Group discussions, Evidence Based Orthodontics, Case-based learning and Peer assisted learning are important aspect of training. Research is an integral part of the postgraduate curriculum as they have to complete a dissertation to be eligible to take the final examination. 

The students present research /clinical papers and clinical innovations at scientific specialty conventions. They are trained to publish research/ clinical articles following ICMJE guidelines. All the contemporary techniques i.e., pre adjusted edgewise appliances, self- ligating appliances,  lingual appliances, clear aligners and miniscrew – implants, IZC and Buccal shelf screws  are used for clinical training. Complex malocclusions with facial disproportions are treated in conjunction with orthognathic surgery. The students are trained to use Dolphin Imaging Software for diagnosis and treatment planning. This helps them to visualize the effect of various surgical and non- surgical options on the patient’s face by simulation.   

The training enables them to prepare their cases for the advanced credentialing examinations. The post graduate students are trained beyond syllabus to take Indian Board of Orthodontics (IBO) Phase II theory examination. The students take the exam in the second year of training. They are trained to present their cases in a manner similar to IBO clinical examination with emphasis on high quality of records and treatment outcomes.  All the alumni of the department are professionally active at teaching institutes, doing private practice and some of the alumni are working abroad. 

The orthopaedic and orthodontic problems treated in the department: 

Crowding / spacing of teeth

Bi-maxillary protrusion (Forwardly placed teeth) 

Anterior and posterior Crossbite  

Deep overbite

Open bite 

Class-II division – 1 malocclusion (Orthopedic, Surgical, Orthodontic cases) 

Class-II division – 2 malocclusion (Orthopedic, Surgical, Orthodontic cases) 

Class-III malocclusion (Orthopedic, Surgical, Orthodontic cases) 

Inter disciplinary cases 

The appliances used to treat the above conditions: 

Fixed mechano therapy cases - MBT appliance, self-ligation appliances and lingual appliance 

Removable functional appliance cases 

Fixed functional appliances 

Appliance for arch development such as molar distalization 

Dento-facial orthopedic appliances like head gears, rapid maxillary expansion, NiTi expander etc., 

Clear aligners 

Retention procedures of above treated cases.