Induction Ceremony-Undergraduates 2019

The Induction program for the 2019 batch of BDS students was held on 11th September 2019 at the MM Convention Center at Saveetha dental college.100 students along with the parents/guardians attended the function.The occasion was graced by Founder Chancellor Saveetha University Dr. N. M. Veeraiyan, Director of Academics Dr.Deepak Nallaswamy, Vice Chancellor Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Registrar Dr.Thiyagarajan , Dean Dr. Sheeja Varghese, Dean of faculty Dr. Jayakumar. Dr. S.K. Katharia, Executive Council Member, Dental Council of India was the chief guest of the day. The event began with the welcome address by the Dean Dr. Sheeja Varghese followed by inspiring addresses by our Honorable Chancellor and Vice chancellor. Our chief guest addressed the students and congratulated them on choosing this institution for their graduation. He expressed his contentment and appreciation for the innovative curriculum and infrastructure in our college; something he hadn’t seen anywhere else in the country. The function proceeded with an address from our director of academics Dr.Deepak Nallaswamy on how we plan our curriculum and the modifications we have introduced to make it more suitable for our students. Saveetha Dental College stands tall and  proud  in the arena of  publication amongst national and international dental colleges with highest number of manuscripts in all three popular indexing database which includes Scopus, Pubmed and Clarivate Analytics. The audience was vibrant and energetic and consisted of the budding dentists, their proud parents and faculty of Saveetha Dental College. White Coat Ceremony formed the heart of the function. The auditorium reverberated with oath administration. There was positivity and a new zeal amongst all the freshers for beginning their new phase of life. The event ended with a vote of thanks by our Dean of Faculty Dr.N.D Jayakumar. 

Alumni Meet-2019

Alumini meet of batch 1994 was held on 18th August 2019. This was a special day to them as it was this very same date in 1994 that all of them met each other for the first time. This meet included dedication of all the staff including tutors of their time. The main stage dignitaries were Dr NM veeraiyan, Dr rajagopal, Dr Deepak nallasamy, Dr ND Jayakumar. Dr rajagopal's son Dr ilaya ramanan rajagopal is a part of this batch. The meeting was attended by 288 participants including 50 members from the 1994 batch. During the meeting all staff and students who left for God’s abode were remembered. Each one were spoken fondly and in depth. The staff individually were felicitated by a batch member. It concluded with a juggler act and a sumptuous lunch.

Importance of Animal Experimentation in Biomedical Research- Hands on Workshop

Biomedical Research Unit and Laboratory Animal Centre (BRULAC) and Dental Research Department (DRD) organised a one day seminar cum workshop on “Importance of Animal Experimentation in Biomedical Research”. There were 54 external members, who had participated as delegates from various eminent institutions like Central Leather Research Institute, SRM University, Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, The New College, Dr. ALM Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Karpaga Vinayaga College of Engineering and Technology, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, SIET college, MAHER University and DKM College (Vellore). The morning seminar session, was graced by eminent Guest Speakers- Prof. Dr. R. Vijayaragavan, Director of Research, SIMATS and Prof. Dr. E. Sukumar, Dean Research, SIMATS who delivered keynote lectures on importance of biomedical research in animals. Animal handling techniques such as routes of drug admiration, blood collection techniques, anesthesia techniques, creation of wound models, animal sacrifice and organ isolation and tissues preparations for histopathology and marker analysis were demonstrated by the BRULAC scientists in post lunch session.

Edify- Department of Periodontics

The Department of Periodontics presented their Edify video on 12.9.2019 on the concept of innovative teaching. Game play activities like Decode, 3D activity (Describe, Depict, Discover), Perio connections and Odd man out were conducted. The Decode activity was carried out to reinforce the important abbreviations and terminologies in chapters like immunology. An abbreviated term and a related picture was displayed. The students were asked to expand the term with the help of the displayed picture. In the 3D activity, the students were divided into groups. One student from each group was asked to describe a term given and the other members had to guess the term. If they failed to do so, the student then had to draw or enact the term and the other members had to discover it. In the perio connections activity, a photo or two were displayed along with one or two letters from the answer. The students had to make up the answer with the help of the photos displayed. In the odd man out activity the students were divided into groups. Students of each group had to write some true statements about a particular topic and one false statement. The students from the other group had to spot the odd or the false statement and give the reason for it. On the whole, these activities helped the students to retain whatever is taught for a longer period, increased their curiosity to know and learn more about certain terms and enhanced the critical thinking skills of students. 

CoDiagnostiX planning software - Sophisticated and User friendly

Department of Implantology in association with the Straumann Company, organised a one day workshop on 27th August, 2019 on digital implant planning software ‘coDiagnostiX’. It was attended by a group of 50 enthusiastic students pursuing Masters in the field of Prosthodontics, Periodontology and Implantology along with a few clinicians. The session was very interactive and students got a hands-on with the software. The trainer, Achim Kettler who is the Global Market Manager Dental Wings Guided Surgery enlightened the students on various aspects of the software. 

With CoDiagnostiX  one can plan dental implant placements precisely and easily. It also helps one to design drill guides to perform implant surgery in a fast, precise, and safe manner with predictable results. CoDiagnosticX is distinguished by numerous measurements and planning functions, an implant database covering a well-known manufacturers, and precise analyzing capabilities. It is also CE marked and FDA approved. The program was a success and we hope to bring this software to use soon in our college.

DTX guided surgery and digital workflow training cum workshop

Department  of Prosthodontics  and implantology organised  ‘’DTX guided surgery and digital  workflow training cum workshop ’’ on  8th and 9th august 2019 in collaboration   with nobel clinician. Post graduate of Prosthodontics  student and Fellow’s of implantology participated in the program.

 It was an amazing two day  session by Dr. KBS  Kuckreja and Mr. Ramachandran   on the first day of the  workshop. Dr. KBS  Kuckreja gave  an insight of the  entire digital workflow  guided implant surgery followed by a hand‘s  training. Mr. Ramachandran gave us a technical   insight of the surgical template on the second day.

We  learnt the importance of digital workflow for precise implant placement  as well as the technical aspects of surgical guide . Digital workflow being the future of dentistry it was truly a great opportunity   to learn.  

Australian Dental Implant Course

The Australian Programme course was conducted in the month of August 2019. This continuing Programme provided a comprehensive review of dental implantology a hands on programme for 8 participants from various countries. All the participants received one to one mentorship with 12 implants placement in live patients. Extensive lecture casts for an hour followed by surgical implant placement was carried out in one week duration.

Nanobiomedicine Preparation and Applications (Nanoz-2K19) Workshop

The Nanobiomedicine Lab, Aquatic Nanotoxicology Unit and Department of Research, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, SIMATS, Chennai had organised the 1st Workshop on Nanobiomedicine Preparation and Applications (Nanoz-2K19) on August 30th, 2019. Nanotechnology is an emerging field and having lot of applications in diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. Nanoparticles have wide range of applications in dentistry especially nanosilver, nanozinc, nanocopper and chitosan nanoparticles in antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens and anticancer activities, nanocarbon, nanosilica and dendrimers in bio-mineralization, gold nanoparticles in drug delivery systems, hydrogels, metal nanoparticles in periodontology, endodontics, orthodontics and bone filling products. Dr. D. J. Mukesh Kumar, Post-Doctoral fellow from Madras University delivered a Guest Lecture on “Biomedical Applications of Nanotechnology”, followed by which Dr. Rajeshkumar gave a crisp Introduction & Description of Nanobiomedicine Lab. About 30 delegates from all over the state participated in the workshop. This workshop was structured in such a way that, the techniques of Nanoparticles preparation (Silver, zinc oxide, silica, zirconium, and copper oxide), Nanocomposites preparation, Characterization using UV-vis spectroscopy, Purification, Antimicrobial activity, Antioxidant activity, Anti-inflammatory activity, Brine shrimp lethality assay (Cytotoxic effect) and Zebra fish embryonic toxicology were illuminated. The 1st Workshop on Nanobiomedicine Preparation and Applications turned out be very interactive and informative.

Anterior Biomimetics

The department of Aesthetic dentistry in association with European society of cosmetic dentistry  and GC conducted a CDE programme on “Anterior Biomimetics” on 30th August 2019. Dr. S. Arun Suraj, Director Dr. Arun’s 32 Pearls dental centre, was the invited guest speaker for the programme.  The lecture highlighted the importance of biomimetics in Aesthetic dentistry and also on the current trends on digital smile designing. There were around 60 participants who had attended the programme. A separate live demo and hands on session on anterior composite build up and polishing was conducted post lunch. This programme aided them to master their clinical skills in anterior composite restoration and was well appreciated by the participants.

Edify- Department of Public Health Dentistry

The department of Public Health Dentistry showcased its 6th edition of Edify on Activity Based Learning on 22nd of August. Public health dentistry in its true sense mainly focuses on promoting community oral health through evidence-based practice and primary health care approach. Students as part of field activity were given first-hand experience as how a primary health center functions, which is the work horse of health care delivery in India. Further, they also learnt hands on training on one of the basic packages of oral care- Alternative Restorative Treatment. Lastly, the history of fluoride was made easy as students prepared a road map in reality to reinforce relevant dates and events. The audience awarded a cumulative score of 7.7 for our presentation. Worthy of mention, both workaholic and punctuality award were awarded to our head, Dr. Meignana Arumgham I. by our director Dr. Deepak Nallasamy and our Dean. Dr. Sheeja Varghese.

Oral Hygiene Day

The Department of Periodontology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals celebrated Oral Hygiene Day on 1st August, 2019 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. G. B. Shankwalker, the doyen of Indian Periodontics by organizing dental camps at peripheral sites. We stressed the importance of oral health in the community by distributing oral hygiene awareness pamphlets and oral hygiene aid kits to the public. We motivated the patients on oral hygiene by displaying video demonstration on oral hygiene maintenance. As a part of Oral hygiene day, Oral B sponsored program on ‘Modern Day Oral Hygiene Aids” conducted in association with Indian Dental Association that week. Over 600 patients benefited from these series of activities conducted.

Digital workshop for dental prosthesis : ISPRP preconference workshop

The ISPRP preconference workshop the department of prosthodontics conducted digital workshop for dental prosthesis fabrication by Dr.Ashok. The participants used the digital module to fabricate a 3 unit bridge starting from scanning till milling in the SIRONA dental system with Blue cam intra oral scanner. The workshop was helpful to get oriented to the complete digital workflow of dental prosthesis fabrication and also gave an idea of virtual preparation evaluation. The participants were very enthusiastic and wanted more programs on digital dentistry to be conducted more frequently to enhance their knowledge and skills in the field of CAD CAM dentistry.

EDIFY- Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

The department of oral and maxillofacial surgery showcased it 6th edition of Edify on the 1st of August.The theme of the edify was activity based learning. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a speciality in dentistry which requires extensive understanding of the anatomy and precise surgical skills to treat patients.Students find it difficult to understand certain treatment concepts as all they see in the textbooks are two-dimensional in presentation. We prepare study models which enable the students to learn the procedure by performing them on these models. We teach them concepts of cyst treatment which are multiple and require a certain level of understanding.Likewise, trans-alveolar extractions and fracture reduction and fixation procedures are also demonstrated on models for easy understanding. Dr.R.N.Balakrishna was also awarded the workaholic award by our Dr.Deepak Nallasamy, Director of Academics and our Dr.Sheeja Varghese, Dean, Saveetha Dental College.

World Hepatitis day

Department of Microbiology observed the World Hepatitis day on 27th of July 2019 in the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital premises. World hepatitis day   observed every year to create awareness about transmission, screening and control of viral hepatitis with a specific theme. The motto for World Hepatitis Day 2019 is “Invest in Eliminating Hepatitis”

A guest lecture was arranged by the department about Blood borne viruses with special reference to Hepatitis B virus. Dr.Pachamuthu Balakrishnan, Head, Division of Microbiology and Quality, Infectious Disease Laboratory, YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Chennai was the guest speaker of the day. The speaker made a vibrant note on prevelance prevention measures and the novel governmental plans to stop TB spread in the community. 

MICROSUMMIT – 2019 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN MICROBIOLOGY

Department of Microbiology organized and conducted an International conference on Current Research and Developments in Microbiology – MICROSUMMIT 2019 on 3rd of August 2019 under the specialized themes on Antimicrobial drug resistance, Microbial genomics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Food, soil, and Industrial Microbiology. Nearly 300 delegates from 25 reputed arts and science colleges and Govt. universities from South India, participated in the conference and presented their research works in 5 different scientific sessions. The Inauguration was presided by our Director of Academics, Dr.Deepak Nallasamy along with the speakers of the forum Dr.Meganathan Kannan, Visiting Professor at Hemostasis and thrombosis Research Laboratory, Loyola University Medical Centre, Chicago, USA and Dr.V.Aravindhan, Visiting Scientist at the AIDS International Training and Research Program, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA. Dr.R.V Geetha welcomed the dignitaries and delegates for the conference. The speakers and chairpersons of the scientific sessions were felicitated and the Best research works were awarded for the faculties, research scholars and post graduates by Dr.Deepak. Dr.A.S.Smiline Girija, organizing secretary, proposed the formal vote of thanks. The Inauguration was followed by the scientific lectures by the eminent speakers under the charge of Mr.N.P.Muralidharan. The speakers awarded the best research works for the undergraduate delegates. Team Micro is grateful for the support and encouragement rendered by the management of Saveetha as the forum was a grand success.

“SAVEETHA’S SURGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL EXCELLENCE IN UNMASKING 526 TEETH FROM A SINGLE SITE IN A CHILD”

A little boy of 7 years old was brought to Saveetha Dental College and Hospital by his parents with a complaint of a swelling in the jaw.  He had been taken to a nearby hospital, Chennai at the age of 3 since the parents noticed a small swelling at the right lower jaw, but he refused to co-operate for any investigative procedures as he was very young. Hence the swelling was left undiagnosed for 4 years. He was brought to our institution at the age of 7 years as the swelling was slowly increasing in size. 

The parents were very apprehensive as they had thought it could be a cancer of the jaw. The initial work up by the surgeons revealed a large lesion with multiple hard structures at a single site within the lower jaw. During the surgery, the operating surgeon noticed a well-defined bag like mass which was removed in its entirety. The specimen weighed about 200gms.

The specimen was radiographed which revealed multiple tiny radiopaque structures. On further evaluation by the oral pathologists, and to their utmost surprise the bag revealed 526 tooth like structures. In the pathologists’ own words “it was reminiscent of pearls in an oyster”. It took 5 hours of meticulate searching to remove all the minute teeth from the opened bag like specimen. “This pandora box of miniature teeth is a jewel on our crown” said the postgraduates. The tooth sizes varied from 1mm to 15mm and each resembled a tooth with crown covered by enamel and a root like structure.

                This is the first ever case to be documented world wide, where so many minute teeth were found in a single individual. This rare lesion is termed as “compound odontome”. The expertise and the competence of the team of oral surgeons and oral pathologists in Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals in dealing with such a rare case are to be applauded. The surgeons’ discretion in removing the lesion in total without exploring it on the operating table (akin to opening a bag of worms) avoided a major mishap and saved the patient from being under general anaesthesia for a longer duration and the attendant complications. Saveetha has always been the benchmark of excellence and abides by all health care schemes and is readily accessible to all strata of patients.

Clinical Photograph: 7 year old boy with swelling in right side of lower jaw

Intraoperative image

Faculty & Postgraduates Counting the teeth

526 Teeth

Usage of these pictures shall be with the following copyright certificate.

For furthur details kindly communicate to: dir.acad.sac@saveetha.com

OPG: Reveals Mixed Radiolucent -Radioopaque structure in the right side of the lower jaw

CBCT: Confirms the OPG findings

Stereomicroscope image

Team Saveetha

Workshop on Guided bone Regeneration

A one day programme was organised by the department of Implantology on “ Guided bone Regeneration and Vertical ridge augmentation” in association with Staruman Biotis on 23rd July 2019. 

The program started with two lectures given by Dr. Arunachalam and Dr. Tejas Kothari, who had briefly discussed the various who had briefly discussed the various grafting techniques and the bone graft materials to be used for successful soft and had tissue regeneration. 

The lecture was followed by hands on session of goats mandible, where 35 participants had performed socket preservation, vertical ridge augmentation using Strauman Botis bone graft with Jason membrane and mucoderm. 

The Programme has highly appreciated by the participants, through which they gained vivid knowledge on the current concepts of grafting procedures. 

Work shop on “WRIGHT IT RIGHT –MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION“

The budding researchers are facing difficulties in manuscript preparation and in succeeding in publishing their research findings. The main aim of the CDE program is to meet the current demand of our student  researchers. The first lecture on Succeeding in publishing your research was delivered by Dr.T.N.Uma maheswari ,Professor,Dept of Oral Medicine and Radiology ,Saveetha Dental College,who shared her research experience and the methodical approach to fight against rejection of publication.  The main focus of the lecture was from very beginning of manuscript-preparation such as  selecting the proper research title  based on research priorities in various Grant agencies and IMRAD pattern.

The second lecture on How to choose a journal for publication was delivered by Dr.Krithika Datta, Reader, Dept of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics. This lecture was informative regarding the various sources available for identification and evaluation of suitable relevant journal based on our research title. Workshop on Journal finder was useful for all the students to understand the various search engines available to get all possible journals and how to arrive at right choice of journal based on journal impact factor. There were around 30 delegates and majority were research scholars both national and International who at the end of the CDE AND HANDS ON WORKSHOP found that the programme was an answer for all their queries related to submission of research proposal and will help them to overcome the difficulties in Publishing their research.