BRIEF HISTORY OF DEPARTMENT
On August 10 1953, when the Dental Wing of Madras Medical College was carved out from the parent institution, 15 youngsters were recruited for the first BDS graduate programme in the southern part of India. Amongst them were two young men who went by the names Kanapan J G and Rangachari S respectively. They represent the origin of the specialty of Orthodontia (presently called Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics) in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, now the state of Tamil Nadu.
Between 1959-1964, the college and hospital were managed by 4 Assistant Professors. Dr. Rangachari was in charge of Oral Surgery & Orthodontia. In 1965, a separate department of Orthodontics was started with Dr. Kanapan as the Head of Department. It was a three-room space with 5 chairs. The MDS post graduate programme in the specialty was started in 1975 with an intake of 3 candidates. The training involved the fundamentals, rationale and philosophies of the subject area and clinical work on patients.
The department has grown in leaps and bounds headed by the following distinguished men and women after Dr. Kanapan: Dr. Rangachari S, Dr. Raveendran N S, Dr. Venkatesan A, Dr. Muthusamy L, Dr. Manjula W S, Dr. Karunanithi C, Dr. Sainath M C, Dr. Vimala G and Dr. Prem Kumar S.
In the present day, the department headed by Dr.B. Balashanmugam is a 10,200 sq feet space with separate Undergraduate and Postgraduate clinics treating on an average 2000 patients a month. It has a postgraduate intake of 6 per year and provides them with a healthy and academically nourishing environment of learning and application of mind. An exclusive clinic for the management of patients with Cleft and Craniofacial anomalies is now a part of the department where 56 patients with this rare affliction are currently getting treated. The department also boasts of a focused research programme that has led to the procurement of two ICMR undergraduate grants and several ongoing studies.
SANCTIONED POSTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT
| S No | Sanctioned numbers with cadre |
| 1 | 2 Professors |
| 2 | 3 Associate Professors |
| 3 | 5 Assistant Professors |
LIST OF FACULTY WITH DESIGNATION
| S No | Name of Faculty | Designation |
| 1 | Dr.B. Balashanmugam | Professor & Head |
| 2 | Dr. Usha Rao | Professor |
| 3 | Dr. M. Vijjaykanth | Professor |
| 4 | Dr. M.D. Sofitha | Associate Professor |
| 5 | Dr.K. Usha | Senior Assistant Professor |
| 6 | Dr.M.S. Jayanthy | Senior Assistant Professor |
| 7 | Dr. D. Nagarajan | Senior Assistant Professor |
| 8 | Dr. J. Mohamed Iqbal | Senior Assistant Professor |
| 9 | Dr. R. Selvarani | Senior Assistant Professor |
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FACULTY
| S No | Name of Faculty | No of Publications | No of Researches | No of Books written/ Edited | No of Papers Presented | |
| National | International | |||||
| 1 | Dr. B.Balashanmugam | 13 7 | 15 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Dr. Usha Rao | 13 6 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Dr. M.Vijjaykanth | 4 2 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 4 | Dr. M.D.Sofitha | 1 7 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 5 | Dr. K.Usha | 1 8 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Dr. M.S.Jayanthy | 1 8 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 7 | Dr. D.Nagarajan | 7 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Dr. J.Mohamed Iqbal | 4 4 | 7 | 19 | ||
| 9 | Dr. R.Selvarani | 1 8 | 3 | 1 | ||
PATIENT SERVICES OFFERED IN THE DEPARTMENT
The department offers a spectrum of treatments for mild to severe types of malocclusion. Mild forms of malocclusions are treated in the undergraduate clinic and the moderate to severe categories are treated in the postgraduate clinic. The Cleft and craniofacial anomalies clinic exclusively provides services for patients with Cleft lip/palate and other rare craniofacial anomalies. Specifically, the following services are offered at a no profit Government subsidized fee.
- Removable appliances like Hawley’s appliance with case specific variants to correct mild form of malocclusions.
- Functional & Orthopedic appliances to correct skeletal malocclusions (abnormally positioned jaws). This includes appliances like Twin Block, Headgears, Tandem traction bows.
- Fixed appliances to correct complex dental malocclusions.
- Surgical-orthodontic treatment for treatment of skeletal malocclusion in adult patients. This includes Orthognathic surgery and Distraction osteogenesis.
- Naso alveolar molding for infants aged a week to 4 months with Cleft lip/palate.
- Splints and Bite-planes to treat Temporomandibular joint disorders.
