Govt. Dental College Thiruvananthapuram

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology is the specialty of Dentistry and Pathology that investigates the cause, nature, process and effects of the disease affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions. It is a core subject, the link between basic science and clinical dentistry and medicine. It is the speciality of Dentistry which deals with the assessment of patients’ overall health status and its impact on oral healthcare. The Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College Trivandrum is a major referral centre [tertiaries level] for Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology consultation. The state of art department is well equipped with the best equipments like automatic tissue processes, fully automatic microtome, wax embedding chamber, freezing chamber, deep freezer, biochemical auto analyser, adequate number of microscopes, microscopic slides, study models, charts, hard and soft tissue specimens, and pathology museum for undergraduate and postgraduate training. The department also possesses fine infrastructure like research microscopes with polarizing, face contrast, fluorescent, photo micrographic and dual head attachments require required for postgraduate training and research purpose.

The Department of Oral Pathology, came into existence in the early 1960s when the late Professor Jacob Zachariah took over its reins. Dr Jacob Zachariah, a man of great insight and futuristic vision was instrumental in the attainment of glory and fame that the department now enjoys. Being a pioneer department that has kick started meaningful research on the perennial problem of oral cancer and premalignancy, the research tempo and the academic atmosphere is still maintained by the long list of successors over the years and for many more years to come. The induction of post graduate program in 1984 was a landmark achievement that the department has attained. The first overseas research coloration in the field of oral cancer in India was initiated in the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology in 1965 with the assistance of Danish government and under the supervision of Dr Jens J Pindborg and Dr. Prof. Jacob Zachariah. As a continuation of research, Dr. R. Rajendran was awarded with a PhD in the dental faculty for his submitted thesis on oral submucous fibrosis. Many research papers have been published from this department on various aspects of oral diseases in both national and international journals.