The 2nd of July 2005 is a “ Red Letter Day “ for the Sibarians because the Faculty of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology made the institution proud by hosting the “First A.P. State Intercollegiate Undergraduate Education Programme on Oral Anatomy, Oral Histology and Oral Pathology – the very first of its kind in the entire state of Andhra Pradesh.

It was a dental convention conducted with the sole motive of updating the knowledge of the aforesaid subjects academically. It was an opportunity for the students to improve their interactive skills and enhance their knowledge in these subjects.

The function was inaugurated by our Honorable Vice Chancellor, Dr. R. Sambasiva Rao. The occasion was graced by renowned persons in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, like Dr. Ranganathan Kannan, M.D.S., MS (Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology), U.S.A., currently, Professor, Ragas Dental College, Chennai, and Dr. R.V. Subrahmanyam, presently Principal, Vishnu Dental College, Bhimavaram. The convention was attended by 134 delegates from colleges all over the state and their respective staff.

The day commenced on an auspicious note with a prayer song, followed by the “Jyothi Prajwalana”, (lighting of the lamp), the hallmark of the age old Indian culture.

The welcome address was put forth by Dr. L.Krishna Prasad, Principal, SIBAR Institute of Dental Sciences, and Member D.C.I. It was followed by an inspiring message by our Honorable Vice Chancellor, with regards to the programme.

After a short tea break, came the much-awaited programme of the day! The audience sat in apt attention while the guest lectures of the day began. It was first Dr. R.V. Subrahmanyam, who spoke on “Odontogenic Cysts and Tumors”. It was an interactive presentation, which left the audience no time to think of anything else- lest they should miss something! The lecture gave the audience food for thought, on the various possibilities as differential diagnoses based on radiolucencies and histopathologic pictures.

That was not all! There was more in store for the audience. Shortly after the first lecture, there was the second guest lecture for the day. This time it was by Dr. Ranganathan, on “Epithelial Pathology”. His lecture left the audience spellbound for a very long time. Not a word of disturbance except of course, to eagerly answer any question put forth by this stalwart in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.

That was about the guest lectures for the day.

The students programme included an hour-long carving session and an essay writing competition for the students of II B.D.S. These were conducted simultaneously, at the same time – while the students of the III and Final B.D.S. were “all ears” for the guest lectures.

The guest lectures were shortly followed by a splendid lunch catering to vegetarian and non-vegetarian tastes. This was sponsored by the Messrs. Adelta Optec – the manufactures of microscopes.

The post lunch session included, “Free Scientific Paper Presentations” by the III yr. delegates. There was also an essay writing competition for them, held parallely.
 
This was followed by a short discussion period where any doubts regarding the guest lectures for the day, or any related topics were cleared deftly by the experts themselves!!!

After the paper presentations the audience sat on pins and needles anticipating the winners for the day. Prizes were given away to the I and II winners of all the events. A certificate of participation was presented to all those who attended the function, while an additional certificate was presented to all those who presented the papers. The prize distribution added a sense of completeness to the entire function.

The day went well and the delegates dispersed, while all those belonging to the faculty of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, of colleges all over the state congregated to take up membership in the First A.P. State Oral Pathology club.

The programme went ahead without much also and surely with a secret wish in every heart that there would be many more such programmes in future and in the years to come.

On the eve of the programme the following competitions were held where the students have widely participated.

SEMINAR ON DRUG PRESCRIPTION – RATIONALE FOR THE DENTAL PRACTITIONERS

The 17th of May 2006 was a memorable day in the lives of sybarites. It was a day when Dr. Ranganathan. K, MDS,MS, PROF and Head , dept of oral pathology, RAGAS dental college, Chennai, came and presented a wonderful seminar on drug prescription –rationale fro dental practitioners.
    
The scientific session was hosted by the department of oral pathology, Sibar Institute of Dental sciences in association with the IDA- Coastal Andhra Dental branch

The seminar was scheduled to commence at 7’oclock in the evening when an unexpected change in the whether caused an unavoidable delay and the seminar began at 9pm an unusual time to hold a scientific session .But the best part of the event was that despite the bad whether conditions, the rain falling in torents , a fairly large crowd of students braved the whether to attend the seminar and hear Dr.Ranganathan. It speaks volume on the charismatic character of this eminent person.

The seminar was presided over by Dr,Satish Babu, dean SIDS and attended by others such as Dr.L.Krishna Prasad (our revered principal ), Dr.Jaganmohan Rao,other eminent members of the staff of the different departments, local practitioners and students.

Dr.Ranganathan spoke about commonly used drugs, such as antibiotics , analgesics, anaesthetics and antiseptics which he referred to as the four A’s. Though a fairly large topic it was condensed and presented in a nut shell for the benefit of the teachers and taught. He spoke about situations where they could be used and where they should not be. He specially pointed out the rationale behind the usage of drugs such as amoxycilline, erythromicine, corticosteroids, tetracyclines and nsaids-there usage, ill effects and the like.

After the seminar the session was wound out and that was when we called it a day. A certificate of participation was presented to all who attended. 

STATE LEVEL SYMPOSIUM ON HIV DISEASE

Owing to the havoc and devastating effect caused by the AIDS pandemic , causing much fear and apprehension among the people , a state level symposium on HIV disease was conducted within the college premises. It was organized by the department of oral pathology ,SIDS in collaboration with the IDA-AP State branch and the coastal Andhra branch on  23rd of  July 2006.

The symposium included guest lectures by Dr.N.Kumara Swamy MBBS,Phd,chief medical officer at the YRG Care , Chennai, who spoke about history, evolution, pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of HIV disease & psychological implications of the HIV disease. Then Dr.Ranganathan .K ,MDS ,MS ,Prof & Head, dept of oral pathology ,Ragas Dental College, Chennai spoke about laboratory diagnosis of HIV disease and oral aspects of HIV disease.

Dr.Uma Devi, MDS Professor, dept of oral pathology ,Ragas Dental College, Chennai who was present and addressed the audience about  infection control in dental office.