The undergraduates are exposed to the real-time experience of a histopathology slide and not merely a fixed field. Also, the students capture a relevant diagnostic field from the H and E Slide and trace the appropriate field. In this manner, each student gets exposed to a different field and traces the picture using the Brushes app on their iPad. This helps the student to better understand the morphology of the tissue reinforcing the histopathological features of a particular pathology. 

In the age of green technology, we have adopted an iPad-based Hospital Information System. It goes hand-in-hand with our aim to provide quick, seamless, and comprehensive treatment to our patients while educating and training our students in toto. 

This system allows information to be accessed easily by both students and faculty at any given time on campus. It also aids in recording procedures completed by students for patients which is simultaneously graded by the staff in charge. A sense of responsibility and accountability is instilled in all.

We follow the MILA system of teaching which is an activity-based learning system comprising of 2-hour lectures which are divided into 6 segments. This system uses an approach of Twenty minutes of teaching time followed by a Twenty-minute activity time to better understand and learn the concept, it also keeps the brain active throughout the session.

Activities such as jigsaw, POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning), mind mapping, game-based learning, critical pedagogy, peer-led team-based learning, role play and scale-up not only keep the students interested in the topic but also help them break down and easily understand challenging topics and reproduce the concepts easily

This system also helps the teachers to evaluate and assess the understanding of individual students regarding a particular topic.

A prerecorded video of the content of the class is given in advance to the students. The students view the video before the class. The class begins with an interactive discussion. This minimizes the duration of content delivery during the class hours and promotes high-order learning of concepts and their applications. 

The same videos also help in revision before the examination. 

The classrooms are equipped with smart boards which are extended into each individual student's iPad. The lectures prepared by the staff are uploaded on the UNIO Harness Touch on Cloud system and the students have access to the notes and presentations of the lecture. These lectures can be visited at any time for reference purposes in 3 layers namely the original lecture layer, the layer with students’ notes, and the layer with staff notes. This graphic system of teaching helps to better retain concepts and refresh on already taught topics. Students who have missed out on lectures also have the opportunity to catch up on the notes and presentations of the class.

SDC implements a Module-based Teaching, where the yearly syllabus is divided into smaller portions for easier learning and understanding.

First-year BDS had 5 modules comprising 5 weeks of Theory & Practical classes followed by one week each of Revision week, Test week, and Research & Lab week.

Second-year BDS had 3 modules comprising 7 weeks of Theory & Practical classes followed by one week each of Revision week, Test week, and Research & Lab week.

Postgraduates have module-based Applied Basic Medical Sciences (ABMS), Research Methodology and Biostatistics. 

Each module has a concise set of material to be covered in classes and tested at the end of the module. This method helps students focus on a smaller portion for better retention and understanding. Finally, an examination of the yearly syllabus will be conducted.

The first-year postgraduates undergo an extensive Clinical orientation Module wherein they are trained in every aspect of the concerned specialty. The module includes interactive lectures, activities, pre-clinical hands-on, Clinical demonstration, and guided training in patients. 

This facilitates standardized training and identification of their strengths and weaknesses to provide customized training.  

Each student is exposed to every dental specialty in the comprehensive clinics. Highly experienced clinical staff guide the student to make informed decisions on diagnosis and treatment planning. Students learn to manage a patient in every aspect as it would be in a private practice.

Patient history is taken on a paperless iPad Hospital Information System. Students are provided with their own dental chair and they manage their own instruments and materials through MASA. 

Upon the completion of the course, students will graduate with the confidence to manage a practice and treat patients comprehensively.

All journal discussions are done under Schoology where the articles are posted in advance followed by an online discussion before the classroom discussion. This online discussion makes them aware of the topic before the discussion thereby promoting critical learning and better in-class interaction

We follow castle top learning, where the learning does not end with classroom teaching. Every in-class lecture is followed by an out-class activity that involves logical reasoning and application and clinical relevance of the topic. These assignments are assessed and graded. 

Undergraduates in SDC received training in the treatment of Crowns and Bridges right from 2nd year. 

Each student is required to do 6 FPD during the length of their course, this allows the student to be exposed to various scenarios of cases as well as build up their confidence in managing cases in the future. 

Each student is required to plan and design the FPD for their patient. From the preparation of abutments, right up to a detailed impression using the light body impression technique with a retraction cord. They do get trained in milling the FPD using CAD-CAM. And finally, the cementation of the prosthesis. 

Each step will be guided by an experienced prosthodontist, in a chair-side manner. To ensure, the quality of treatment, and to educate and refine the method of the students.

At SDC, UGs are allowed to handle mild cases of malocclusion. Not all cases require a Postgraduate to be managed.

Each student will design and formulate the required orthodontic treatment for a minimum of 6 patients, during the time of their course. From bonding of brackets to the placement of orthodontic wires.

All treatments are guided by experienced staff, who specializes in the field of orthodontics. This ensures that, there is no compromise of quality of treatment from the student, and that the students are being benefited in learning from an experienced guide. 

Stem Cell Research is one of the booming areas of research. It helps heal most hereditary, congenital, and autoimmune diseases that go in vain otherwise. Though the field is rudimentary our students are trained in it to handle their future research with ease. They are exposed to and trained in well-equipped laboratories with eminent well-trained faculty. This is a boon to the students as in many other places they still know stem cell research only by name.

All our undergraduates train on Bioart® articulator. They do face bow transfer and stabilization splints in their undergraduate course. Semi-adjustable articulators are excellent instruments to learn and practice complete dentures. Our students are trained on par with global standards in this aspect. 

A good understanding of occlusion and chewing movements is fundamental to understanding the art and science of dentistry. No Other college in India trains their students with semi-adjustable articulators. This is another feature of our cap!

We give more credits to formative evaluation. 300 marks are allocated to formative assessment along with 200 marks for summative assessment per subject. The formative assessment includes all curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. 

100 marks- Theory Formative Assessment

100 marks - practical formative Assessment

50 Marks-  Research/ co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

50 Marks- Terminal Exam marks.

Molecular Biology is something which we get to learn at a doctorate level or in any advanced research level whereas our undergraduates undergo training on various aspects of molecular biology.

Undergraduates in SDC are given the experience of learning and placement of implants in life patients. SDC is currently using Nobel BioCare implant, a reputable implant company that is widely used in the dental world. This allows the students to have a universal understanding of the implant system.  Students are being taught the theory of implantology, students are also required to design and plan their implant 

Apart from the regular curriculum, there are nine additional subjects that enrich the students to understand and learn their regular subjects easily. They are fundamentals of dentistry, behavioral science, forensic odontology, dental armamentarium, medical emergencies in dental practice, dental imageology, practice management, aesthetic dentistry, and implantology. 

Our Prosthodontics Postgraduate curriculum is unique in providing BPS training. This proprietary technique popularized by Ivoclar® Switzerland promises superior retention and aesthetics for complete dentures. Furthermore, Our Postgraduates complete 15 such cases and present them in Switzerland. After an exam, they are certified. This has opened tremendous opportunities in private practice. Currently only 10 BPS-certified specialists area available in South India of which 8 are our alumni.  

PG formative evaluation marks are for a sum of 800 Marks along with a summative of 1200 marks. 

During the three-year course, every year the students are evaluated for 200 marks which includes their seminars, journal discussions, pre-clinical work, clinical work, test marks, and terminal marks, and 200 marks are awarded for Research which includes publications, scientific presentations, awards and grants. 

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a transparent consistent method of evaluation that is popular in many educational-focused centers.  At Saveetha we follow the OSCE system of examination for Prosthodontics postgraduate and oral medicine undergraduate exams.

The students are evaluated based on Objective structured practical evaluation (OSPE). The examination pattern evaluation by 8 stations namely

Clinical diagnosis Developmental Anomaly Histopathology Exfoliative Cytology Molecular Biology Polarized Microscopy TNM Staging. Illustrative Pathology.

The students identify the developmental anomaly, diagnose a clinical case with differential diagnosis, identify a running histopathology slide, prepare a stain and interpret a smear, stage a tumor from a clinical scenario, identify gel bands in molecular biology, and illustrate the pathogenesis of a particular disease. 

Case Based Discussion (CBD)

The case-based discussion has become an integral part of exams in Prosthodontics PG, UG, and Oral medicine UG at Saveetha Dental College 

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

As a part of our MILA teaching system, problem-based learning is used extensively to teach complex concepts with integrated multi-disciplinary teaching sessions. Our applied basic science curriculum is designed in a lesion-based module format.  

 Special Care Dentistry, it’s one of its kind in our country. Many a times people with medical complications find it difficult to fix a dental appointment as their other ailments interfere with their dental treatment. This specialty helps the specially-abled and the medically compromised to have a comfortable environment to get their treatment done.

 Material Audit and Self-Assessment horns the student’s management skills. They learn to be better clinical administrators. It is like they own a dental clinic on campus. This enlightens them on the dental chair mechanism and material sciences.

Critical Appraisal Based Learning helps them being a critic. This is to know what is right through the wrong.

Graduate Record Book is the fruit of all the above-mentioned efforts. As the students walk out with their GRB they are not just dentists but researchers, administrators, clinicians, and academicians. They hold the flying colors for themselves.