About us

The preventive dental science department shares the College of Dentistry’s overall mission to provide programs of excellence in education in Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, Periodontics, and Dental Public Health. The department’s responsibility is to serve the community by providing high-quality dental consultations and treating oral diseases in pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. In addition, the department provides community education and oral health promotion and prevention of oral diseases in community settings. Furthermore, the department hosts courses in dental research in which dental students are enabled to conduct their own graduation research projects, which will contribute to the basic dental science and clinical knowledge.

Chairperson

Dr. Farraj Albalawi
Assistant Professor of Orthodontics

Divisions

Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics
Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics is the branch of dentistry concerned with teeth alignment and jaw bone relationship. It also focuses on modifying facial growth and improving facial esthetics.
The division of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics offers courses that provide knowledge and skills to address preventive, interceptive, and multidisciplinary orthodontic treatment for specific cases.

Pediatric Dentistry
Pediatric dentistry is a discipline of dental sciences dedicated to the oral health care of children from birth through adolescence. It involves the application of evidence-based knowledge and techniques to prevent, diagnose and treat oral diseases in otherwise healthy children and adolescents as well as those with special health care needs.

Periodontics
Periodontics is the specialty that deals with the supporting structures of teeth; the gingiva (gum), periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and cementum. In addition, periodontics encompasses preventing and managing diseases of the gingiva and deeper periodontal tissues by conservative or surgical methods.
Surgical treatment includes placement of dental implants, cosmetic surgery, surgical preparation of the teeth and their supporting structures for implants, prosthetic and orthodontic treatment, and periodontal regeneration.

Dental Public Health
The division of Dental Public Health is concerned with preventing oral diseases in a population. The courses offered by the Dental Public Health division equip students with skills to address oral diseases in a population. The components of Dental Public Health’s courses focus on understanding the oral health care system, oral epidemiology, biostatistics, disease surveillance, needs assessment, policy development, preventive program development, program evaluation, and more.