The Faculty of Dental Sciences has three Research Centres that conduct groundbreaking research in the field of dental care.

Biomaterial Research Centre 

The Biomaterial Research Centre (BMRC) brings together dental practitioners, engineers, and scientists to create high quality solutions for medical and dental ailments. The Centre aims to develop new materials, processes, and devices that will cater to the needs of the medical community while also ensuring affordability for underserved sections of society. It focuses on bench-to-bedside solutions and includes members from various departments, such as Prosthodontics, Pedodontics, Oral Surgery, and Conservative Dentistry.

BMRC proposes to develop novel dental restorative materials, remineralization materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, dental regenerative materials, reconstruction device for mandibular defects to facilitate prosthetic rehabilitation, and mini implants for mandibular construction. It also aims to conduct simulation studies on fracture behavior of dental restorative materials.

The Centre is working towards establishing itself as a global research group that designs and develops novel bio-materials while adhering to the required norms and ensuring affordability.

Oral Cancer Research Centre

Established in 2015, the Oral Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) is envisioned as a translational research platform that advances and accelerates research on oral cancer and precancer.

The Centre adopts a multidisciplinary approach to research, working closely with the Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, the Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital, as well as other sister institutions. The efforts of the Centre are focussed on diagnostic pathology and molecular diagnostics.

In order to achieve its goal of furthering current understanding of oral cancer, the Centre maintains an exhaustive Oral Cancer Database as well as a biorepository with specimens of high quality and integrity. The database and the biorepository are maintained using high standards of ethical transparency.

The Centre’s work includes:

• The development of diagnostic markers for early detection
• Prognostic and predictive tools and therapies
• Development and promotion of new drugs, devices, and other medical interventions
• Creation of unique training opportunities for budding scientists
• Extending support to new talent to explore research
• Collaborate with reputed national and international labs, institutions, and hospitals
• Acquire funding to support institutional and individual projects
• Ensure publication of quality research in journals of repute and reach

The Centre is equipped with a penta-head research microscope with bright field, phase contrast, dark field, and polarizing attachments, as well as image analysis softwares and a camera for photomicrography Jenoptik Progres Gryphax Arktur.

To ensure that the evolving concepts of pathogenesis and molecular diagnostics are applied to oral cancer research, the Centre works with stereomicroscopy and an immunohistochemistry lab, and also collaborates with molecular genomic centres.

In the long run, the Centre will disseminate knowledge on concepts and practices of clinical research and treatment modalities in oral cancer.

Dental and Maxillofacial Modelling and Simulation Centre (DMMSC)

The Dental and Maxillofacial Modelling and Simulation Centre seeks to address existing challenges in the prediction and formulation of treatment modalities in dentistry. The Centre ensures synergy between maxillofacial modelling, simulation, imaging, and image processing.

DMMSC will conduct 3D modelling of hard and soft tissue to visualise and plant treatments that cover multiple specialties in dentistry. These include Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Endodontics, Periodontics, Aesthetic Dentistry, Implantology, and Maxillofacial Rehabilitation.

The research goals of the Centre include:

• To perform simulation studies in order to formulate effective, patient-specific treatment modalities for Maxillofacial Rehabilitation
• To develop maxillofacial models for prediction of treatment outcomes in cases of dentofacial abnormalities
• To pursue research on combining radiographic and non-radiographic imaging for enhanced diagnostics
• To develop simulation tools that allow for sharing of conceptual insights and professional skills in preclinical and clinical dental education
• To design and develop prototypes for improving the quality of patient care in dentofacial treatment
• To transfer developed treatment modalities for commercialization
• To disseminate knowledge on practical skills of dental and maxillofacial modelling and simulation
• To develop and pursue joint initiatives for collaboration and partnership with universities, research centres and industries in order to offer solutions that detect and prevent oral cancer.

The Centre is well-equipped with various facilities, including:

• Cone Beam Computed Tomography Machine
• FEM Software
• Dolphin software and 3D printer
• Dental Simulator(Haptic device)
• Intra Oral Scanner
• CAD CAM technology
• 3D facial scanner
• CFD of the TM Joint
• 3D Metal Printer
• Heads-Up Display
• Shade Matching Library
• Image Processing Apps.