Orthodontics is an important part of the 4 year BDS program. According to the American Association of Orthodontists, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics are defined as the area of dentistry that includes the diagnosis, prevention, interception, guidance, and correction of mal-relationships of the developing or mature orofacial structures. (“2012 AAO Glossary_0,” n.d.) This branch of dentistry deals with irregularities of teeth and improper jaw relationships.  Malocclusion is known as the improper positioning of teeth when the jaws are closed. The goals of orthodontic therapy are to improve the smile and facial appearance (resulting in improvement in an individual’s social well-being and quality of life), obtain optimal occlusion, and establish normal oral function (Ackerman 2012). Due to a growing esthetic awareness among the general population orthodontics is gaining popularity as a profession. Hence dentists need to be trained well in this field to cater to the growing needs of the general population. There are 2 types of training offered in the field of orthodontics, Postgraduate training, and undergraduate training.  A graduate must be competent enough to diagnose and treat minor orthodontic cases as well as know when is the right time for referral to a specialist. If a general dental practitioner is well trained in the field of orthodontics, specialists only have to deal with complex ones which decreases the workload of the specialist. The level of the graduate thus should be such that they must be able to deal with minor orthodontic cases as a general dental practitioner. There was a study conducted at the University of Missouri Kansas city about how well fresh graduates are prepared to deal with orthodontic cases. (“No Title,” 2016). There has been no such study done in Pakistan. However, there have been studies conducted on how confident graduates felt about practicing unsupervised. The researches revealed that orthodontics was the field where the students felt least confident. (“Preparedness for practice,” 2011). No such research has been done in Pakistan. The purpose of this research is to find out if the fresh dental graduates of Pakistan are competent enough to deal with orthodontic cases without supervision. The level of training of the undergraduates is accessed to check if it is according to the international standards and if Pakistani graduates meet the international competency need in the subject of orthodontics.  This research would help identify the voids in the training of graduates which would create a basis for further research on this topic and the revision of the dental curriculum.    

Objective: Current study was planned to assess the trends of occlusal appliance construction and selection, among the resident dental surgeons. Method: Data was collected from 51 residents at Fatima Memorial Dental Hospital, which were given a questionnaire that had 20 questions. The frequency of each answer was calculated and compared between residents of different departments and was analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: The selection and construction of occlusal appliances among the residents was inappropriate. Soft occlusal appliances were the most selected and practiced appliance. Occlusal appliances need to be revisited in the literature with easy to practice guidelines. Keywords: Occlusal appliances, Soft occlusal appliances, Temporo-mandibular joints.

Introduction: FDP is an integral part of any organization to improve the expertise and skills of the faculty that is needed to indorse educational excellence. It is an important tool to enhance student learning and ultimate patient care. To get maximum benefit it must be well formed, properly executed and evaluated. Needs of faculty and institution play important role in organizing faculty development program. Aims & Objective. Current study was conducted to explore professional needs of medical faculty required for implementation of integrated curriculum in various medical colleges of Lahore. Material & Method: This is a descriptive cross sectional study conducted during the period of August to October 2019. Online google form was developed to identify the area of concern. It has two parts, demographic and faculty need assessment. Need assessment questionnaire having six domain (teaching and learning, assessment, curriculum, research, publication and community services) that comprises of 38 items. Each item has five point Likert scale (Strongly disagree to strongly agree). Link of this form was share with the medical faculty through whatsApp and email. Medical teaching faculty were asked to fill the survey form. Result: The response rate was 73%. All Participants exhibited more interest in areas especially teaching competance(70%), publication competence(78%), community services(69%). Whereas express comparatively less interest in research competence(63%), curriculum(63%) and assessment(60%). Conclusion: Need assessment is basic and fundamental part of any FDP. This survey enabled us to identify the concerns of our faculty and areas that needs enhancement in faculty development program. Keywords: Faculty development program, integrated curriculum , need assesssment