Dental student provides care to patient

Academic departments

UCSF School of Dentistry is home to four academic departments that are at the forefront of dental education, research, and patient care. 

Explore our specialized programs and discover how we shape the future of oral health.

Nathan Griffin, PhD, embedding salivary gland tissue in the Sarah Knox lab.

Department of Cell and Tissue Biology (CTB)

Focus areas of the Department of Cell and Tissue Biology include cell biology mechanisms relevant to cytoskeletal dynamics, development, metabolism, cancer, immunology, and neurobiology.  

CTB faculty members are committed to graduate education and postgraduate training and are actively engaged in ensuring a collaborative and collegial environment.

Jeffrey Bush, PhD, department chair

More about CTB
Oral surgery

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)

The Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is committed to providing dental students, oral & maxillofacial surgery residents, and faculty with the support and resources to fully investigate the field of oral & maxillofacial surgery. We are housed within the UCSF School of Dentistry with full-time faculty conducting basic science and clinical research.

Brian Bast, DMD, MD, department chair

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Oral medicine provider speaking with a patient at the UCSF Oral Medicine Clinic

Department of Orofacial Sciences (OFS)

The Department of Orofacial Sciences is composed of several clinical disciplines including Craniofacial Anomalies, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, and Periodontology. The department engages in cross-disciplinary clinical, teaching and research activities. Educational activities provide predoctoral and postdoctoral students with a strong basis of knowledge and clinical experience.

Effie Ioannidou, DDS, MDS, department chair

OFS divisions include:

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UCSF dental student

Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences (PRDS)

The Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences conducts multidisciplinary instruction, research, and patient care.

Pre-clinical and clinical educational programs operate within the laboratories and clinics of the dental facilities on campus and through the school's satellite facilities. The post-professional specialty clinic in graduate prosthodontics is located on Parnassus campus.

Kent L. Knoernschild, DMD, MS, FACP, department chair

PRDS divisions include:

More about PRDS