BACKGROUND

The Oral Pathology/Medicine Department combines the Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine specialties.

Oral pathology is a discipline of dentistry concerned with the scientific study of the causes and effects of oral disorders, which is critical for diagnosis and the development of appropriate treatment and prevention programs. The Unit teaches oral pathology to both Undergraduate and Post-graduate students. Post-graduate students( Residents) are taught histopathology and rotate through oral diagnosis and medicine.

Oral Medicine is a core subject that links basic science, clinical dentistry, and medicine. The Oral Medicine Department is the clinical base for Oral Diagnosis. The Oral Medicine training focuses more on good history-taking, appropriate clinical examination, applied deduction from knowledge in the basic and para-medical sciences previously undertaken, and its prompt application in designing a management protocol for the patient. Therefore, Skills training is not mainly dependent on manual dexterity but on abstract and instantaneous processes, such as laboratory investigations and medication usage in patient care.

The Oral Pathology/Medicine Department is also continuously undertaking research and collaborating with other specialties and International Partners. 

 

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: 

DR. AKUA BOAKYEWAA KONADU 

Dr. Akua Boakyewaa Konadu is a  Restorative Dentist and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Dental School. She oversees the affairs of the Oral Pathology/Medicine Department. She is a Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians Surgeons and doubles as the secretary to the Dental Faculty of the same college. Dr. Konadu also has a keen interest in research ethics, which has recently culminated in a fellowship in the Research Integrity Training Program, an NYU-UG collaborative initiative, and a Master in Bioethics from NYU School of Global Public Health.

She also has post-graduate training in Oral Implantology at the Academy of Medical Science (AMS) in Frankfurt, Germany. Dr. Konadu has a Certificate in Health Administration and Management (HAM) from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Accra. She also holds Policy Development and Advocacy certificates in Global Health and Implementation Science from the e-learning Department of Global Health, University of Washington. 

Her current research interest is in endodontic microbiology and the role of oral health conditions and their associations with developing and managing other non-communicable diseases, looking at the effect of oral health on the quality of life of patients with stroke. She has several publications in peer-reviewed journals, including nationally and internationally, such as the British Dental Journal. She reviews for several journals and is the managing editor of the Ghana Dental Journal.

Dr. Konadu is passionate about her work and is involved in academia because she believes in passing on her knowledge and skills, mentoring and grooming undergraduate and post-graduate students, especially females, who aspire to be researchers in a research-oriented institution like the University of Ghana. She believes in giving back to society by changing the narrative through positive role models, which she calls “Changing the narrative, one role model at a time.” Through this initiative, the youth from deprived communities are empowered and motivated to obtain an education, learn a trade, and return to their communities, and be positive role models to others.