History

The beginnings of the Oral Surgery Department date back to the academic year 1959/60, when the Dental Department was established at the Medical Faculty in Skopje. All activities of the department were conducted at the one and only Clinic for Oral Diseases, Teeth and Jawbones under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Sc Smilev.

Already in the following school year, 1961/62, the Departments of Dental Surgery, Orthodontics, Dental and Oral Diseases and the Clinic of Dentistry separated. Here theoretical and practical classes were organised by Prof. Dr. Sc Smilev, Dr. Vaskov, Dr. Milosevic and Dr. Simovska.

In 1969, the Department of Dental Surgery moved to the Oral Surgery Clinic, established and founded by Dr. Temenuga Simovska, who is also the first Head of the Department of Oral Surgery. She also made the first steps in the field of Macedonian dental implantology and jaw bone reconstruction. From the very beginning, as her associates in the health protection and teaching process Ass. Prof. Dr. Sc Dr. Jugoslav Stefanovski and Ass. Prof. Dr. Sc Maria Murovska were included. In the period that followed, the Clinic of Oral Surgery increased the number of its personnel, welcoming Dr. Pavle Carchev, Dr. Hristo Cholakov in 1975, and Dr. Jordan Janev in 1977.

Although working in modest conditions and in a reduced number, the team of Oral Surgery Clinics jointly, enthusiastically, and successfully resolved everyday professional challenges.

Ass. Prof. Dr. Sc Jugoslav Stefanovski in 1980, at the Faculty of Dentistry in Skopje, defended a dissertation paper in the field of oral surgery entitled “Clinical, X-ray and Gnathodynamometric Values of Operated Teeth with Chronic Periapical Processes in the Upper Jaw”, which emerges as a culmination point resulting from his dedicated work to surgical treatment of chronic periapical inflammatory processes many years beforehand, leading to the development and the invention of authentic therapeutic concepts relevant till the present day.  

Ass. Prof. Dr. Sc Maria Murovska defended her dissertation work in the field of oral surgery under the title “The problem of acute odontogenic infection in oral-surgical practice” in 1981 at the Faculty of Dentistry in Skopje. Professionally, her focus is on finding a solution to problems arising from acute infections in the facial-jaw complex and preventing occupational diseases of the dental team.

The team of employees of the Oral Surgery Clinic in the 1980s completed with the employment of Dr. Ljubco Chortanovski and Dr. Boris Velichkovski in 1985.

Dr. Jordan Janev in 1986 in Sarajevo defended his doctoral dissertation in the field of oral surgery under the title “Clinical, X-ray and Gnatodynamic Aspects of Reimplanted  Teeth Examination”. Dental implantology and the application of alloplastic materials in oral surgery is the primary professional occupation of Prof. Dr. Sc Jordan Janev.

After the retirement of Prof. Dr. Sc Temenuga Simovska, Prof. Dr. Sc Jugoslav Stefanovski was elected Head of the Department of Oral Surgery from 1985 to 1991.

In 1989 the Clinic employs Dr. Sasho Pop-Acev and Dr. Dragoljub Miljkovic, Dr. Cena Dimova and Dr. Ljuba Simjanovska.

Prof. Dr. Sc Jordan Janev is the Head of the Oral Surgery Department  from 1992 to 2005.

In 1991 the Clinic employs Dr. Marina Stefanovska (Kacarska) and Dr. Marija Peeva Petreska.

Dr. Oliver Dimitrovski was hired in 1993. Since then, the staff of the Department of Oral Surgery has been steadily increasing.

The Head of the Department of Oral Surgery since 2006 has been Prof. Dr. Sc Boris Velichkovski.

In 2020, the Department of Implantology is separated from the Department of Oral Surgery, where Prof. Dr. Marija Peeva Petreska, Prof. Dr. Edvard Janev and Prof. Dr. Daniela Veleska Stevkovska transfer to the newly formed department, but work closely with the teaching staff of the Department of Oral Surgery.

Teaching base of the Department of Oral Surgery (spatial capacity and technical equipment)

The Department of Oral Surgery at the Faculty of Dentistry in Skopje is located within the Clinic of Oral Surgery on the second floor of the University Dental Clinical Center “St. Panteleimon. “

The practical work at the Department is carried out in an ambulance with six working positions, a phantom training room, four operating rooms and a sterilization room.

Operating rooms are equipped with four new working positions. They include surgical interventions and dental implant surgeries.

The sterilization room is strategically positioned between the outpatient and operative part of the Clinic. In addition to the sterilization of the instruments, it provides practical pre-clinical lectures for doctors of dental medicine and specialized dental nurses – oral hygienists.

At the Department of Oral Surgery, certain soft tissue interventions are performed with Fidelis III Generation High Energy Laser: NdYAG and ErYAG. These are pre-prosthetic soft tissue surgeries such as frenulectomy, excisions, deepening on the vestibulum and removal of small benign tumorigenic cells.

Sixth decade of the Department (2009-2019)

The Department of Oral Surgery conducts an educational process for dental students, trainees, postgraduates and doctoral studies students. At the same time, the Department is a teaching base for an undergraduate study program for dental care professionals such as dental nurses and dental technicians.

In the undergraduate curriculum for dental students, the Department integrates five courses: three compulsory and two elective courses. Obligatory subjects to study are preclinical oral surgery, oral surgery 1 and oral surgery 2. The electives include dental interventions in high risk patients and dental implantology.

The teaching is conducted by three full time and three associate professors, one senior research associate, one research associate and two assistants. The method of teaching is of interactive type, in accordance with the recommendations of the European Credit Transfer System, which is successfully implemented at the Department of Oral Surgery.

Students participate in the classroom work through different forms of engagement. They can express their creativity, initiate discussion on a particular topic, prepare seminar work on a particular subject and get to know it better.

Practical clinical work in all subjects is performed in the outpatient section of the Oral Surgery and Implantology Clinic.

Through clinical practice, students learn how to establish quality reciprocal communication with the patient, to collect an anamnesis and perform clinical examination, to differentiate pathological from physiological conditions, to set an indication for extraction, to apply infiltrative anesthesia, and to perform atraumatic extractions for uncomplicated dental procedures. Within the ECTS, through their practical work students are involved in following up-to-date trends in oral surgery and implantology. They are acquainted with modern methods of surgical treatment of chronic periapical inflammatory lesions, surgical treatment of impacted and partially impacted teeth, orthodontic-surgical treatment of impacted teeth, pre-prosthetic surgery and application of bone graft and soft tissue oral- surgical interventions. Basic and advanced implantation techniques are especially promoted and updated.

In addition to undergraduate education, the Department has been organizing postgraduate teaching and specialist education for many years.

Students of the Faculty of Dentistry, in addition to their daily activities, organize and actively participate in student congresses. Student topics are prepared under the mentorship of teaching teaching staff and assistant professors, gaining experience in designing and presenting professional and scientific research work. In 2002, the Faculty of Dentistry in Skopje introduced undergraduate studies for professional dental technicians and specialized dental nurses – oral hygienists. The Department of Oral Surgery participates in the design and enrichment of the curriculum and in the implementation of the program. With this education, professionally trained dental nurses and dental technicians have the opportunity to get acquainted with the modern trends in different fields of dentistry.

In addition to undergraduate, postgraduate and specialist studies, the Department participates in the realization of continuous education, promoted and accredited by the Faculty of Dentistry and the Dental Chamber of Macedonia.

Scientific, research and publishing activities

The scientific activity of the Department is an integral part of its overall activity. Scientific Master’s and Doctoral thesis, scientific research projects and individual or team scientific and professional work are published and presented at the professional manifestations of the Association of Oral Surgeons at the Macedonian Dental Society, domestic and foreign congresses and symposia.

The department has unified, authentic, scientifically validated views on surgical therapeutic procedures in acute odontogenic infections and chronic periapical inflammatory lesions.

The issue of impacted teeth has been thoroughly and profoundly elaborated, also indications for the application of highly sophisticated imaging modalities in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of impacted teeth, such as cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). 

The clinical, X-ray, pathohistological and modern immunological aspects of inflammatory cysts are reviewed on a scientific basis.

Serious work is being done in the field of bone augmentation and application of modern methods of preparation and application of platelet rich plasma (PRP).

Scientific research in the field of surgical treatment of chronic periapical inflammatory lesions has resulted in differentiating and promotion of modern surgical methods and publishing a textbook in 2013: “Diagnosis and surgical treatment of periapical inflammatory lesions” by d-r Marina Kacarska.

An oral surgery textbook and extraction practicum is in preparation.

The problem of allergic reactions from local anesthetics and the application value of in vivo and in vitro allergic tests have been investigated.

The issue of continued antithrombotic therapy in relation to intra- and post-operative bleeding in oral surgery has been thoroughly analysed as well.

Perioperative behavior of the complement system, acute phase proteins and cytokines during oral surgery has been determined on a scientific basis.

Serious research has been done on the impact of bone markers in relation to the mineralization degree of oral bone defects in patients with diabetes mellitus.

With such patients the possibility of osteointegration of dental implants has been also investigated.

The Department of Oral Surgery has produced five scientific research projects, one in the field of dental implantology, two in the field of hemostasis, one covering the problem of periapical lesions and another project addressing the problem of immune reactivity in periodontal disease.

Directing scientific thought towards various aspects in the field of oral surgery, a number of publications have been released in recent years with a stressed scientific, applicative and professional context. They undoubtedly contribute greatly to illuminating the still present scientific dilemmas, simultaneously widening the horizon of scientific knowledge.

Teaching and research staff

Prof. Dr. Boris Velickovski
Prof. Dr. Oliver Dimitrovski
Prof. Dr. Marina Kacarska
Senior Research Associate Dr. Ljuba Simjanovska
Doc. Dr. Gordana Apostolova
Ass. Dr. Vladimir Filipovski