The department of Oral Surgery and Pathology grew initially rather slowly with the appointment of Dr. H.A. Mosadomi as registrar and later as Lecturer II in the Department.  Dr. BolajiObisesan’s appointment as Senior House Officer/Registrar in 1971 completed the early foundation staff of the department.  Following the graduation of the first set of our home grown dental surgeons in 1971, recruitment of much needed additional staff became easier and Dr. Kekere-Ekun joined the department as Senior House Officer sometime in 1972.

In the early years, the department was housed in the prefab building now being used for School of Basic Dental Nursing along with other departments and consequently had space for only two oral surgery chairs for teaching and treatment.  With the completion of the main building and commissioning about 1972, considerably improved facilities became available.  The new building had six oral surgery units, a demonstration and teaching clinic and a well-equipped operating theatre.  The commissioning of the theatre made dental extractions available for children under general anaesthesia as well as operation of minor and medium grade emergency cases requiring general anaesthesia.  Major Oral and Jaw surgical cases were operated in one of the main hospital surgical theaters.  Dr. A. L. Nwoku joined the department in 1973 and he brought in the continental approach to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.  He was doubly qualified and had received his training in Switzerland and Germany.  Cases of clefts of lip and palate were now added to the list of patients that were managed in the department as well as orthodontic cases requiring surgery.

The department was consequently and appropriately renamed the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 1974.  Dr. J. O. Akinosi was appointed the first Associate Professor and acting head of the department in 1974 and Professor and Head of department in 1976.  Following research in the department, the collaboration of his colleagues and the informed consent of his patients, the now well-known and popular Akinosi Injection Technique was published in 1973.  He subsequently got invited to Tokyo, Chicago and London to present papers on this technique.

The Department has trained many prominent and famous Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons amongst whom are Dr. Ayo Kekere-Ekun, Professor Odusanya, Professor JeliliAkinwande, Dr. Emil Abdulai, Dr. O.V. Ogunbanjo, Professor Akin Ladeinde, Professor Gbenga Ogunlewe, Dr. Sunday Oluseye, Professor Godwin Arotiba, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo etc.

Prof. O. M. Gbotolorun

Head of Department