MILA in Teaching Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

In most of the dental colleges in India lecturing in large groups is the usual mode of teaching. Students find it difficult to understand, particularly in certain topics of oral surgery. MILA technique involves dividing students into smaller groups and coupled with activity training. Teaching students in smaller groups is more effective and also increases the attention to each and every individual. This increases interaction between students and teachers, less time for teachers to manage the larger group of students, helps students to think better and transfer of knowledge in smaller groups is more effective. MILA provides an equal opportunity for all students to take part in the discussion which is also coupled with activity which will make lecture classes more of an interactive session rather than being uneventful. This article gives a outlook of MILA technique in teaching topics like impaction, local anesthesia, medical emergencies, lymphatic drainage of head and neck, salivary gland disorders, midface fractures, mandibular fractures, zygomatic fractures, maxillofacial cysts, pre-prosthetic surgeries, orthognathic surgery, space infections etc.