Reasons Why You Should Consider Pursuing a Dental Course

Dentistry didn’t emerge as a profession independent of medicine until around the 16th century. In 1723, Pierre Fauchard, a French surgeon who is often known as the Father of Modern Dentistry, published a book titled “The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth.” It was this book that brought in concepts of dentistry that are still in use today – from dental filings to the role of sugar in tooth decay.

Since then, dentistry has become quite a serious profession by itself. There are numerous dental colleges that cater to aspiring dentists throughout the country. Dentistry is strongly blooming as a parallel field to medicine. Wondering how this is happening? People will have tooth problems as long as there are people and trained professionals will be needed to take care of these tooth problems because toothaches are easily among the top 3 annoying pains if you’ve ever had one. Dentists have successful careers whether they work in hospitals or have their own clinic, thus taking home a fat paycheck each month. If that tickles your interest, read on to find out how to become a dentist, get to know some of thebest dental colleges in India and find out other reasons why pursuing a dental course might be the right choice for you.

Table of Contents

Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)

The BDS or bachelor of dental surgery is the first step you can take in your journey of becoming a dentist. It is usually a full-time 5-year undergraduate course with 4 years of classroom teaching and one year of compulsory rotatory internship. This is the only recognised professional dental course by the Dental Council of India (DCI).

Eligibility

Since BDS is a course that deals with one facet of health, i.e, dental care, there are a few boxes you need to check to be eligible for admission to BDS colleges in India. They are:

The candidate must be at least 17 years of age or would be reaching that age in the year of admission itself.
The candidate must have passed their 10+2 from a recognized board or university with at least 50% marks with the PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) combination.
The candidate must have appeared for the NEET (National Entrance cum Eligibility Test) and secured passing marks in it.

Some of the best BDS college in MP, like Mansarovar Dental College, also requires English as a compulsory subject along with PCM in applicants’ 10+2

Syllabus for BDS

The syllabus for the BDS course in almost all colleges is common as the syllabus is exclusively designed by the Dental Council of India(DCI). The syllabus for this course is tabulated below year wise for your reference.

First Year	Second Year
General Human Anatomy	General Pathology
Embryology	General Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Oral Histology	Dental Materials
General Human Physiology	Pre-clinical Conservative Dentistry
Biochemistry	Pre-clinical Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge
Nutrition and Dietetics	Dental Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Dental Anatomy	General Microbiology
Third Year	Fourth Year
General Medicine	Oral Medicine Radiology
General Surgery	Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
Oral Pathology	Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics
Oral Microbiology	Periodontics
Patient Safety Curriculum	Prosthodontics
Community Orientation Program Group Project	Orthodontics
Oral Medicine	Pedodontics
Oral Surgery	Public Health Dentistry

Master of Dental Surgery (MDS)

The Master of Dental Surgery or MDS is a postgraduate course that one can pursue after graduating in BDS. This is also a full-time course that lasts for a duration of 3 years. This course is provided with multiple specializations thus training the students in a specific specialization that they have to choose, giving them in-depth knowledge to succeed as a specialist in that particular field.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for admission to an MDS course in the best dental college in MP is pretty simple. Interested students have to be graduated in BDS from a college recognized by the Dental Council of India and should have appeared and qualified in NEET PG.

Specializations

The specialization offered by dental colleges differs from institution to institution. Premier MDS college in MP offers following specializations with a limited number of seats in each.

Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Periodontics
Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge
Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics
Preventive community dentistry
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
Paedodontics
Operative dentistry
Oral pathology and microbiology
Public health dentistry
Oral medicine & radiology

Best Colleges for Dentistry

Let us now look at some of the other best dental colleges in India on the basis of their BDS and MDS courses.

Best Colleges For BDS	Best Colleges For MDS
Faculty of Dental Sciences, IMS BHU, Varanasi	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Faculty of Dental Sciences King George’s Medical University, Lucknow	Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore
Government Dental College and Hospital, Nagpur	Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow
Dr R Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Kolkata	Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi
Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore	Dr D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune
Government Dental College and Hospital, Mumbai	Dr R Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Kolkata
Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi	AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore

Future Prospects

The future prospects for students pursuing either the MDS or the BDS course are really bright as there are a lot of job opportunities available for dentists in both the public and private sectors. Students can choose to open their own dental clinic after either of these courses or even move to gulf countries to look for jobs – where the demand for dentists is unusually high. The added advantage of the high salaries that dentists usually get doesn’t hurt either. Let us now examine some of the common job profiles and salaries of BDS and MDS graduates.

BDS – Job Profiles, Roles and Salaries

Job Profile	Job Role	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Dentist	Taking care of the oral health of their patients – filling cavities, performing root canals, etc.	3.5 – 4.5 lakhs
Dental Officer at Indian Defense Services	Involves the same work as a dentist but in the 3 branches of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force)	9 lakhs
Dentist in Indian Railways	Dentists employed by the Indian Railways	7.2 lakhs

MDS – Job Profiles, Roles and Salaries

Job Profile	Job Role	Average Annual Salary (INR)
General practitioner	Performs dental procedures independently	5.4 lakhs
Dental Surgeon	Performs dental surgeries in a hospital	7.5 lakhs
Clinical Research Scientist	Research to find new discoveries on dental treatment, methods, pathology, etc.	3 lakhs
Academic lecturer	Teaches BDS and MDS students	6.8 lakhs

There are a lot of options for a dentist among career options to earn a handsome salary. The important thing to remember before going for a BDS course is to check if the course is approved by the Dental Council of India. Pursuing dental courses at renowned colleges like MDC which is one of the best dental colleges in India will train you into a potential dentist.

FAQs

Are there any other reasons other than high salaries to study dentistry?

Yes. Some other reasons why you can study dentistry other than high salaries are:

You’ll help people
You’ll combine your creative and scientific skills
You’ll have an independent career

Is the fee for a BDS course high?

Yes. BDS course fees are usually on the higher side, averaging around 5 lakhs in our country. They are not any higher than other medical courses though.

Can I get into a BDS course without sitting for NEET?

No. You can try but to our knowledge, most, if not all dental colleges approved by the DCI require you to clear the NEET to get admission in one of their dental courses.