Dental

About Dental:

This course provides an understanding of dental medicine to educate and help you in improving the oral health of your patients. We will review topics of dental medicine including the eligibility, entrance exams, colleges/universities offering the course, future scope of the field, job offers and salary. Graduates can start their career as practitioners in community hospitals, government hospitals and nursing homes.

Majority of job opportunities for a graduate in this field are available in research institutes, colleges, universities, and teaching hospitals. Trained private practitioners can setup their own dental clinic which will help them to gain the confidence and revenue. Graduates who are interested in social service can join NGOs. Besides this, many job opportunities are available for Indian dentists in foreign countries such as Australia, UK and US.

Dentists use a range of measures and techniques in treating their patients such as fitting artificial replacements, filling, extracting teeth, scaling and crowning of teeth and treating gum diseases. Dentistry problems associated with jaws or any invasive oral procedure are normally taken care by oral surgeons. Dental surgeons carry out laser surgery, implants, trauma surgery, tissue grafts in order to correct them. Dentists also instruct patients about oral hygiene and ways to maintain healthy teeth as well as prevent dental problems. Hence there is lot of scope for this profession in India.

Courses

There exist different types of dentistry courses in India. Based on the course content, these programs are often broadly classified into the subsequent types – paramedical dentistry courses and medical dentistry courses. Paramedical dentistry courses are associated with the allied healthcare sector. Medical dentistry programs will help you in becoming a dentist.

DENTISTRY (MEDICAL) COURSES

• Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)
• Master of Dental Surgery (MDS)
• PG DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

PARAMEDICAL COURSES

• DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

Eligibility criteria:

1. Under Graduate level: Candidates who have passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with at least 50% marks. Admission to graduate courses in dentistry is through a general, nationwide competitive examination NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test)
2. Post Graduate level: To be eligible for this course, the candidate has to be a Bachelor of Dental Science graduate from a recognised Dental College in India with a minimum of 50%. Candidates possessing a PG Diploma recognised by Dental Council of India with the duration of two years will also be eligible for MDS.
3. Doctoral Level: Candidates who have completed Master’s degree in Dental Sciences or an equivalent degree from a recognized university are eligible for PhD in Dental Sciences course. Candidates who have 50% of marks or 6 GPA point scale in Master’s degree or an equivalent degree will also be eligible. The percentage may vary from one college to another one

Entrance exams

• National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG)
• Kerala Engineering Agriculture Medical Degree (KEAM)
• Common Entrance Test for Pondicherry Private Medical and Dental College (CETPPMC)
• All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination (AIPGMEE)
• Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET)  
• Andhra Pradesh engineering, agriculture, standard medical entrance test (AP EAMCET)
• Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER)
• All India Post Graduate Dental Entrance Exam (AIPGDEE)
• Goa Common Entrance Test (GCET)
• National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS)
• Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER PG)

 Top Dental colleges in the Country

Future Scope:

Job Sectors

• Government sector jobs are available as Army Dental Corp, as a Territorial Officer in Indian Army/Navy and Air Force, Dentist in Railways, Dental Officer in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and state government jobs as a dentist.
• Private sector jobs can be availed of in any private hospital or you can open your own clinic.
• Dentistry Research: Students can also pursue to do research in the field of dental science.
• Education sector: After completing BDS and Masters degree in dental science you can teach in dental colleges.

Salary

B.D.S.: The basic salary of a dentist after BDS, fresher, is around Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000 and an experienced dentist can earn anywhere between Rs.30,000 to Rs.45,000. In Gulf countries like Dubai the salary starts from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 Lakhs a month.

M.D.S.: A fresher MDS in dentistry can earn around Rs.25,000 to Rs.50,000 depending on the clinic or college they join. If you're employed in Gulf countries after MDS, then you'll be paid a minimum salary of Rs.2 lakhs per month. For this, you must have a minimum of three years’ experience after passing your post-graduation in dentistry and also clear the Ministry of Health exams.