Under the Dentist Act, 1948, the Dental Council of India is entitled with the responsibility for according recognition to the Dental Degrees awarded by the various Universities and also for maintaining uniform standards of dental education in the country. The aim and objective of the Dental curriculum is to produce a Dentist who is socially acceptable and is able to work safely and effectively on patients in diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and oral diseases and to maintain uniformity in standards, technical and clinical requirements.
About the Course
Dentistry is the most sought after course after General medicine in India. Through various modes of communication, viz-à-viz, through didactic lectures, demonstrations, group discussions, seminars, clinical work and conferences, the curriculum aims to provide students with knowledge on the different kinds of oral treatment including surgical procedures, dental materials, dental anatomy and oral history, oral pathology, oral medicine and radiology, etc. Of course, the range of subjects covered is vast, and now that the mandatory internship period has been excluded from the curriculum, students get more time to study all there is to know about the health of the mouth.
The following is a list of courses including electives that the Dental Council of India recommends for being taught at the BDS level over a course of five years. These are:
- General Human Physiology and Biochemistry
- General Human Anatomy
- Dental Materials
- General Pathology and Microbiology
- General and Dental Pharmacology
- Oral Anatomy, Histology and Physiology
- General Medicine
- General Surgery
- Oral Pathology and Microbiology
- Orthodontics
- Periodontics
- Pedodontics
- Prosthodontics & Crown & Bridge
- Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics
- Oral Surgery, Local Anaesthesia & General Anaesthesia
- Oral Medicine and Roentgenology
- Community Dentistry
Based on your interests or requirements, you can choose to excel in a particular field in Dentistry.
Eligibility Criteria
Age limit:
Students completing age of 17 years at the time of admission, or by the 31st December of the year of admission are eligible to apply.
Qualifications:
High School Certification (10+2, A Level, IB, American 12th grade or equivalent) with 50% marks in each of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English.
NOTE: Under the Pharmacy Act, national open school certification does not qualify to be equivalent to a High School Certification, i.e., students having passed 10+2 from national open schools are not eligible to apply for a BDS course.
Entrance Examinations
There are two kinds of entrance examinations students need to appear for when applying for a BDS course in India: the first is a common entrance examination for applying to government colleges and some private colleges, while the other is an entrance test specific to a particular private college. Thus, the number of tests a candidate may appear for may be greater than one.
One most common entrance test conducted by the CBSE is the All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Exam. This test is common for both MBBS and BDS, where allocation of institutes happens based purely on merit. Advertisements and other information regarding the entrance tests of private institutes are widely publicized through various agencies and media, like Employment News, websites, even school notice boards.
Career Prospects
While the population explosion might induce a series of debates on the reducing standards of living, it has had a boon in creating the much needed career opportunities in every field including Dental. While oral hygiene remains the primary focus of this field, BDS graduates can aim to specialize in Cosmetic Dentistry to improve the smiles of a billion Indians. Other specializations a graduate can embrace are: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Periodontology, Conservative and Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Pedodontics and Orthodontics. One can even pursue a course in MDS with lasts about three years.
B.D.S. Admissions for 2024 - 2025 Academic Year
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