Dental Science

Filling, crowning, scaling, extracting, RCT - if you’ve heard these terms before, you know who I am talking about. So what if you weren’t blessed with that million-dollar smile? Call your local dentist and watch him perform a miracle (so what if it burns a BIG hole in your pocket?!?)

If the money inspires you or simply the profession - pay attention!

The BDS (Bachelor of Dental Science) course is open to students who have completed their +2 or equivalent examination with Physics, Chemistry and Biology (start thinking early!). And that’s not all - the admission to this course is made through a competitive examination conducted along with ‘the’ MBBS entrance examinations. Make sure you revise all the basic concepts, laws, principles and their applications (I’m talking about Physics, Chemistry, and Biology!) as you will have to be conversant with these subjects (secondary and senior secondary level syllabi). For those who didn’t know it already - you are in for 4 years if you pass. This 4-year course is divided into 4 parts - each part is of 1-year duration followed by a year of rotating internship.

There is at least one dental college in most states and about 40 dental colleges recognised by the Dental Council of India. For those who think this is not enough, don’t panic! Many more colleges have been permitted to start the BDS course. There is also the post grad course (MDS) which is much in demand because of the specialties that it offers. But, this 2 years’ course can be taken up only if you have 1 or 2 years’ work experience after BDS.

Say you are new to this field - the best approach is to work as an assistant with an established dentist, hoping to become a partner later on (gain experience and learn the ropes of running a practise at the same time!)

If you are a dentist in a hospital, you’ll look after patients, whose teeth need urgent attention, performing jaw operations and complicated extractions if the need arises!

If you are a Dental Surgeon, you can be employed by the State Governments and the Central Government in hospitals, medical colleges (to teach!) and dispensaries (and whatever else that is under them!). This is not all - the railways, defense sector, banks, and public/ private sector units also employ dentists in hospitals/ medical centres set up by them for their employees. It goes without saying that the remuneration from private practise is very high. If you work for a government or private sector hospital, you will be entitled to a salary governed by scales available to all Class I officers.

Remember - just getting a degree is not enough - you’ll realise how important physical fitness is, when you have to stand for long hours! You will have to possess the ability to establish relationships (patient-doctor relationship strictly!!) with people of all ages - easily and quickly! Guess who will form a major part of your clientele? Little kids! And it will be your responsibility to infuse confidence in them and in other nervous patients.

Let us not forget that you will be handling sophisticated equipment, making interpretations/decisions and planning treatment on a daily basis. All this requires you to be alert and keen with quick observational powers, possess technical skill and precision - and above all, a responsible attitude and a commitment to the profession.

Nowadays, an efficient dentist’s work is no less than a miracle. He can operate surgically on the jaw (ouch!) or specialize in orthodontics (say goodbye to irregular teeth!). Gone are those days when all you did with teeth, was eat. We still use them for the same primitive purpose (sorry, there ain’t no alternative!) but today they are also an asset (you can now earn money with a decent set!). With cosmetic surgery entering the market in a big way, the preventive and corrective aspects of dentistry are catching on (thanks to general awareness and the boom in the beauty industry!). Clients are willing to dish out thousands and lakhs of rupees for that perfect set of teeth!!