Dentistry in India:
There are 240 dental schools in India offering BDS course for more than 10,000 students in India.MDS Course is offered to 2000 BDS students and is very competitive. Unlike United States India follow Baccalaureate system. Exams are given on yearly basis and every year the students have to clear an annual examination in which they have to score 50% to promote to the next year.
. How are the Studies?
Presently BDS course is of five years duration. The first two years students study preclinical subjects( Human Anatomy, Physiology,Biochemistry,Human Pathology,Microbiology,Pharmacology,Dental Anatomy,Histology and Dental Materials.The Preclinical work includes Prosthetic Dentistry and Operative Dentistry.Recent Inclusions were lab orthodontic and pediatric dentistry work. Getting into dental school depends on students qualifying a competitive examinations based on 10+2(Pre University Course).Unlike in US,there is no Pre-Dental course Pre-University course compensates for lack of predental.Most of the Dental Seats in India are under the control of Individual States,each state having its own examinations and domicile restrictions
Third Year Heralds Start of the Dental Clinics.Students working on Patients in the Third Year at an Indian Dental Schools
Dental Students during Final Year and Internship have a chance to observe Maxillofacial Surgeries.
Patients visiting the Dental School must get themselves Intra Orally Examined.Oral Medicine and Radiology Department is the first Department which an Indian Dental Patient visits when he goes for a checkup.
Endodontics Department in an Indian Dental School contrary to American Dental Schools Indian Dental Schools do not allow rubber dams as they cause patient discomfort.The Conservative Dentistry Departments still uses Amalgam for Class 1 and Class 2 fillings.
Most of the time the Dental Student have a whole year to bother about exams. Some of India’ private universities conduct exams regularly and have a quarterly, Half Yearly,Pre-Final and final but most of the time the dental student academics are tested every year. The advantage of this approach is that a student who studies regularly and prepares well all the year is going to score high in these exams and is going to become a good dentist,but most of the times dental students do not have a whip. Most of the dental students prepare just before thier exams and it also happens to be that students study for exams based on previous years question papers. So the scenario is quite interesting.one side we have the students who work through the year and clear their exams and on one side we have students who prepare according to the questions asked in Examination. The former become excellent dentists and latter a burden to Indian dentistry. Attendance and Regularity is a matter of importance and this odes well for Dental Students. Being on Time,being regular are all taught during dental school so that a dentist inculcates professionalism. Respect for the Professors,lot of written instructions,reading a lot makes Indian Dentists good academically. Certain dental schools offer excellent infrastructure and so many dental students have a good hand at clinical work even before finishing dentistry. Oral Communication Skills are not stressed and so most of Indian Dentists strive to learn communication after leaving India. Indian Dental Students how to work with and without technology and even due to handicaps of Indian Dental Education where one to one instructions,Increased emphasis on clinical work may not be laid on some of the Indian Dentists become very good dentists. Dental Education in India is stressful and help from professors is minimal. A casual interaction between professors and students is rare in India.Most of the times even the student performs excellently professors may decide to promote the student in Clinicals/Practical Examinations. There might be exceptions and its always been that the professors the students most hate before clearing off a subject turns out be the one most admired after the students clear.There have been classical stories of Professor Student stories where the bonds between them are forever even after so much of apathy during the dental school time.
More Private or Public Universities?
Most of India’ best Dental Institutions are private institutions.India is a developing country and most of the government dental colleges offer cheap subsidized dental education and most of them have terrible infrastructure. There are so rare exceptions like Government Dental College but still Indians would not want to go a public university in India. Dental education’ rapid growth in India started with the seventies. The Socialist Indian Government started relaxing norms and this led to mushrooming of private universities. The biggest problem is the lack of standardization. So it leads to a strange situation where certain private universities offer excellent standards of dental education and some pathetic. The best dental schools in India offer dental education on par with any American Dental Schools.
How Expensive are the Studies?
All India Pre Medical and Pre Dental Test is the only test which every Indian can appear and rest of the dental seats are distributed on basis of quotas of local people who pay the least fees. Some States like karnataka have a payment category where most of Indians can compete. Generally course fees is around $2000(Rs 75,000) if students qualify the exam.
College of Dental Surgery,Manipal is few of those great Indian Dental Schools which have excellent infrastructure.CODS,Manipal applied for CODA Accreditation from United States.If accepted CODS Manipal Student can directly practice in United States without DDS.
15% of the seats in Indian Dental Schools are reserved for the Management of the School.Non Resident Indians, Foreign Students can avail this quota and here seats are literally auctioned. Presently to get an admission in an Indian Dental School Forein Students have to pay one time Mangement fees of$25,000 and a yearly fees of $2000 which is quite inexpensive compared to American Standards How is the dental treatment?
The problem which Indian Dentistry is not the lack of affordability but the lack of motivation from Indian Public. Indians avail dental care electively and prefer extraction for Endodontic and Conservative Dentistry as its more timeconsuming and painful.Compared to most of the countries Dentistry is cheap in India.
Just like India is a developing Country Indian Dentistry is Developing.The biggest problem Indian Dentistry is the lack of standardization.Indian Dental Association unlike ADA is a powerless body and most of the time the dentists are thier own bosses.The Quality of Dental Care in certain Dental offices is exceptional. Dentistry in India is cheap, the insurance sector is in infancy and most of prescribed medications are cheap.Most of the Indian Cities have seen the mushrooming of 5 Star Dental Offices.These offices which are mostly located at Delhi,Mumbai,Kokatta,Chennai,Hyderabad and Bangalore provide great dental care and but have prices which are beyond an average Indian reach.Compared to International Standards,most of the dental offices provides reasonably good dental care at the cheap dental price. Most of the dentists are well versed with asepsis, disposal of wastes, quality of materials but due to financial constraints and problem with financing have to compromise on things. Biggest problems with most of the Indian Dental offices are the lack of sepsis standards. Indian Dental offices treat number of patients and with India’ huge population providing clean environs but most of the dental offices do a reasonably good job in
The article was published by Venkatesh Chittarvu CEO Dental Surgery Inc.
You can request pdf of article with photographs here.
ceo@dentalsurgeryinc.com
Regards,
Venkatesh Chittarvu
CEO Dental Surgery Inc
http://dentalsurgeryinc.com
91-970-173-3368
maintaning.India is still getting globalized and Indian Dental Offices more Foreign Direct Investments and may be in the future India can be a destination for Cheap International Dental Care.
