Make a career by joining dental colleges in India?

Choosing a dental career gives you many advantages to be established in this field. In fact being a dentist is what people usually think when it comes to joining dental colleges. Of course, it’s true that when you join dental college you are getting access to knowledge of dental care and other stuff related to it. But you should also know that there is another career path to choose after you finish your college in Bachelor of dental science. Check out some of these options by dental colleges in India below.

Hospital Management
To opt for an opportunity in hospital management you will need a degree in Masters in Hospital Management, and then you can be open to applying to hospitals in this field. Hospital management is also one of the reputed jobs that you can apply for a having a degree in BDS.

General dentist
Lastly, you can always make of choice of becoming a general dentist. In fact, this is the first choice that every person who graduates in BDS makes.

Becoming Lecturer or a tutor
Having a degree in BDS you can opt for a career in Lecturer at many colleges related to your subject. You are allowed to teach dental colleges in India. The career growth in this field is very good and you can be promoted to a senior lecturer by opting for higher studies in MDS while continuing to teach at colleges.

There is an even higher promotion in this field along with the degree that you can take up to. For example, if you are going to get a Ph.D. degree then it would be more beneficial to you, as your pay scale also increases along with the flow.

A dearth of seats in Government Dental colleges

For a country like India with a huge population and increment of around 18 million people every year, India faces a shortage of dentist as the dental institutes in India roughly provides only 24,000 dentists annually.

Out of these 24,000 graduates, many prefer to get admission and later jobs in the government sector. The main reason for that is high fees in private dental colleges and more competition in private jobs without any higher salary being paid in comparison to government clinics and hospitals. But the chance to study in government dental colleges is minimal since each state in India has hardly 1 to 4 colleges that offer BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) program and around 10 colleges that offer MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) program.

In India, there are only 47 government dental colleges that offer 2,930 seats for BDS according to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on March 2018. Whereas, 260 private colleges in India provide 24,130 seats for BDS program. 

Even with such scarcity of seats for the BDS program, the Dental Council of India (DCI) had declared in 2016 that it won’t be taking any request for new dental institutes in the country. Further, the re-introduction of NEET exam in 2016 had put a lot of pressure on the Dental institutes in India. The NEET examination is the common entrance test for admissions in government as well as private medical colleges. But one of its components is challenging for many students as it states that 85 percent of seats in a government college in particular state will be reserved only for students residing in that state and the remaining 15 percent for students from across the country. Fortunately, there are no such reservations in private colleges.

After these regulations, the situation deteriorated for students who want to aim for a seat in government dental college. Even in dental colleges in Delhi NCR, only 140 seats for BDS program are available. There are only three government dental colleges in Delhi NCR. Being a metropolitan city and capital of India, such numbers are lesser than states like Kerala with 5 government dental colleges, Maharashtra, and Gujarat with 4 government college each.

Thus, looking at the uneven and a dearth of government dental colleges across India, the domicile policy should be struck down and students should be given the opportunity to take admission in any college situated in whichever state in India.