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Priti Gupta
"Current scenario and crisis facing dental college graduates in India"
“A physician buries his mistakes, a dentist pulls them out, but a teacher has to live with them”
The World Health Organization defines Dentistry as "the science and art of preventing,
diagnosing and treating diseases, injuries and malformations of the teeth, jaws and mouth".
Dentist are not only specialized in Extraction of tooth but they are doctorate level medical
professional who primarily aim to prevent and treat oral disorder by Providing preventive
treatment such as scaling, cleaning and fluoride therapy, Repairing teeth damaged by decay or
trauma, rebuilding tooth structures for functional or aesthetic reasons and providing crowns and
bridges. Dentist helps bytreating diseases of the roots, gums and soft tissues of the mouth and
carries out various surgical procedures, from routine extractions to far more complex operations
on the jaws and soft tissues, Using X-rays to detect abnormalities and plan treatment, Managing
malformation and misalignment of teeth and jaws by providing appropriate treatment. They are
also specialized in Designing dentures and oral appliances by taking impressions, recording jaw
relations, selecting teeth and correctly fitting dental appliances manufactured by dental
technicians to the dentists' prescriptions.
The scientific & evidence-based dentistry is the handwork of Dr. Rafiuddin Ahmed. In 1928, he
established the first dental college in Asia, in the city of Calcutta (India). Initially, it offereda
one-year course which was subsequently restructured to four years in 1935, was a pioneering
effort towards setting up a dental institution of merit along modern scientific lines. Since then,
India has experienced an exponential growth of private dental colleges. There is a regulatory
bodydeveloped to drive this growth in a direction that benefits students and the health of Indian
population.The Dental Council of India (DCI), a statutory body was established under an act of
parliament „The Dentists Act 1948‟ (XVI of 1948)which came into existence in March, 1949. Its
responsibilities include the regulation of dental education, profession, and ethics and liaising
with the government to obtain administrative approval for dental college and higher educational
courses. In August 1992, an Amendment was introduced to restrict the mushroom growth of
dental college, increase intake of student and enable starting of higher level of courses without
prior permission of the Central Government‟s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Dental schools in India fall into one of three major categories: a) government dental school as a
part of a government university, b) private dental school affiliated with a government university,
and c) private dental school as part of a private university. Currently, there are 294 dental
colleges in India. [Dental Council of India‟s (Figure 1.1)]. They enroll close to 23,900 students
annually. The duration of the dental school program is five years, of which four years are
devoted to didactic, and laboratory course work and one year to compulsory internship rotation.

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Priti Gupta
Dental school graduates in India are awarded a bachelor of dental surgery degree (B.D.S.). There
are staggering of 1078 post graduate institutions available, rolling out close to 3389 specialists in
various field of dentistry every year (DCI 2011). In India, Every dentist who wants to renew his
license will have to complete 20 hours per year of continuing medical education.
Dentistry involves a broad range of professionals, from doctorate level to administrative level
people.Majority of dentist prefer to work in private practice. A dentist may set up a practice or
purchase an existing practice. Other ways of working in private practice include becoming an
assistant dentist, which means they receive a salary from the owner of the practice; an associate
dentist, where two (or more) join together to share the certain expenses, such as rent, while other
expenses are paid separately and fees are collected separately; or as a partner where two or more
practitioners share expenses and profits/losses according to an agreed proportion.
There are a variety of employers who need dental professionals such as the military and other
government institutions, in addition to private dental practices.Dentists can likewise work for
Government and private hospitals. A salaried government dentist treats patients eligible for
publicly funded dental treatment. According to WHO, there is a total workforce of 78,096 dental
practitioners in India at present (WHO status 2000 – 2010). Each of the armed services maintains
dental units which provide treatment for members of the service and in some circumstances their
families.
Some dental graduate can also find short-term appointments as tutors or lecturers. Permanent
appointments require post graduate experience and higher degrees. Excellent employment
opportunities are available for dentists in the research and advisory departments of
pharmaceuticals. Now days, clinical research organizations and pharmaceuticals companies hire
dentist as investigators or experts for research related finding and activities. Sometimes ethics
committees of hospital appoint dentist as a member of committee for particular study.
In term of specialization, with an increasing awareness of oral health and the introduction of new
fields have all enhanced the scope of the field.
1. A Dental-maxillofacial Radiologistdeals with diagnostic imaging procedures applicable
to the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region and to other structures
which are relevant for the proper assessment of oral conditions.
2. An Endodontistdeals with the morphology, physiology, and pathology of the human
tooth and, in particular, the dental pulp, root and peri-radicular tissues.
3. An Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon deals with the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive
treatment of diseases, injuries and defects of the human jaws and associated structures.
4. An Oral Surgeon deals with the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases
and injuries limited to the dento-alveolar complex.
5. An Oral Physician deals with the clinical diagnosis, assessment and principally non-
surgical, pharmacological management of anatomical variants, pathological conditions,
diseases and pain of the dental, oral and adjacent anatomical structures and the dental/oral

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Priti Gupta
manifestations and complications of systemic diseases, pathology and conditions and
their treatment.
6. An Oral Pathologist deals with diseases of the teeth, jaws, oral soft tissues and
associated structures, studies their causes, pathogenesis and effects, and by use of
clinical, radiographic, microscopic and other laboratory procedures establishes
differential diagnoses and provides forensic evaluations.
7. An Orthodontist deals with the study and supervision of the growth and development of
the dentition and its related anatomical structures, including preventive and corrective
procedures of dentofacial irregularities requiring the re-positioning of teeth, jaws, and/or
soft tissues by functional or mechanical means.
8. A PaediatricDentist deals with the prevention and the treatment of dental diseases and
abnormalities in children and their associated developmental and behavioural problems..
9. A Periodontist deals with the prevention, recognition, diagnosis and treatment of the
diseases and disorders of the investing and supporting tissues of natural teeth or their
substitutes..
10. A Prosthodontist deals with the restoration and maintenance of oral health, function and
appearance by coronal alteration or reconstruction of natural teeth, or the replacement of
missing teeth and contiguous oral and maxillofacial tissues with substitutes.
11. A Public Health Dentist deals with the community as the patient rather than the
individual, being concerned with oral health education of the public, applied dental
research and administration of dental care programmes including prevention and control
of oral diseases on a community basis.
12. A Special Needs Dentist deals with patients where intellectual disability, medical,
physical or psychiatric conditions require special methods or techniques to prevent or
treat oral health problems, or where such conditions necessitate special dental treatment
plans
PayScale.com reports that most general dentists received a total pay between Rs 63,960 and Rs
594,609 per year, as of October 2011. Salary of a dentist varies with the industry and companies
(Figure 1.2). There has been a marked improvement in the dentist-to-population ratio in general
terms. Dentists-to-population ratio of India, which was 1:300,000 in the 1960‟s. Currently, ratio
of dentistry per 10,000 populations is 0.7 (1:7500) in India (WHO 2011).
Considering the facts and figures, the question arises that are we really short of dentists? To
answer this query, one should understand the truth behind the journey of dental
graduate.Dentistry is rewarding but challenging field, as are most healthcare field.
One of the challenges a dental student experienced is at education level. A dentist requires a
huge amount of commitment of time and money. Higher education secures the better
opportunities but at the same time requires 7 to 11 years to establish their job. A hefty amount is
stockpiled in education. Additionally, there is a great deal of competition to get into dental
school.

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Priti Gupta
Next challenge a dental student encounters is at the startupof a practice as a dentist. Dentist will
have to put in a lot of hard work before they can establish their name in this industry. A dental
graduate begin his career as an associate in the office of a dentist or dental partnership with an
established practice. This is because of the high start-up costs of an independent practice and the
lack of independent clinical experience. As an associate dentist, they dyed-in-the-wool certain
number of years for practice. Some dentists haveto handle business responsibility, like managing
the financial and administrative aspects, including hiring and management of personnel, can be
time-consuming and stressful, in addition to work as a dentist.
Repetition of job, Relocation once established with physical presence and emotional support
demand of patients and lack of benefitssometimes disappointing for some dentist. Additionally,
patient volume can decline in tough economic times, as many people will put off preventative or
routine visits when cutting back financially. Office revenue (and the dentist's income) can
decrease when patient volume declines.
Above all, the biggest challenge for a dentist is spreading awareness among Indian population
about the oral healthcare. A survey conducted on 35 – 44 year olds advocated that 80% of adults
have tooth decay, 90% have gum disease and 5.4 per person on an average suffering from DMFT
(decayed, missing, filled) teeth. In addition it, other shocking fact suggested that only 33% of
Indian population ever visited a dentist (government of Indian‟s survey 2002 – 2003). The public
spending on urban and rural healthcare is 23% and 30% respectively.
This profession is a “standing profession”. Dentist would stand while treating their patients.
Now, it is largely a sedentary one and dentists are prone to back and neck problems. They also
have to deal with biological waste and radioactivity as X-Rays are taken within the clinic setup
in most settings, thus exposing dentist to harmful elements and disease.
Bearing in mind the fact, dentists aredeciding on alternative options of their career.Whilst a
qualified dentist, they are sidetrackingtheir career to other profession. Dentists are trying their
hands on jobs like marketing and business development. These kinds of job profile require
extensive travelling, which is not possible while working in dentistry set up. Now a day,
companies are hiring Doctors for such profile as they are well contented with medical
terminologies and disease progression in addition to knowledge of treatment available.
Dentists are getting good prospects in call centers and Knowledge processes outsource (KPO)
which are either work for Insurance companies or for hospitals. Telemedicine and teledentistry
are two new emerging areas of healthcare services. Because of uneven distribution of population
and dentist, these services getting popularity these days. About 80% of dentists work in major
cities in India; compared to the population where more than 70% of the Indians reside in the
rural areas. Teledentistry uses dental health records, telecommunications technology, digital
imaging and the Internet to link dental health care providers in rural or remote communities with
specialists in larger communities to enhance communication, the exchange of health-related

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Priti Gupta
information and access to dental care for underserved patients. Major Business process
outsourcing companies gaining momentum form healthcare and life science industry. The Indian
Healthcare market is at about US$ 60 billion. The industry is expected to grow to US$79 billion
by 2012. The Indian healthcare market is one of the largest services sectors contributing 2% to
the country's GDP. A number of varied services are available for Dentist like insurance billing,
disease coding, forms processing and claims adjudication.
Medical writing is one of the forthcoming promising professions. Dentists are approaching these
fields because of financial securities and more tranquil life. Dentists are well through with
medical knowledge. They implement their knowledge through writing to reach patient.
Eventually, we have concluded dentists are facing thoughtful challenges in terms of practicing
dentistry. Policy maker needs to understand lack of adequate opportunities for graduate
especially girls. As our life style and technology getting advanced day by day, new opportunities
are making their way.Now a dentist might not require a hospital or clinic setup, they can assist
their patient through other ways. This ensures dentist monetary support as well as a peaceful life.
180
160
140
120 Ahmedabad Municipal
100 Corporation
80 Govt.
60
Private
40
20
0
Approved Recognised
Figure: 1.1 total number of college approved and recognized
Popular Salary Range
Industries
Family Rs 69,335 - Rs 660,308
Dentistry
Hospital Rs 71,878 - Rs 600,347

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Priti Gupta
Health Clinic Rs 64,815 - Rs 466,595
Dental Rs 74,156 - Rs 668,185
Prosthetic
Services
Healthcare Rs 72,029 - Rs 678,259
Figure: 1.2 comparison of salary of a dentist with companies and industry
References:
1) http://www.dciindia.org/search.aspx
2) http://healthcareers.about.com/od/healthcareerprofiles/p/How-To-Become-A-Dentist-
Dentist-Career-Overview.htm
3) http://becomeadentist.org/why-to-not-choose-dentistry
4) http://www.payscale.com/research/IN/Job=Dentist/Salary
5) http://marketerskaleidoscope.com/2009/08/indias-dental-health-market/
6) http://www.ada.org.au/dentalprofessionals/dentist.aspx
7) http://www.ijdr.in/article.asp?issn=0970-
9290;year=2011;volume=22;issue=2;spage=189;epage=189;aulast=Reddy
8) http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/en/