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The Ultimate Guide for Bachelor of Dental Surgery

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What is a BDS programme?

The full form of the BDS course is the Bachelor of Dental Surgery. It is a five-year-long undergraduate course for students who want to become dentists or dental surgeons.  During this course, the students learn about various dental topics and concepts. The students study the theoretical subjects of the course in the first 4 years and in the final year, the students are supposed to complete a one-year internship. Without completing the internship, the course is not considered complete. The students get the degree only after completing the mandatory internship and qualifying in all the subjects.

Students who want to become dental surgeons should have a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). In India, various colleges offer BDS programmes. It is also offered in many private colleges and universities worldwide. 

Once the individuals complete their graduation in Dental surgery, they are allowed to use Dr after their name and practice dentistry. Currently, there are various types of BDS degrees available in India and outside India. In the U.S. and many other countries, there are different types of BDS degrees available for students to pursue. The content and requirements may differ from each other but most importantly individuals get to know about dentures and dental problems.

There are currently more than 300 dental colleges in India which means there are 26000 seats in both governments as well as private colleges. After completion of this course, the students can expect a salary of INR 4-5 LPA in the beginning.

What is the duration of the course?

The duration of the course is 5 years. 4 years of this course are dedicated to theory subjects. In the final year, the students complete their 1-year rotatory internship. During the internship, the students work in all the departments for a certain period of time. A table has been created below for the students indicating internship time duration in each department.

BDS internships department and period of posting

 

Department

Period of Posting

Oral Medicine & Radiology

1 Month

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

1 and a half Months

Prosthodontics

1 and a half Months

Periodontics

1 Month

Conservative Dentist

1 Month

Pedodontics

1 Month

Oral Pathology & Microbiology

15 days

Orthodontics

1 Month

Community Dentist/Rural Service

3 Months

Elective

15 days

Total

12 months

 
Top recruitment areas:
 
After completing the BDS degree, individuals can work in the following areas.
  1. Dental Clinics
  2. Government Hospitals
  3. Dental Institutes
  4. Pharmaceutical companies
  5. Dental products manufacturers
  6. Private practice
 
 
 

Duration : 5 years

Specialization : dental surgery

Eligibilty & Entry Requirements

What are the BDS Eligibility criteria?

Students who are planning to do graduation in dental surgery should carefully look at the eligibility criteria before admission. The basic eligibility criteria for admissions to BDS courses have been given below. 

  1. The aspirant must have passed the 10+2 examination or its equivalent degree with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognized institute. 
  2. The student should have studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology mandatorily in his/her class 10+2.
  3. The aspirant should have appeared for the NEET examination and must clear the cut-off of the examination to be eligible for admission.
  4. If the student qualifies for the entrance exam, he/she needs to appear for the counselling sessions organized by the colleges.
  5. Generally, there are three rounds of counselling sessions.

Course Syllabus

Subjects in BDS course:

Bachelor of Dental surgery (BDS) is a 5-year long undergraduate course for students aspiring to become dental experts. The syllabus of the BDS course may vary from college to college. The students who are planning to take admission into the BDS course can check the general syllabus of the programme below.

For the first year: 

  • Biochemistry
  • Dental histology
  • Dental materials
  • Law for the dental profession
  • Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • Preclin
  • Prosthodontics

For the second year:

  • Preclin
  • Conservative
  • Pharmacology
  • Dental Materials
  • Pharmacology
  • Oral Pathology
  • Microbiology
  • Pathology

For the third year:

  • Gen surgery
  • Gen medicine
  • Pedodontics
  • Oral Pathology
  • Oral Medicine
  • Oral Surgery
  • Public Health
  • Orthodontics
  • Conservative Dentistry
  • Prosthodontics
  • Patient Safety Curriculum
  • Community orientation program group project/ research

For the fourth year: 

  • Pedodontics
  • Public health
  • dentistry
  • orthodontics
  • oral medicine
  • oral surgery
  • prosthodontics
  • periodontics
  • practice observership
  • conservative dentistry

For the fifth year:

  • Pedodontics and preventive dentistry
  • period ontology
  • oral medicine
  • diagnosis and radiology
  • public health dentistry
  • conservative dentistry and endodontics oral and maxillofacial surgery
  • oral pathology and microbiology
  • accident and emergency medicine
  • comprehensive oral health care

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