What to do after Completing a Bachelor of Dental Surgery Program?

The huge popularity of healthcare as a career can only be seen in the craze for all-India entrance exams for MBBS, but also in the dentistry course BDS. Bachelor of Dental Surgery is a 5-year course that is equal to an MBBS.

In India, there are more than 2.7 lakh dentists registered with the Dental Council of India (DCI), the regulatory body for dentistry in the country. That number makes India the home to the 2nd highest population of dentists in the world. A lot of people thus go for this course.

How does the career path of a BDS graduate look then, you might ask? So we talk about BDS courses in general, and what to do after completing your BDS degree from the best private BDS colleges in India in this blog.

All About BDS Courses

Bachelor of Dental Surgery courses are undergraduate programs in dentistry, and just like their counterpart MBBS, are professional courses with a focus on training clinical skills. It is for that reason that these courses in BDS colleges in UP, and the rest of India take 5 years to complete – 1 year is exclusively reserved for rotatory internships.

The limited number of seats available each year for admission to both government and private BDS colleges in India is gate kept by an entrance exam just like MBBS. The Dental Council of India oversees this exam too, called the NEET. Take a look at the table below to get a general idea of what a BDS course usually looks like.

Top BDS Colleges in India

Now, here is a look at the best dental colleges in India for pursuing a BDS degree, the course fees there, and also where they are located.

What to Do After Completing BDS?

There are a lot of career paths a BDS degree can take you. While you’ll still be working on something related to teeth or oral health overall, let us take a look at what are the top options for BDS graduates from our country.

Continue With an MDS

This stands for Master of Dental Surgery, which is the most common option for those who complete their BDS from the best private dental colleges in India, like Kothiwal Dental College & Research Centre. Since this is a postgraduate degree, it’ll improve your knowledge and experience considerably and be able to land you jobs with prestigious institutions. MDS courses also offer various specializations you can pick from, depending on your interest. Some common MDS specializations include:

• Prosthodontics
• Orthodontics
• Periodontics
• Endodontics
• Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry
• Oral Surgery
• Oral Pathology & Microbiology
• Public Health Dentistry
• Oral Medicine & Radiology

Get an MPH

A Master’s in Public Health is a good option if you want to study and settle abroad after completing your Bachelor’s in dentistry from one of the best private BDS colleges in India. This 2-year postgraduate degree is very common in foreign countries like the USA, UK, and Australia and prepares its students for non-clinical roles in public health. You can even choose to continue your career as a dentist, but with higher qualifications – translating to higher salaries.

Go for an MBA

Master of Business Administration (MBA), with a focus on hospital or healthcare management, is also a favorite option of BDS graduates. This course will prepare them for management-level roles in the healthcare industry. There are a number of entrance tests to get into the best MBA courses in the country, like CAT, GMAT, etc.

Clinical Practice

To gain experience as a dentist one has to get into clinical practice at some time in their career or the other. BDS graduates from dental colleges in Moradabad and the rest of India can work in hospitals or clinics at the initial stage of their career, or even find investors to start their own practice.

However, since the capital required is a lot, most students either opt for an MDS first to increase credibility, or move to other countries (especially the Gulf Countries) and then work there to save money for their own practice someday.

Government Jobs

There are a lot of job opportunities for BDS graduates from dental colleges in UP and other parts of India in the government sector. They can opt to pursue non-clinical roles through entrance exams like UPSC, SSC, SPSC, etc. Otherwise, there are plenty of openings for dentists in government hospitals throughout the country, especially in rural areas. Other areas where they can find jobs include:

• Army Dental Corps
• Government Colleges as Lecturers
• Dental Officers in the Railways
• Contractual Dental Officers in the Navy and Air Force

Conclusion

Other than the options we’ve discussed already, the best private BDS colleges in India also prepare students for careers in allied fields like forensic dentistry, research, dental cosmetology, insurance, etc. Hence, it can be said that there are plenty of options for you to consider after completing your Bachelor of Dental Surgery program.

FAQs

1. What are the things to keep in mind while opening my first dental clinic after BDS?

When you open your first dental clinic after completing your BDS, the factors that you need to keep in mind are obtaining the funding, finding the right location, hiring the right people, and meeting regulatory concerns.

2. Can I practice in the US after BDS?

Not directly. You have to clear NBDE Part 1 and 2 exams first and then get a Doctorate in Dentistry from a US university before you can practice there.

3. Why do so many BDS graduates go to Gulf countries?

Many BDS graduates go to Gulf countries as they only need to clear one Ministry of Health exam to get there (which is easy) and then earn way more than they ever could at such an early stage in India.

4. What is the salary range for BDS graduates in the Gulf countries?

The salary range for BDS graduates in the Gulf countries is going to be around INR 80,000 to INR 1.5 lakh per month.

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