Top most Dental Colleges in India

With an increasing emphasis on oral healthcare, Dentistry is proving to be a lucrative profession, offering good remuneration and job satisfaction.  India has some of the finest dental colleges of the world. Here are the top dental colleges. 

Dental health is very important for ensuring a better overall health status.  Dental caries and oral cancers are major public health issues in India, which have their origin in the deep rooted ignorance and carelessness amongst the rural and semi-urban population of the country. Lack of preventive dental practices is a major cause of Dental caries which is prevalent in as much as 60-80% of children. Although dental problems are rarely life threatening, unless of course it is a case of oral cancer, these problems often call for expensive treatments and lead to wastage of valuable resources. 

Dentistry involves dental care and correction. In technical terms, it is defined as “the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment of diseases, disorders of the oral cavity and the adjacent area, provided by a dentist using his education, training & experience”. Owing to certain lifestyle issues, dental disorders have become a common thing to witness. With so many people with dental problems, the demand for dentists has also increased exponentially. In order to offer treatment through specialised techniques, highly educated and qualified dental professionals are required and that too in large numbers. It is only through top notch academic facilities that such professionals can be produced. Here are the top most dental colleges in India. 

Manipal College of Dental Sciences: Founded in 1965, Manipal College of Dental Sciences holds the distinction to be the first private dental college of India. Certified for ISO 9001:2000, MCODS has been consistently ranked as the best dental institute in the country.  The college has come a long way from its humble beginnings when it had an initial intake of 40 students all huddled under a thatched roof structure with extremely limited facilities. Over the course of its existence, the college has grown steadily, metamorphosing into an international center of dental education. In its initial years, the college was affiliated to Mysore University before changing to Mangalore University from 1980 to 1993. Henceforth, the college became a constituent of Manipal University.  A plethora of courses are offered at theinstitute. While bachelor’s and master’s degree in dental surgery are its flagship programs, in addition the college also conducts advanced certifications in Aesthetics dentistry, Oral Implantology and LASERs in dentistry.     

Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Delhi: A constituent of the prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, MAIDS started off as a small department of dentistry in the 1960s. However, it wasn’t until the year 1983 that the first batch of BDS, was admitted to the college under the guidance of Dr. PP Thukral. In late 1990’s the dental wing became a full-fledged college, before being converted to an autonomous institute under the Delhi government, and rechristened Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences in 2006.  There are only 40 seats in BDS, and a similar number of seats in the newly introduced MDS course. Located in the heart of city, the institute enjoys the reputation of being the best of the recognized government dental colleges in India.    

Faculty of Dental Sciences, King George Medical College, Lucknow: The FDS started as a part of the ENT department in 1949, which soon shifted to separate premises in 1952 under the name of Department of Dentistry. In 1980, FDS became a full-fledged faculty with different departments. The college has made vital contributions in the field of research in various departments like Periodontology. The year 2003 was very important in the history of FDS as it was promoted to the status of a separate university and renamed as UP King George’s University of Dental Sciences. At the time of its creation, it was the only university of its kind in India and only one of the four dental universities of the world. However, with a change in government in 2007, the university status was revoked and it again acquired its previous status of Faculty of Dental Sciences functioning under the King George Medical University. The college has 9 departments, 43 faculty members and 70 seats in BDS. It also offers a post graduate course in dental surgery along with certificate courses Dental Hygiene and Dental Mechanics. 

Dr R. Ahmed Dental College, Kolkata: The first dental college of India, DR. R Ahmed Dental College was established in 1920 by its founder Dr. Raifiuddin Ahmed a dentist by profession himself. The college was first affiliated with State Medical Facility, until 1949, when the affiliation was transferred to University of Calcutta and the ownership of the college was transferred to the West Bengal government. Located in the heart of Kolkata, the college is currently affiliated to West Bengal University of Health Sciences.  The college offers Bachelor’s and Master’s in Dental Surgery in various specializations like Paedodontics, Periodontics, Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics. The college is facilitated by avante garde infrastructural facilities that include a one of its kind laser technology. The college’s inimitable reputation is partly due to its ability to handle the most number of patients at any given point of time as compared to other dental institutes of India.

Author Bio

Saurabh Tyagi is an expert writer having interest in diverse topics like education, technology, various dental colleges in Bangalore, career and Web 2.0. He is a social media enthusiast and a self-confessed gadget-freak, who loves to follow the latest happenings in the tech world.