Doctoring A Million-Dollar Smile

The colour of money isn’t always green; it can be pink and white! Look at a warm smile. A degree in dentistry can make you the patron of a beautiful smile everyone craves for…

- Amita Jain

What do Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Emma Watson and Tom Cruise have in common other than their line of work? All of them have bright pearly teeth and the credit majorly goes to their dentists. Do you want to correct skewed teeth? Design your teeth anew? Clean your oral cavity? A dentist is the one you should look for. “Dental needs are vast in our country, with still not enough dental professionals in rural areas and India also accommodating the world’s demand for dentistry by becoming a coveted hub of dental tourism. The career field of Dentistry is wide in scope in the terms of future options, earning and satisfaction,” says Dr. Rekha Gupta, Associate Professor at Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS), Delhi.

“A course in Bachelors of Dental Surgery (BDS) can expose students to numerous opportunities and a bright future. Provided a student is focussed, has the basics clear, specializes and upgrades oneself with time, the sky is the limit. Becoming a dentist is one of the most satisfying careers one can choose,” added Rekha Gupta.

BDS - An overview

BDS is a five-year undergraduate degree comprising four years of main study and one-year compulsory internship. It is the second most sought after degree in health sciences after MBBS. Comparing these two medical degrees, Prof. Rajat Dang of Maharishi Markandeshwar College of Dental Sciences, Mullana, and also a practitioner said, “Although both the fields have their own importance and choice depends upon students’ individual interest, one advantage of BDS is that it is a shorter duration course compared to MBBS. MBBS is of 5.5 years, while BDS is five years. Secondly, during undergraduate studies, the student is exposed to all nine specialities of dentistry, which allows one to practice immediately after completion of studies.”