Bachelor of Dental Science- BDS

Overview of Bachelor of Dental Science [BDS]:

B.D.S. or Bachelor of Dental Surgery is an undergraduate Dentistry course. The duration of Bachelor of Dental Surgery course is 4-5 years of study with internship and without an internship, The B.D.S. course is divided into 2 or more semesters. The course can be pursued either as a Full-Time Graduate Course or Part Time Graduate Course i.e. through Correspondence or Distance Education depending upon one’s choice. After M.B.B.S., Bachelor of Dental Surgery is one the most sought after course in the field of medical science. B.D.S. enables one to become a Dentist. Dental Courses comprise didactic lectures, demonstrations, group discussions, seminars, clinical work, and conferences. Aspiring candidates learn about various forms of treatment including Surgical Procedures, Dental materials, Dental anatomy & Oral histology, Oral Pathology, Community Dentistry, Pedodontics, Oral Medicine & Radiology etc. which are some of the topics that are generally taught. There are various Dental Schools and Dental Colleges which impart the education of bachelor in dentistry.

Eligibility for Bachelor of Dental Science:

Dental School Requirements include H.S.C. (10+2) with English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology with at least 50% marks. Admission to graduate courses in dentistry is through a general, nationwide competitive examination.
Entrance Examinations are conducted in major cities all over India. Advertisements are given, regarding an issue of Application forms for Common Entrance Examination, important dates etc., in all leading newspapers all over India, are also notified. The All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Exam conducted by the CBSE is common for both the M.B.B.S. and the Bachelor of Dental Sciences (BDS). The allocation of institutions is based on merit.
Other than the centrally run medical institutions there is at least one dental college in most states, where admission is governed by domiciliary status. But to be eligible for practice, one must ensure that the course chosen is approved by the Dental Council of India.

Advantages of Bachelor of Dental Science:

The field of Medicine is always evergreen and full of opportunities, hence a number of jobs for a Bachelor of Dental Science in this sector are rising.
The most sought after course, right after MBBS, is the Bachelor of Dental Science [BDS].
Any person in this field has the exciting opportunity to work in both the private sector, as well as the government sector.
They can either work in their own clinic or, in a government clinic.

Admission Process for Bachelor in dental Science:

The admission Process for the course of Bachelor’s in Dental Science is varied, there are certain central Government run exams, while a few renowned Institutes choose to hold entrance exams of their own.
The requirements for a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Science is that the students need to have a minimum 10+2 education in a recognized institute. But, the minimum marks for the eligibility depends on the college that they are looking at.
Students are advised to ensure that they are meeting all the requirements of the college that they are considering.

Entrance exams for Bachelor in Dental Sciences:

There are several exams that are offered to the students, a few notable ones are as follows:

NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test)
AIPMT (All India Pre Medical Test)
MP DMAT (Madhya Pradesh Dental/ Medical Admission Test)
AICET BDS (All India Common Entrance Test Bachelor of Dental Surgery)

Entrance Exam Pattern:

There are several exams that are in place, the general format of NEET is listed here. The candidate is advice to ensure that they find the pattern of the exam that they choose.
The exam will be conducted in a pen and paper based format. Candidates will have to mark their responses in OMR answer sheet provided using a ball point pen.
NEET will consist of 180 questions from all the three subjects. Physics and Chemistry section will consist of 45 questions each, while, Biology section will comprise of 90 questions.
Each question in the NEET question paper will consist of 4 marks. For each correct response, candidates will get 4 marks, whereas 1 mark will be deducted for each incorrect response. No marks will be allotted for any unmarked questions.