Courses and Career Options After BDS

Bachelors of Dental Science or BDS is a degree that can be pursued after class 12, allowing students to gain theoretical and practical knowledge about oral hygiene and care of the teeth. BDS is India's only accredited and recognized dental program, and it is required of students who choose to pursue dentistry as a career. The curriculum addresses different types of oral disorders, dentures, and surgery. After completing the course, they would have the necessary experience and ability to pursue dentistry as an occupation. There is a rising demand for dentists, and the field is lucrative, with ample opportunities and scope of growth for students to join. It's a career-focused degree program with openings in the pharmacy, pharmacy, and medical equipment manufacturing sectors.

However, once the course is completed, students are sometimes unsure where they want to go in their careers. This article explains BDS courses that students can opt for or BDS's career options available to students. 

Table of contents 

• Courses After BDS
• Career Opportunities After BDS

Courses After BDS

After graduation, people with BDS degrees can choose to pursue higher education in dental science or opt for other management streams. There are many options to choose from, depending on the students' interests, expertise, and preferred career path. 

A postgraduate degree is beneficial for students to acquire more experience and knowledge in respective specializations, thereby boosting their career scopes. A postgraduate degree offers more scopes in diverse fields depending on the specialization opted. Some of the top postgraduate courses after BDS are:

• MDS
• MBA
• MPH
• Diploma Courses After BDS
• Fellowship Courses After BDS
• Cosmetology Courses After BDS

MDS

After completing a Bachelors's degree, it is the most logical choice to study further in the same field by pursuing an MDS or Masters of Dental Science. Master of Dental Science is a 3-year course that mainly focuses on advanced dentistry and oral surgical techniques. The MDS course prepares students to become dental specialists and practitioners or consultants in their field of specialization. For example, doctors studying MDS can specialize in:

• MDS Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics
• MDS Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• MDS Oral Medicine and Radiology
• MDS Periodontics
• MDS Prosthodontics

Oral Medicine and Radiology is a discipline that focuses on the diagnosis and medical management of key diagnostic and medical conditions involving the mouth and jaws. In addition, radiology prepares aspiring dentists for diagnosis using traditional and advanced imaging techniques.

While BDS graduates can earn up to INR 3.5 LPA in their private practice, dentists with an MDS can earn as high as INR 8 LPA, which increases 6with their experience in the field.

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MBA

MBA is a 2-year program in the field of management. Students can also pursue an MBA after BDS to change their career paths. The course specializes in teaching students the various aspects of business such as finance, operations, planning, and strategy. Most often, graduates from the medical field specializing in MBA help accelerate their career opportunities and take them from being a practising doctor to a part of the management and administration aspects of the industry.

MBA Courses that students interested in management after BDS can opt for are:

• MBA in Healthcare Management
• MBA in Hospital Administration
• MBA in Pharmaceutical Management
• MBA in Clinical and Pharmaceutical Management

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Masters in Public Health

It is a full-time 2-year long course that focuses on the science of creating good health in their surroundings and preventing most kinds of avoidable illnesses from spreading through the local community. The course is not restricted to health in oral care but covers various aspects of the public health care system. If the student aims to pursue a career in the medical field outside of India, having a Masters in Public health is immensely helpful. MPH course is one of the comings of the age courses and has been gaining popularity in countries like the US, Australia, etc. Therefore, MPH can be considered as the path to career growth if one wants to move abroad.

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Diploma Courses After BDS

After completing BDS, students who wish to pursue a short-term course and gain specialized knowledge can opt for a diploma course. The course provides intensive knowledge in the fields of specialization. A one-year certificate course provides students with deep knowledge and certification, which would give them an added edge over others. Some popular courses are:

• PG Certificate in Oral Implantology
• PG Certificate in Laser Dentistry
• PG Certificate in Endodontics

PG Certificate in Oral Implantology

It is a one-year diploma course that is available for BDS/MDS graduates only. The course is designed in case studies that top dentists have seen repeatedly, and students gain much necessary knowledge to start their careers. Dentists are capable and well trained after the course to work with dental implants, dentures, etc.

PG Certificate in Laser Dentistry

Laser Dentistry is a one-year diploma course. It specializes in teaching students minimally invasive procedures to take care of ailments such as a cavity, tooth decay, and infections. Laser Dentistry is a relatively newer field of study, and specializing in this niche would set students apart. It focuses on practical expertise with a comprehensive course on the use of lasers in this field. Dentists can utilize the knowledge gained from this diploma as technicians or in their practice of dentistry. 

PG Certificate in Endodontics 

Endodontics certificate is a one-year course. The branch of dentistry concentrates on the dental pulp and the inner layers of the teeth. Having a PG certificate in Endodontics helps dentists become well equipped to handle highly skilled procedures such as root canals, traumatic dental injuries, etc. This makes them more skilled in their practice.

Fellowship Courses After BDS

Students who have graduated in BDS and need more relevant experience and guidance in their field can opt for fellowship courses. Fellowship courses allow students to learn and upgrade their skills while they gain practical experience. Expertise in this course is gained through theoretical knowledge and clinical experience that allows dentists to learn through immersion. They can be involved in research programs or gain experience in specific fields such as aesthetic dentistry, rotary endodontics, smile designing, etc. 

Some courses that students can opt for are:

• Fellowship in Aesthetic Dentistry and Occlusion
• Fellowship in Rotary Endodontics
• Fellowship in Smile Designing
• Mastership in Implantology
• Fellowship in Facial Esthetics

Cosmetology Courses after BDS

It is a one-year course to be completed post-graduation as a registered dentist. Clinical cosmetology emerged as a new discipline as mainstream medical science and aesthetic beauty treatments merged. There has been a surge in the requirement of dental surgeons who work on the aesthetic corrections of the dental region. In recent years, it has grown at an incredible rate in India and abroad. As a result, medical schools have seen a surge in demand for cosmetological procedures and aesthetics of the dental region. Pursuing a course in cosmetology is highly remunerative. 

Career Opportunities After BDS

The dentistry sector is an ever-growing field with ample opportunities for dentists to practice and grow in their chosen areas of specialization. There is good scope for freshers in the field of dentistry, with a starting salary of Rs. 25,000 per month. On average, dentists can expect to earn Rs. 10 LPA in their first year, which changes based on their experience. 

The scope for job opportunities after BDS is largely in the medical field in the following areas:

• Dental Practice in Clinics/ Hospital
• Manufacture of Dental Equipment
• Teaching at Educational Institutions
• Dental Research
• Medical Writing
• Oral Pathology

We detail the most popular ones below.

Private Clinics/ Hospitals

After completing BDS, dentists can choose to set up a clinic and become self-employed. Entrepreneurship allows them to practice their dentistry and helps develop entrepreneurial skills. Some dentists may also prefer to work in other practising dentists' clinics or hospitals to gain more experience and maintain a steady income. Self-practice allows them to focus only on growing their skills as other concerns unburden them. Gaining experience under the guidance of established dentists is of great importance in a field requiring highly technical skills. Dentists can start earning up to INR 3.5 LPA from the beginning of their career, rising to INR 7-8 LPA within five years of practice. 

Teaching at Educational Institutions 

All medical colleges teaching dentistry are required to have a specific number of BDS graduates teaching the course. This number varies according to the size of the institute and the number of students. Those who wish to move away from practice and join the academic field can also become teachers. The field is well paying and averages INR 8 LPA for assistant professors in the field.

Clinical Research

There has been a rapid expansion of the need to have clinical research in the field of dentistry. With new medical advancements emerging every day, the field is filled with opportunities to start new research in an unexplored field or join an existing research design and provide valuable inputs. In addition, dentists in the field are highly valued outside of India, where the dental field's scope is higher. 

Medical Writers

Medical writers compile information for a new product or method by gathering and organizing data. They work with various employees to gather such information, which is then coordinated to generate an informative write-up on new products or procedures.