Career after BDS: Scope, Job Opportunities, and Salary

Want to know about career scope and job opportunities after BDS? Read the article to know all about career options, salary offered and other crucial information related to jobs.

BDS is a five-year undergraduate degree course offered by dental colleges across the country. It stands for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery. The course is equivalent to MBBS where students are taught denture, dental problems, and surgery. Students get admission to BDS through the NEET exam.

With a steep rise in dental issues due to several reasons and a lack of a sufficient number of expert doctors, BDS is one of the most sought-after degree courses. BDS programme offers abundant career opportunities to students who can work in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and the medical device manufacturing industries. After attaining the degree from a well-recognized college or university, candidates can start their own practice as a dentist who diagnoses dental problems and suggest treatment plans accordingly. There is a great future in academics, research, and government departments as well for the BDS students. The average salary of BDS graduates is around Rs 3.05 LPA in India. Read the article to know more about career prospects, scope, and job profiles for BDS graduates.

Scope in BDS: Employment Areas

Earlier, there used to be limited scope for BDS students who had to either go for higher education or start their own private practice. Today there are numerous options to these graduates. They can choose to work among the following employment areas:

Dental Clinics
Hospitals
Educational Institutions
Pharmaceutical Companies
Dental Products Manufactures
Private Practice
Research Institutes

Career Options After BDS

After finishing five years BDS course including four years of academics and one-year internship, candidates look for opportunities available in this field. BDS offers a bright career prospect to students due to the high demand of graduates in India and abroad in various domains of medicine and dental science. There are various avenues where BDS students can make careers at. In terms of jobs, this field is one of the most enticing where graduates are paid a decent annual salary. The career options are broadly classified as follows:

Higher Study
Private Practice
Career in Private/Government sector
Academics and Research

Career after BDS: Higher Study

After BDS, students who aim for higher study can opt for various masters or Ph.D courses. These courses further polish their skill and enhance their knowledge in different aspects of dental surgery. They can choose among the following courses:

Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS): After BDS, candidates can do a master's course. The admission is provided on the basis of the scores in NEET MDS exam conducted by NBE. Those who clear the entrance exam get admission to different MDS specialisation courses. Some of the specialty areas of dentistry include Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology, and Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology.

Masters in Public Health (MPH): This is another course which students can opt to spur career growth. Those who don’t want to choose a traditional field can go for this course which makes them learn the skill to manage public health. After the course, these candidates are recruited in various roles of administration or management, policy, community practice, and research.

Masters in Business Administration (MBA) – Hospital Management / Administration: This is another professional course that provides alternative career options to students. Students learn the professional skills of management and administration which helps them to get recruited by medical institutes, hospitals, nursing homes, and NGOs operating in the health sector.

Other Dental Courses: In addition, there is a range of new-age courses including Dental Cosmetology, Forensic Odontology, and Dental Product Design which aim to provide expertise as per the emerging trends in the dental field. Some of them are as follows:

Course name	Type of programme	Duration
Diploma in Dental Hygienist	Diploma programme	2 years
Diploma in Dental Ceramic Technology	Diploma programme	3 year
Diploma in Dental Mechanic and Hygienist	Diploma programme	2 years
Course in Aesthetic Dentistry	Certificate programme	1 year
Course in Implantology	Certificate programme	1 year
MDS Periodontics & Implantology	Post-graduate programme	2 years
MDS In Pedodontics	Post-graduate programme	2 years
PG Diploma in Laser Dentistry	Post-graduate programme	2 years

Colleges Offering BDS Courses

The table mentions a list of some of the top colleges offering BDS courses:

College name	City	Annual Fees (Rs)
Karnavati School of Dentistry, Karnavati University	Ahmedabad	14.4 LPA
Amrita School Of Dentistry	Kochi	20 LPA
Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences	New Delhi	16, 480
Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre	Bhopal	8.8 LPA
Army College of Dental Sciences	Secunderabad	3.63 LPA
DMIMSU - Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences	Wardha	17.5 LPA
Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital	Pune	22 LPA
College of Dental Sciences	Davangere	18.75 LPA
Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal	Mangalore	28 LPA
School of Dental Sciences (SDS), Sharda University	Greater Noida	13.6 LPA

Career After BDS: Clinical Practice

BDS graduates can become self-boss by choosing self-practice. Private clinical practice is one of the traditional career options which has its own professional and personal advantages. Setting up a private clinic may require a small investment initially but it could be rewarding in the long run. Private practice does not refer to individual single dentist private practice always but it could be a corporate dental clinic or a hospital attached dental practice.

BDS Career in Private/Government Sectors

There is a wide range of career options in private or government sectors as well after BDS. In the private sector, they can work in hospitals, clinics, and pharma companies on different profiles. They can also work in government sectors as Dental Surgeon in hospitals, Army Dental Corps, Territorial Officer in Indian Army, Dentist in Railways, and Dental Officer in the Indian Navy and Indian Air force.

Academics and Research Scope in BDS

BDS candidates can adopt the teaching profession as a lecturer in any private or government dental institutes or colleges. Generally, fresh graduates who have a knack for teaching pursue careers in academics. They can also teach in state government colleges as a teaching faculty. Some of them also choose to make a career in research. Institutes like ICMR, AIIMS, National Institute of Epidemiology, Dental and Medical Institutes look for dentists to work as research assistants or associates.

Career after BDS: Job Profiles and Salary

After BDS, students get employed on different job profiles including dentist, dental surgeon, dental hygienist, dental assistant, oral pathologist. These graduates are also preferred by companies abroad. These graduates usually earn Rs 15,00 to 30,000 in India which increases with the nature of the job and responsibility. With MDS and other higher education degrees, their salary increases manifold. Some of the job profiles and their average salary have been mentioned in the table given below:

Job Profile	Average salary (in Rs)
Dentist	3.5 LPA
Dental Hygienist	3 LPA
Oral Pathologist	4 LPA
Dental Surgeon	5-7 LPA
Dental Scientist	6-8 LPA
Lecturer	4-5 LPA

Note: Average salary may vary with experience and the nature of jobs

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