A professional who takes care of your teeth, gums, hard and soft tissues of oral cavity and the mouth as a whole is called a dentist, and the profession Dentistry.
A rewarding profession monetarily and socially, dentistry deals with the problems related to oral health and hygiene. As professionals, dentists’ area of operation is dental care and correction, and thereby, they help their patients not only to maintain oral health but also work to boost their facial appearance.
The advancement in surgical technology opened up newer and viable vistas of opportunities and challenges in the field of dentistry, so much so that the profession came to occupy a pivotal position in the realm of healthcare system.
The growing health consciousness of the modern times has redefined the course and contours of dentistry. Periodontics, orthodontics and oral pathology are the new entrants in the modern day dentistry which broadened the scope of the profession.
Periodontics deals with care of gums and the treatment of the myriad diseases afflicting them). Orthodontics concerns with alignment of teeth and jaws while oral pathology is diagnosis for diseases afflicting the mouth.
The vastness of the field can be gauged from the fact that dentists or dental surgeons today have among their patients, people belonging to a wide variety of groups. They treat them in diverse situations employing modern and state of the art techniques.
They Fill, crown and scale and even extract teeth if warranted. Besides treatment of gum diseases, fixing of artificial replacements and carrying out surgery of teeth and jaw, in case of injuries or other irregularities, come under their jurisdiction.
Eligibility: A bachelor’s degree in Dental Science (BDS) is a minimum qualification for a career in dentistry. However, one needs to go further for specialisation.
Remuneration: New incumbents in the profession draw a monthly salary of Rs 6,000 in government hospitals. Private hospitals start from a pay packet of Rs 3,500.