BDS course in Nepal

Overview of Dentistry and BDS course in Nepal

You happily pay a visit to this professional to get a million-dollar smile. Yes, we are talking about the dentist and dentistry. The first step to becoming a dentist is to study BDS course. BDS stands for Bachelors in Dental Surgery. Dentistry is one of the fastest-growing profession in Nepal as people in Nepal are concerned about their teeth recently.  Dentistry is a branch of medical science that deals with the study of inspection, treatment of teeth, gums and other parts of the oral cavity.  Dentists are of care include not only their patient’s teeth and gums but also the muscles of the head, neck and jaw tongue, salivary glands, the nervous system of the head and neck and other areas.

BDS course means a field of medical science where you learn about dentistry. This course will help you develop the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to graduate as a dental professional capable to care for the oral health of the patient and thereby influence positively the patient’s systemic health. As mentioned above, this course is four and half years course with one year of compulsory rotating internship. This course has three major components namely: Integrated medical science, Clinical Medical Science and Clinical Dental science. In Nepal, the need for this course is increasing day by day as it only not cares about the oral health of people but also cares about cosmetic surgery of teeth.

dentist checking teeth during the internship of BDS course
Dentist checking teeth of a small boy

Due to the advancements in the development of medical equipment and increasing awareness of oral health and the introduction of non-fields like oral pathology, periodontist and orthodontics have all enhanced the scope in this field. Dentistry is changing rapidly with a flow of time, creating many challenges and opportunities.

During a comprehensive examination dentists examine not only the teeth and gums but also look for lumps, swellings discolourations, any abnormality when appropriate, they perform procedures such as biopsies, diagnostic tests for chronic or infectious diseases, salivary gland function and screening tests for oral cancer.  They treat a diverse group of patients that include filling, screening and scaling of teeth, extracting teeth, artificial filling of teeth, treating gums and oral cavity diseases, trauma surgery, implants, tissue grafts and laser surgery.

Brief overview of BDS course in Nepal:

  • Course Name: Bachelor Of Dental Surgery (BDS)
  • Duration: 4 and half-year with a one-year internship
  • Academic year: Yearly
  • Evaluation method: Percentage
  • Affiliation: Tribhuwan University (TU) , Kathmandu University (KU)

Eligibility for BDS course in Nepal:

  1. Candidates who have passed 10+2 / ISC with physics chemistry and biology with at least 50% marks are eligible for admission in the Bachelor of Dental Science (BDS) course.
  2. Must be a minimum of 17 years and maximum of 25 years old.

Duration: The BDS degree program is of 4 years followed by 1 year rotator internship.

Curriculum Structure:

The BDS course consists of four and a half years of full-time study and one year of compulsory rotating internship. The first & second-year component deals with the basic medical sciences common to other undergraduate medical degree programs. The third-year component deals basically with clinical subjects. They will learn related disciplines such as General Medicine, General surgery including Anesthesiology, Forensic Dentistry and Oral Pathology. The fourth-year component comprises phase I & phase II which deals with various dental problems from the patients perspective. Students will learn the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the practice of dentistry.

Colleges that conduct BDS course in Nepal:

  • BPKIHS, Dharan
  • People’s Dental College, Nayabazaar KTM (Affiliated to TU)
  • Universal Dental College, Bhairahawa (Affiliated to TU)
  • Kantipur Dental College & Hospital KTM (Affiliated to TU)
  • Nepal Medical College, Jorpati (Affiliated to TU)
  • MB Kedia Dental College Birgunj (Affiliated to TU)
  • KIST Medical College, KTM (Affiliated to TU)
  • Kathmandu University School of Medical Science, Dhulikhel
  • College of Medical Science, Bharatpur (Affiliated to TU)
  • Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar (Affiliated to TU)

The Dentist’s Role:

Dentists are doctors like specialists in oral health.  Their responsibilities include:

  • Diagnosing oral diseases
  • Promoting oral health and diseases prevention
  • Performing X-ray, MRI and diagnostic test of oral & maxillary part of human body.
  • Performing surgical procedures on the teeth bone and soft tissues and oral cavity.
  • Monitoring growth and development of the teeth and gums.
  • Ensuring the safe doze of anesthetics during teeth extraction and facial surgery.

Job prospects after completing BDS course in Nepal and abroad:

Those students who complete the BDS course have many opportunities in Dentistry. They can look forward to a career in dental departments in private and government hospitals, dental treatments centres and even in the teaching department. They can open their own private dental clinic. Besides this, they can get jobs with pharmaceutical companies and other firms that develop oral care products.

The different jobs and career prospects after completing BDS course are listed below:

  • As a dentist in hospitals, clinics (dental), nursing homes and health departments
  • As a teacher or professor in dental teaching colleges.
  • Medical Insurance firms.
  • As a researcher or advisor in a pharmaceutical or a dental care company like Colgate, Pepsodent, Dabar etc.
  • In armed forces, police and armed police
  • As a private consultant of distinguished personalities.

Salary scale of Dentists in Nepal:

A dentist can earn a good sum of money through working in health departments live hospitals, nursing homes, dental clinics and research centre. They can also establish their own private clinics where they can charge Rs. 500 or more than that as a consultant charge.  The cosmetic fillings cost range from Rs. 800 as low to Rs. 40000-Rs. 50000 depending upon the nature of the dental problem the patient is facing. A well-established dentist in Nepal can earn from Rs. 30k to 120k or more per month according to their experience and degree. According to the pay scale of America, a dentist has an average earning of $72 per hour. In Europe also, the dentists are requiring in high number and their salary is also similar to American pay scale.

Further Study after completing BDS course:

After completing the BDS program you can join MDS program. The duration of this course is 2 years and is conducted by TU. You can also try for abroad studies.

    • There are students admitted last year to BDS with just 50, i.e. the pass mark. Then, where do you want to study? Is any school fine? You will not get a seat in a renowned college such as Kathmandu University School of Medicine with just 50 but some least favourite schools. Scoring 70 pretty much secures getting admission anywhere you want.

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