Dentistry is one of the most comprehensive areas of medicine. It includes such disciplines as Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Pathology, Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Paediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, Prosthodontics. All of these sub-disciplines are usually taught separately.
In India, training in dentistry is through a 5-year BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) course, which includes 4 years of study followed by one year of internship. As of 2010, there were a total of 291 colleges (39 runs by the government and 252 in the private sector) offering dental education. This amounts to an annual intake of 23,690 graduates.
The three year-full-time Post Graduate Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) is the highest degree in dentistry awarded in India and its holders are bestowed as consultants in one of the following specialities
Dental education in India is regulated by the [Dental Council of India].http://dciindia.gov.in/