Dayananda Sagar Institutions has opened the Dayananda Sagar College of Dental Sciences in Bangalore. The college was inaugurated by Dr Anil Kholi, president, Dental Council of India. The new college has a hospital attached to it to ensure that the practical exposure is imparted as part of the theoretical sessions. The new facilities created for the dental college and hospital will provide a source for qualified dentists, said Dr Kholi at the inauguration.

“With supply of dentists increasing by the year more jobs are needed to be created to provide good employment to the new batches of dentists coming out of all the colleges across the country. DCI is making all out efforts to ensure that the government provides suitable environment for the development of colleges that can offer the growing breed of dentists in the country,” he added.

The rural population is missing out on minimum assistance of dental care. As long as healthcare professionals are not willing to serve in rural areas demand-supply mismatch would exist. There is a huge untapped demand especially for dentists in India’s villages. The concentration of doctors in cities should change. Dispersal and movement is needed for the entire country to benefit from the intellect that Indian education system has been producing in its colleges and universities, said Dr D Hemachandra Sagar MLA and chairman of Dayananda Sagar Institutions.

In Karnataka, there are 29 dental colleges, of which 28 are in the private sector and one in the government. The new Dayananda Sagar College of Dental Sciences will take the total number to 30.

According to dental experts, in India, the present dentist to population ratio is 1:30,000. There is a serious shortage of trained expertise and the disease pattern in oral health is increasing because of the lifestyle disorders like diabetes and smoking which result in chronic to serious conditions like dental caries, periodontal diseases, malocclusion and oral cancers.