We often talk about saturation and competition among dentists in India . But do you really think that this is the actual problem ?
Or
Is it the lack of a structured system?
Dentistry in India doesn’t feel difficult. Nobody is afraid of working hard or studying hard but it everything here feels …unsystematic !
There is no clear roadmap .
How does the system actually fall short…
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The expansion of dental seats without planning . The increase in dental seats over the years is seen by everybody but the opportunities , infrastructure , roles are still the same .
More graduates but limited vacancies.
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Oral health is not integrated properly in the public healthcare by government . In many developed countries it is included in public healthcare but in India it is funded from ones own pocket which limits the patient and the practitioner .
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Preventive care is still not a priority at a larger scale. Patients don’t seek help until there is pain or it is a bigger issue . Awareness about oral health is still limited.
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There are no defined early career roles. Young dentists are left to figure out everything.
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Learning after the college curriculum really starts and becomes expensive .College forms the foundation but the hand on courses, certifications that actually give you confidence in treating patients are very expensive and are not equally accessible.
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Huge gap between government policies and ground reality .
The problem is not about just career confusion . But it gives you self doubt and pressure over time .
It’s not about dentistry but it is the lack of structured system which starts to make sense for everybody.
We are not lacking dentists . We are lacking a direction .
Do you also think dentistry in India lacks structure or we should just figure out everything on our own?
MBH/PS