Dr r. ahmed dental college, calcutta

Dr R. Ahmed Dental College is the oldest dental college in Southeast Asia. It was established in 1920 by Dr Rafiuddin Ahmed, a renowned dentist. The institute was then located at Bowbazar, Calcutta. It was shifted to its current address at Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road in 1930. The college started the bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) course in 1952 with a batch of 50 students. In 2006, it was permitted to increase the number of BDS students to 100.

Candidates are admitted on the basis of their scores in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE). The college also offers master degree in dental surgery (MDS) which started in the early Eighties. Till 2006, the number of students in the MDS degree programme was only 14 and two years later, it increased to 22. “We hope that we can add six more seats when the next session commences,” says Dr Dibyendu Majumdar, principal.

The MDS course starts in May and the session for the BDS course commences in August.

“The college has been granted sanction to start a course in endodontics (a branch of dentistry that deals basically with root canal treatment) in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou),” says Dr Majumdar.

The BDS programme is of four years with another year for internship. Says Khushboo Vagisha, a final-year student, “We gain a lot of hands-on experience. The infrastructure may not be state-of-the-art but the experience that you gain by handling so many cases makes you an expert even before you pass out from the college.”

As for the infrastructure not being top-class, the principal offers a different opinion. “We have all the required equipment and our college is the only government institution in India to have got the latest laser technology.”

In the first year, students get to study anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. They are taught fundamentals of pharmacology, pathology, microbiology and dental anatomy. Third year onwards, students have to go on rounds and visit patients. The third-year course comprises medicine, surgery and oral pathology. There are both theory and practical classes.

In the fourth year, students have a lot of studying to do. Apart from oral surgery, they also learn the basics of conservative dentistry, which is about the conservation of teeth. Students gain knowledge on the practice of operative dentistry and endodontics as well as various kinds of direct and indirect restoration of each tooth. Prosthetic dentistry trains students on the restoration or replacement of teeth. This covers crowns (full restoration of the tooth), bridges (replacement of a missing tooth), dentures (replacement of a missing tooth or a full arch) and implants (replacement of missing teeth).

Orthodontics or orthodontia is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusion (improper bites), disproportionate jaw relationships, or both. The orthodontics department of the college is one of the best in the country. Students also have to study peridontia, the branch of dentistry that deals with diseases of the bone, connecting tissue and gum surrounding a tooth, and pedodontia, which specialises in children’s dental care.

MDS students have to study all the subjects covered in the fourth year of BDS along with oral pathology. The fees for the BDS and MDS programmes are Rs 650 and Rs 1,000 (per month) respectively. The admission fee for the BDS programme is Rs 1,000 and students have to deposit a caution fee of the same amount. The admission fee for the masters programme is Rs 2,000 and the caution deposit Rs 10,000.

Students are all praise for the faculty. Says Vagisha, “We require more of practical / clinical knowledge than theoretical knowledge and the teachers make sure that we gain the requisite exposure.” The faculty strength at present stands at 50.

There are separate hostels for boys and girls and the total cost, including mess charges, comes to around Rs 350.

The college will turn 100 in 2020. Says the principal, “We plan to launch a website soon as that will give the institution more exposure.”

Going by the number of students eager to get admission to the college or the number of patients visiting it on a regular basis, it surely doesn’t feel that the college needs further exposure than it already gets.

Vital Statistics:-

WHAT IS IT? It is a government-run dental college

WHO’S THE BOSS? Dibyendu Majumdar is the principal

what is the fee? The fees for the BDS and MDS courses are Rs 650 and Rs 1,000 per year respectively

where is it? 114, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Calcutta-700014
Phone: 22655771

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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