Back to BDS
BDS — Bachelor of Dental Surgery — Step-by-Step Roadmap
Your journey, phase by phase
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Phase 1 · Class 11–12 Class 11–12 and eligibility PCB with English; minimum percentages match the medical courses.
- You need Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English.
- Minimum PCB marks: 50% General, 40% SC/ST/OBC, 45% General-PwD.
- You must be 17 years old by 31 December of the admission year.
- BDS has a smaller number of seats than MBBS, so plan for NEET score strategy early.
- Subjects
- PCB + English
- Min. age
- 17 years
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Phase 2 · Class 12 year NEET-UG exam and admission cycle NEET-UG is the single national entrance for BDS, held once a year by the NTA.
- Register on the official NEET-UG portal when applications open (usually in the first quarter of the year); fill in your Class 12 details, upload photo, signature and documents, and pay the fee.
- The exam is a single pen-and-paper test of 180 questions with 720 marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology (Botany and Zoology); correct answers earn 4 marks and wrong answers lose 1 mark.
- The exam is held in May and results come out in June; the NTA publishes an All India Rank and a category rank.
- Qualifying percentile: 50th percentile for General, 40th for SC/ST/OBC and 45th for General-PwD candidates.
- BDS seats are allotted through the MCC for All India Quota and by state counselling for the rest.
- Exam
- NEET-UG (NTA)
- Marks
- 720 (180 questions)
- Marking
- +4 correct, −1 wrong
- Frequency
- Once a year
- Tip: Keep NCERT Class 11–12 Biology and Chemistry as your core; most questions come directly from them.
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Phase 3 · June–September Counselling and college choice Choose a government or private dental college through counselling.
- Register on MCC and your state’s portal and lock your choices after comparing fees and hospital patient load.
- Check that the college is recognised by the Dental Council of India and the state dental body.
- Clinical patient volume matters, since you must treat patients during training.
- Report with originals and pay fees by the deadline.
- Counselling
- MCC + state
- Check
- DCI recognition
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Phase 4 · Year 1–4 Four years of BDS Pre-clinical and clinical dentistry across four professional years.
- Year 1: General Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Dental Anatomy, Histology and Dental Materials.
- Year 2: Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and General Medicine in a dental context.
- Year 3: Oral Pathology, Periodontology, Conservative Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Radiology.
- Year 4: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Paedodontics and Public Health Dentistry, with live clinical work.
- Professional years
- 4
- Exams
- University theory, practical, viva
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Phase 5 · Year 5 Compulsory internship and registration One year of rotating clinical internship, then dental council registration.
- The internship is a one-year compulsory rotating programme in dental departments and community outreach.
- You receive a stipend as set by the institution.
- After the internship you register with the State Dental Council to practise.
- You may start your own clinic or join a hospital.
- Internship
- 12 months
- Registration
- State Dental Council
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Phase 6 · After internship After BDS Specialise, practise or choose related careers.
- MDS entrance: NEET-MDS for specialisation in orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, prosthodontics and more.
- Government dental surgeon jobs through state public service commissions and armed forces dental corps.
- Private practice, dental hospital chains and teaching are common.
- Other options: public health, dental research and dental materials industry.
- PG entrance
- NEET-MDS
Verify on the official source
Exam dates, fees, paper patterns and eligibility rules are revised by the regulator from time to time. Treat this roadmap as your map, and confirm the current rules on the official site before you register or pay any fee.