Story of a Dentist, who has touched my life as Principal of MR Ambedkar Dental College & Hospital

Story of a Dentist, who has touched my life as Principal of MR Ambedkar Dental College & Hospital

Dr. K.S GANAPATHY B.sc., B.D.S, M.D.S (Oral Medicine & Radiology)

Former:

-          Member – Dental Council of India

-          Chairman- Faculty of Dentistry; Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences; Bangalore

-          President- Indian Academy of Oral Medicine & Radiology

-          Principal- Mathrushri Ramabai Ambedkar Dental College, Bangalore

-          Principal- The Oxford Dental College, Bangalore

I feel elated given the fact that my professional career had a very humble beginning. It is generally believed that scientific talent reveals itself in early youth. The child collects specimens, dissects small animals, and sometimes sets laboratories on fire! No such thing for me. Somehow, I slid into this profession and I am glad I did. This profession has given me all I want from life and more. I am honored to be part of a group of individuals whose lives are dedicated to making a difference whether it is to relieve pain or to create smiles. I am glad to be a part of people who are compassionate and make a difference in Oral Health in this country.

I am proud to say that I am the product of Government Dental College, Bangalore. I did my graduation and post-graduation in DENTISTRY from this great institution. During that period it was graded as one of the best DENTAL SCHOOLS in the whole of southeast Asia. That was the only Dental College in the whole of Karnataka State then. The story now is totally different!

In the era in which I was a student pursuing DENTISTRY, we had the great fortune to get ourselves trained by some of the brightest and most able teachers who had incredible devotion to their students. We are indebted to those teachers who have enriched our lives and our community immeasurably and challenged us to become better Doctors, better citizens, and better people. To them, I pledge my conscience, my compassion, and my capabilities.

My heart is overflowing with gratitude towards this great institution that groomed and shaped me as an individual to serve the suffering humanity.

For the major portion of my professional career, I worked as a Faculty member. I started my teaching career in my Alma Mater. Later I joined M R Ambedkar Dental College, Bangalore, and the Oxford Dental College in Bangalore. During my long tenure of 32 years of teaching after post-graduation, I served as Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Professor and Head of Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, and Principal of the institution as well. As a post-graduate guide, I have had the pleasure of seeing many youngsters passing our college with profound knowledge in the subject of their specialization, that is, “ORAL MEDICINE & RADIOLOGY.”

When I was a student Government Dental College in Bangalore was the only Dental School in the state of Karnataka. Whereas today Karnataka alone has as many as 40 Dental Schools. Barring one the rest of the 39 are under private management. In fact, Karnataka is leading all the other states in the country as for the number of medical and dental teaching institutions are concerned.

During our student days, the admission of Government Dental College for BDS used to be 40 per annum and even these 40 seats never used to get filled up. There was no dearth of clinical materials for our training then. We were exposed to a variety of cases. Our teachers used to encourage us and guide us to handle difficult cases. As a result, we gained the confidence to handle not only routine cases but also some difficult cases such as minor surgery, impactions, etc. on our own once we passed out. This was possible because the teacher-student ratio was 1:8.

Today the scenario is quite different. There are more than 280 Dental Colleges spread all over the country and each college invariably has an admission strength of 100 per annum for BDS course and an average of 6 to 9 candidates for specialty per annum for M.D.S course. Thanks to the generosity of the Dental Council of India (DCI), which is the apex body for the maintenance of uniform standards of dental education – both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the country.

Because of the sudden mushrooming of Dental Colleges in the country many of them are facing the hazards of lack of teaching faculty, inadequate clinical materials required for the training of dental students as per the DCI prescribed curricula, dwindling standards of Dental education, and poor results. Obviously, the standard of Dental Educator is being compromised.

There has been a tremendous advancement in the field of Dental Science and Technology particularly in the field of restorative dentistry. Dental Material sciences have been revolutionized. Some of the dental Materials such as Silicate Cements, Silver Amalgam, etc. which were being used during our student days have become obsolete and new materials like composites with much better qualities strength-wise, esthetic-wise, adaptability-wise have emerged and are being used extensively at present. As practicing dentists we have to keep ourselves updated with the changes that are taking place in the field of Dental Sciences so that we can provide better service and quality treatment to needy patients. Hence it is absolutely necessary for us to attend Continuing Dental Education programmes that are being conducted periodically by various scientific academies.

Another area that has made incredible development is the diagnostic imaging technique. The conventional X-ray film-based radiography has become obsolete, although it has its own merits. The present-day imagiology includes CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Digital and 3D Imaging, Ultrasound imaging, Radiovisiography using intraoral sensors, etc. By these various imaging technologies available one can precisely diagnose the location, size, nature of the lesion, its extent and involvement to the neighboring structures, etc. This will greatly help surgeons to decide where exactly to put the knife. As Dental surgeons, we must have basic knowledge and familiarize ourselves with the uses and indications for the above-mentioned imaging technologies so that we can advise the patient to go for the particular imaging depending on what his problem or ailment is

Of late LASERS have invaded the field of dentistry as well. Nowadays soft lasers are being used for the treatment of various Oral Soft tissue lesions.

Hence it goes without saying that it is absolutely necessary to keep ourselves abreast of the advancing science and technology that happening in the field of our profession by reading journals, attending scientific conventions and continuing education programmes, etc. So that we are better equipped with the latest knowledge to provide quality service to the public at large.

Otherwise, we will be left far behind in the race of acquiring professional acumen.