1. Public Health Dentistry as a Profession in India Re - view
Chandrashekar Janakiram  PhD MS MDS DNB
 Bioethics I Epidemiology
Affiliations -- ARHA I NGO I Bangalore
Professor I Amrita School of Dentistry I Cochin

2. Disclaimer !
Some of the view expressed are from personal communications
Partly from the study findings
Any information are expressed here are purely coincidental in conjunction with others.

3. Dental Public Health is that form of dental practice that serves the community as a patient rather than the individual

4. One might wonder ! Why …..
Dental Public Health or Public Health Dentistry
Why Not ?
Public Health Paediatrics
Public Health Ophthalmology
Mental Public Health
Public Health Pulmonology or
Public Health Gynaecology so on
Any body has an answer ?

5. Where it stands ? Medicine Dentistry Public Health
Public Health Dentistry
It is super speciality – highly ! highly ! focused area
Dentistry + Public Health

7. Pandemic nature of Oral diseases …1940s
Dental Caries
Dental Fluorosis
Social and economic conquences -----
Con-concurrent prevalence of Non Communicable diseases in West compounded the problem !

8. Community Based techniques…….

9. Community based techniques……
Sugar policy ( from Diabetes or NCD)
Extensive usage of the ICE
School based oral disease interventions

11. Journey,,,,,,,
Started from general dentist and even non dentist … with some knowledge or special training in public health
Arise -- out of need to combat community oral diseases
Off course ! Public health is everybody’s domain !

12. Journey,,,,,,,
With special training, borrowed from the public health related to Dentistry
Dental public health focus on : Assurance, Advocacy and Policy implications
Public health dentistry is more of Western Concepts adopted in India

13. Journey….. India Last domain or speciality to be developed
Arise -- due to lack of knowledge or awareness of dental public health
Initial development was due to lack of numbers (Manpower)

14. Journey….. India
Now numbers growing with tentacles of centres of education in dental public health is spreading across the country
75 dental colleges MDS seats
It has grown enormously {peak growth} in last decade
Reaching the transition stage -- Pink component is more !!!

15. We have passed through different identities ..
Preventive and Social Dentistry
Preventive and Community Dentistry
Community Dentistry
Public Health Dentistry

16. Public health dentistry is a profession

17. Profession has……..

18. Profession as Public Health Dentistry
Education – MDS ,,, DNB ? ,,,, PhD
Goals -- Public health dentists promote oral health by:
assessing the oral health needs of the community
developing and implementing oral health policy
providing programs and services that address oral health issues
Vision –Equitable oral health care for Indian population
Skills –
public health administration, research methodology, the prevention and control of oral diseases, and the delivery and financing of oral health care.

19. We have unique Post Graduation degree in
Master of Dental Surgery in
Public Health Dentistry

20. Value creations in Public Health Dentistry
Age of retirement will be raised to 70 years !!!
MDS Periodontia can not teach Public Health Dentistry – DCI 2014

21. Value proportions
MDS Course
After MDS

22. Profession as Public Health Dentistry
Career options
Teaching – Dental schools
Assistant Professor- Reader – Professor – HoD- Principal
Research institutions ??
Public health Practice
Government ? ?
NGOs - Health care
Program Managers
Where are other jobs ?

23. Some of Findings from Study
Career Satisfaction of Public Health Dentist from India
Online survey
Approached 560
Ongoing
Interim analysis 153 responses

24. Reasons for choosing public health dentistry as a career

25. Accomplishment as public health dentist

26. Is course correction required in MDS

27. How would you envision in another ten years practice of public health dentistry

28. Thought of practicing public health dentistry other teaching ..

29. What aspects of training in public health dentistry needs to be amended

30. Recognition as Public health dentist

31. What makes career in Public Health Dentistry ?

32. Public Health Dentistry is a profession –Hard FACTS
Is subject born out necessity to user – patient or community needs
Does public health dentistry has been practiced or it is dependent on institution support
Honest answer ? Yes and No or confused
It has become more of Teaching profession rather than practice ….
Teaching needs latest inputs from the public health practice,,,

33. Value creations are less or we have not explored its full potentiality
Public Health Dentistry is a profession –Hard FACTS - Introspection
Value creations are less or we have not explored its full potentiality
Is the profession is making the difference in oral health care ?
Is the profession is creating more opportunities ?
Is the career in the profession is satisfied ?
Is profession has become for personal achievement

34. Concluding …..
Success of the public health dentistry as profession has been well established in other countries
The profession is making in difference oral health care of those populations
We have explore the full potentiality of the Public health profession

35. We need to go further ahead with…….