Bengaluru: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) is revamping its dental curriculum after a gap of 14 years. The new one will be rolled out for the batch starting from academic year 2025-26.As per Dental Council of India, students have to complete the course within nine years. “Even though colleges under RGUHS have been practising it, the rule — enforced in 2016 by DCI — was never part of the rulebook. This will be incorporated under the new curriculum that is being framed,” said Dr Prabhuji MLV, dean, dental faculty. “Dentistry consists of a four-year course and one-year internship, which has to be completed within a span of nine years. This is meant for chronic repeaters who have been submitting the same papers for several years,” he said.“Similarly, the course calls for three months of practice in hospitals outside the college. This will also be streamlined. Now, even though students go for practice, many do not complete the mandated three months or in the required locations. Once incorporated into the new curriculum, three months of service will be strictly mandated. This is also part of DCI regulations,” he added.The curriculum will be in sync with what has been prescribed by the council. In addition, the university will also bring in amendments in the syllabus by incorporating new-age technology. “There are newer topics like implantology, digital dentistry, etc, that we want to offer students. These will be included in separate chapters,” he said.RGUHS has 37 dental colleges under it, and intake is around 2,500 per year. While the syllabus has been updated frequently, the curriculum wasn’t after 2011.
