What are the Best Career Options After BDS(Bachelor of Dental Surgery)?

The Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) is one of India's most respectable degrees, being very professional. After BDS, students watch a number of entrance tests that would lead them towards the best career options for a BDS graduate. A student has no idea about the difficult situations he or she might face before entering dentistry. After completing an internship, this dream breaks and he/she faces the hard realities of the industry. So, a dentist should be aware of the career options after BDS.

Top Career Options After BDS

1. Pursue Higher Education: Go for MDS After BDS

After completing BDS, a student can do MDS by clearing the NEET exam and entering either a government college or a private college. The benefit of pursuing MDS is that it will give you additional clinical knowledge that can be used in your clinical practice.

Also Read :- Top specializations in MDS to study after BDS

2. MBA in Hospital Management: The New Generation Course

MBA is a new trend among BDS graduates. Most of them are going for an MBA in Hospital Administration, whereas others opt for other streams in MBA

3. Become a Certified Dietitian

A dentist equipped with clinical understanding can go for courses in Nutrition and Dietetics offered by prestigious universities across the world. With this, you can also have the option of working as a dietitian with good hospitals.

4. Opt for MPH (Masters in Public Health)

Like MBA, MPH after BDS is also an alternative career option for dentists. The main attraction of this career is the potential chance to settle abroad. Many corporate companies and government sectors are looking for Master's in public health.

5. Teaching Career: Become a Dental Lecturer

One of the most common career options after BDS is joining a dental college as a faculty member. By doing so, you will also learn and prepare for PG or NEET exams. You can also use this time and salary to kick-start your own dental practice. To become a senior lecturer, you can pursue MDS and expect exponential career growth in teaching after MDS. This is also one of the best career options for a BDS graduate.

6. Start Your Own Dental Practice

The opening of a dental clinic is a good career option after BDS as it is a very good source of income. But at the same time, you will have to invest a lot before you hope for a sizable return. Also, you must research where to open and what is the competitive status in that area. It is recommended that after your BDS join any private clinic and make at least a year's experience in RCT, Crown-cutting, Impactions, etc. so that you can learn to manage patients, finance, expenses, and treatments.

7. Practice Dentistry Abroad:

Pursuing your profession overseas is a glorious career opportunity. But each country has separate rules and exams to be eligible for practice.

• USA: A dentist must clear the NBDE Part 1 and 2 exams first. After clearing, he/she must join a dental college and learn DDS which is a valid dental degree in the US.
• New Zealand: A foreign dental degree is not valid directly in New Zealand. So in order to register with the Dental Council of New Zealand, one needs to clear their qualifying exam- New Zealand Dentist Registration Exam (NZDREX).
• Canada: To be eligible for practicing in Canada, a foreign dentist must go through a series of steps/exams and pass them successfully to get legally certified as a dentist to practice in Canada.
• Australia: If you want to work as a licensed dentist in Australia, you will need to go through an assessment process that formally checks and reviews your eligibility, dental subject knowledge and clinical expertise in dentistry. This assessment is undertaken by ADC (Australian Dental Council) in three stages. You need to pass all the three stages to qualify. Only after qualifying ADC, you can apply for a dentist license with DBA (Dental Board of Australia). Thereafter, the DBA shall review the application and subsequently give a final decision on dentist licensing registration application.
• Singapore: For one to be qualified to practice as a dentist in Singapore, the applicant should hold a dental degree approved by the Singapore Dental Council.
• UAE: To be eligible for employment at Dubai specifically, one must possess a DOH license from the Dubai Health Authority, the Health Ministry of UAE. You can also appear for a Dental GP exam if you have completed BDS with a one-year internship with a teaching hospital. In case you have not interned, then two years of practice in a non-teaching hospital is required.

Each country has its own exam and licensing process. Here's a quick overview:

8. A career in Mission Gulf Countries

This is a very good career opportunity after BDS as it is easy and reasonable to go to any gulf country. The salary range of a BDS will be a minimum Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakh. For this, the candidate must clear the MOH (Ministry of Health) exam which is not that difficult to clear. Through this, you can get placed into government sectors of Gulf countries. We have the option of earning a good amount of money from there and then returning to your place and opening a nice dental clinic.

9. Government Job as a Dentist after BDS

The central and State governments have a few openings for dentists in various sectors with the initial rural posting and later, a permanent posting depending on the departments. A Government job is indeed a secured job and comes with various privileges in the form of insurance and pension schemes.

9. Government Job as a Dentist after BDS

The central and State governments have a few openings for dentists in various sectors with the initial rural posting and later, a permanent posting depending on the departments. A Government job is indeed a secured job and comes with various privileges in the form of insurance and pension schemes.

List of some government dental jobs:

• Army Dental Corps
• Territorial Officer in Indian Army
• Railways Dentist
• Dental Officer in Navy/Air Force
• State Government Jobs, as Dental Surgeon etc

These roles offer job security, perks, and retirement benefits.

10. Join the Indian Army Dental Corps

You can join the army dental corps where you will be into a respectable government job with good income. They recruit civil dentists too. It is not necessary that you should be a graduate of Army Dental College.

11. Dental Blogging and Content Creation

This is one of the great career options after BDS. You can teach, learn and earn. You can create a blog for dentists and dental students, and share articles, videos, news, etc which are well-researched. This way, you can get paid by Google, sponsors, affiliates, etc.

12. Clinical Research Opportunities

Second to none, India is the second largest pharmaceutical market in Asia. This therefore makes it a country to extort pharmaceutical research services to the entire industry, thus giving rise to a lucrative career.

A BDS graduate can have various job roles available in this sector: Principal Investigator, Co-investigator, Medical Advisor, Drug Developer, Regulatory Affairs Manager or even a Clinical Research Physician.

13. A career in Dental Cosmetology

In this modern world, people are increasingly becoming conscious about how they look. They do not mind spending a considerable sum to make themselves look good.

This has led to an increased demand for clinical cosmetologists. The course of cosmetology will help you in gaining extensive knowledge and expertise to become an expert in cosmetology treatments.

Trending & Emerging Careers After BDS in 2025

Summary Table: Clinical vs Non-Clinical BDS Career Options

Final Thoughts: Which Career Option after BDS is Right for You?

For someone passionately interested in surgeries, teaching, public health, or even blogging, the career options after BDS will have one aligned at least in some manner with the individual's interests.

Because of this flexibility, every avenue offers options for the students to come in together. Dentistry is one of the most prestigious and rewarding professions in the healthcare sector. Ultimately, your choices should be dictated by your interests and priorities. So you must take care of adequately searching for the choice that you definitely want to pursue for your future.

FAQs

1. What is the highest paid job in BDS?

Highest-paid professions after BDS are generally in oral and maxillofacial surgery, dental cosmetology, and private dental practice with good clientele having one or more of them. Dentists pursuing MDS in a specialized subject area, going out to work abroad, or establishing their own multi-chair dental clinics usually make a lot more money. Other high-paying avenues are hospital administration, clinical research, or consulting with global healthcare companies.

2. Can I get 100% job after BDS?

BDS is a highly respected degree, but getting a 100 percent job placement immediately after one's graduation is not promised. This will depend on aspects like academic performance, clinical skills, the geographical area one chooses to practice, and many more factors. Opportunities are there in private practice, hospitals, research, teaching, or even the non-clinical fields. A person can definitely improve his employability and career opportunities using upskilling in MDS, MBA, MPH, or certification courses in cosmetic dentistry or clinical research.

3. What is the future after BDS?

The future after BDS is diverse and promising. The graduates can continue their higher studies (MDS or MPH) or pursue jobs in private or government clinics, explore fields like dental cosmetology, enter into hospital management, or practice dentistry abroad. Non-clinical opportunities are also now rising, such as those in tele-dentistry startups or medical content creation. The important thing is to choose one that is tailored closely to your skills and aims for the future.