National BDS Students Convention – Oral Medicine and Radiology at New Delhi

A National Convention in Oral Medicine and Radiology was conducted for undergraduate students and interns of the various dental colleges of NCR, Delhi and neighboring states on the 03^rd April, 2017 at the prestigious M A Ansari auditorium of the Jamia Millia Islamia University. The program was organized by the Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, JMI and Co hosted by the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Manav Rachna Dental College, Faridabad.

The mammoth participatory academic event for the undergraduates had close to 400 participants including students from the 3rd Year, Final Year, interns and Faculty from various colleges.

The program commenced at 09:00 am with enthusiastic student teams participating in thematic street plays (‘Nukkad Natak’) in the green environs of the Ansari auditorium. The theme for the street play was Tobacco Cessation (Tambaku Rahit Samaj- Nav Bharat Ka Nirman). Simultaneously, teams also competed on stage in thematic skits (Theme- Dentist- A Physician First). A written elimination round for the Quiz was also conducted for the 12 participating teams.

The complete involvement and enthusiasm of the students was evident with scintillating. The team from Sudha Rustagi Dental College, Faridabad won the nukkad natak, while KD Dental College Mathura bagged second place. The students from Manav Rachna Dental College bagged the first prize for their skit ‘Faridabad Junction’ while the second prize was won by the team from Rohtak. The presence of MRDC was marked by a 30 strong contingent.

The 3 Guest Lectures – one on Oral Medicine by Dr Rajeshwari Annigeri, Prof. and Head, Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dental Surgery, Davangere, another on Radiology by Dr Hemant R Umarji, Prof. and Head, Oral Medicine and Radiology, GDC, Mumbai and one on the various career options after graduation by Dr Gopakumar Nair, Prof. and Head, Oral Medicine and Radiology, KD Dental College, Mathura were extremely well received by the audience. The enthusiasm of the students was a clear indicator that given an opportunity many would choose to pursue higher studies/research in the specialty.

The final round of the quiz (post lunch) contain 4 teams- 2 from PGIDS, Rohtak, one from Sudha Rustagi Dental College and one from Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences slugging it out for the top honors. Both the teams from Rohtak grabbed the first and second spots in the quiz which was conducted by the Faculty (Dr Neelkamal S Bharadwaj, Dr Natalia Desilva and Dr Priyanka Kant) from Manav Rachna Dental College.

The activity packed program concluded at about 16:30 hrs with all participants taking home memories which they would cherish for a long time. The entire organizing team from the Faculty of Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia and the Manav Rachna Dental College express their sincere thanks to the administration of JMI and the heads of department (the master mentors)and  faculty of the various dental colleges for the success of this function.Dr Vishal Dang (Organizing Chairman) and Dr Mandeep Sandhu (Organizing Secretary) also express their gratitude to the President and Secretary of the Indian Academy of Oral Medicine and Radiology for all the support extended by the head office.

We are convinced that such participatory events augur well for the specialty and must be organized across the country on an annual basis.

The inaugural function was graced by Mr Shahid Ashraf, Pro Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia  as Chief Guest while Prof. (Dr) Sanjay Tewari, Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, PGIDS, Rohtak and EC Member Dental Council of India and the Registrar, JMI were the Guests of Honor. Also sharing the dais were Dr Gopakumar Nair, Immediate Past President, IAOMR, Dr Saranjit S Bhasin, Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, JMI and member DCI, Dr Vishal Dang, Organizing Chairman and Vice President IAOMR and Dr Mandeep Sandhu, Organizing Secretary. Dr Sanjay Tewari in his address assured the audience that he would support the Academy at the Council in all its endeavors for the betterment of the specialty. He also offered all help to JMI to start MDS programs in the various specialties.  Dr Arundeep Singh Principal, MRDC was a special invitee at the event.