I would like to pursue a career in dentistry

I am in Std X and would like to pursue a career in dentistry. I would like to get information about this field along with good colleges in India and abroad in which to pursue this field.
Divya Bhavnani (15) / Bright International School, Ahmedabad

Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) is the minimum eligibility to enter into this field. This is a 4-year programme followed by a 1-year internship. This course is open to the students who have completed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The course offers subjects in all aspects of oral hygiene and care and provides a solid foundation for the prospective dentist. The final two years of this course are devoted to clinical studies, rotating through clinics and treating patients under a supervisor in order to learn dental techniques. After completion of BDS, one may go for practice or undertake further study and specialize in some branch of dentistry.

CBSE conducts an all India Pre-medical/Pre-dental examination (aipmt.nic.in/aipmt) for 15% merit seats of many medical/dental colleges all over India. The allocation of institutions is based on merit. But some colleges have separate entrance criterion for BDS courses. Some of these are:

CMC Vellore (cmch-vellore.edu)

Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore (manipal.edu)

JIPMER, Pondicherry (jipmer.edu)

Banaras Hindu University, Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi (bhu.ac.in)