If you’re a dentist or a student studying dentistry, you would be aware about the career prospects and growth in India. Well, to say the least, it is not very exciting here in India. The average salary for an entry level BDS graduate is around 1.8 to 2.4 lacs, as reported by Siksha.com and various other similar platforms.
By why is this? What could be the reasons? Well, there are multiple reasons for this. One big reason is that awareness about dental care in India is still building up and has a long way to go. Dental care in general doesn’t come as a top priority item when we Indians think about healthcare.
Before we talk about the process of becoming a doctor in Australia, here are three interesting data points that might intrigue you!
- more than 30% of Australian dentists are foreign trained, meaning they have completed their dental studies from outside Australia.
- The second is, in the Western Australia more than 12% of dentists are Indian!
- Now that we’re at it, as per Talent.com the average salary of dentists in Australia is ~150,000 AUD
Now that you understand that why Australia could be a great place for foreign trained dentists for building a great career and life, let’s understand how you can become a practicing dentist in Australia.
Well, there are essentially 4 different pathways for an overseas qualified dental practitioner to obtain a registration in Australia –
Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition – This is applicable to dentists who are registered and practicing dentistry in New Zealand. You can simply apply online on the website of Dental Board of Australia for your registration. Link is in the description. Please note – it doesn’t really matter from which country you completed your education as long as you’re a registered dentist in New Zealand and practicing, you are eligible for this pathway.
Dentists with recognised qualifications from The UK, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand – Dental Board of Australia has listed 22 universities across the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. If you’re a dental program graduate from any of these universities, you can simply apply for your registration with the Australian Dental Board. Some of these universities are – Universities of Cardiff, Kings College London, University of Liverpool, etc.
Dentists with eligible qualifications from Canada and compliant with additional requirements – You are eligible for this pathway, if you’re someone who has completed his/her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in general dentistry after 31 March 2010 by universities in Canada accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada and have passed the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) exam.
Dentists with other qualifications – This is the most mainstream and standard pathway that most of the dentists moving to Australia undertake. Under this pathway, there are two options for a foreign trained dentist – a. Either complete an Australian qualification (you can find a list of Board approved qualifications Australian Dental Board’s website) b. Or pass the examination procedure conducted by the Australian Dental Council (ADC).
If you already have completed your undergraduate in dentistry, then we recommend you go for the second option. It’s quicker and also once you pass the exam, you can find a job and start earning right after you have received your registration.
That’s all for this article. We will soon be uploading the part 2 of the article. We will delve deeper into the process in the next article.
Also, did you know we’re listing all the exciting scholarships, fellowships and travel grants on the CoachMinister now 🙂
