Dear Student,

As a future dentist, your role extends far beyond the dental chair. At Sharavathi Dental College, the specialty of Public Health Dentistry will train you to look at oral health from a community perspective—helping you understand how dental care impacts society as a whole.

This subject blend clinical knowledge, preventive strategies, and social responsibility, preparing you to serve not just individuals, but entire communities.

What you will learn in Public Health Dentistry:

• Diagnose and manage gingivitis and periodontitis, the most common gum diseases affecting millions worldwide.
• Dental public health concepts – Principles of prevention, health promotion, and community outreach.
• Epidemiology of oral diseases – Understanding patterns, causes, and risk factors of conditions like dental caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and malocclusion.
• Biostatistics & research methodology – Learning how to collect, analyse, and interpret health data to design effective programs.
• Preventive dentistry – Fluoride application, pit and fissure sealants, dietary counselling, and habit intervention.
• School and community dental health programs – Planning and executing oral health awareness and screening camps.
• Mobile dental van programs – Reaching underserved rural and urban populations to provide basic dental care.
• Health education & communication – Developing skills to educate patients and communities about oral hygiene and disease prevention.
• Oral health policy & management – Understanding the role of dentists in shaping healthcare systems and government health initiatives.
• Forensic dentistry applications – Contributing to medico-legal and disaster victim identification through dental evidence.

Why it matters for your career:

Public Health Dentistry helps you become a socially responsible dentist. While clinical practice focuses on individual patients, this subject trains you to analyze and improve oral health on a population scale.

At Sharavathi, you will actively participate in community outreach camps, rural dental health services, and mobile clinic rotations—experiences that will teach you leadership, empathy, and organizational skills.

By mastering this specialty, you will be equipped to:

• Prevent diseases before they start through public education.
• Reduce oral health inequalities by serving underserved communities.


• Contribute to research and policy-making in oral health.

This makes you not just a skilled dentist, but also a public health advocate and change-maker who can impact the well-being of society at large.