Reimagining Dental Health in India: The Path to Scaling Up

During the last 10 years, gradual focus has been placed on dental health within India’s healthcare agenda under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Oral health has always been an important part of general health, but it was less recognized in the past. Due to reforms, technological progress, and changing public attitudes favoring preventive care, the Indian dental scene is now undergoing rapid change. In the last ten years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has made big improvements in dental and oral health care in India. Through programs like the National Oral Health Programme and digital health missions, dental services became more available and affordable, even in villages. The government improved dental education, set up modern rules, trained professionals, and spread awareness in schools and on social media. They also linked oral health with big missions like Ayushman Bharat and Swachh Bharat, showing smart planning. These efforts helped people get better care, built trust, and showed that everyone’s health matters.
However, the industry itself is still in a nascent stage, and scaling up operations remains crucial for making dental services affordable and proficient across India.
Second and foremost, an inclusive and accessible dental education system needs to be put in place so that it can cater to the rapidly growing demand for dental professionals. There was a shortage of adequately trained dental professionals in the past, especially in the rural and underserved areas. More colleges would have to be set up to address areas of short supply so that a strong manpower would be created to serve the entire population. Creating specialized educational institutions for dental education in remote areas will resolve skill-gap issues and will get more incentives to enter the profession.

While increasing the number of dental colleges, the quality of dental education must be improved in parallel. This will be possible by modernizing the curriculum standards and making them more practical through hands-on training. Dental schools should emphasize multidisciplinary approaches and dental education should be provided alongside other health sciences, so that students can acquire knowledge about the broader interface of oral health with general health, and thus become more versatile in their practices.
At the same time, efforts must be made for standardizing dental care in the country. There is, at present, a large difference in the kind of care available in the urban and rural areas. While various cities can boast of world-class dental facilities, the rural areas are still deprived of even the basic dental treatments. Hence, introducing uniform standards and regulations is very crucial to ensure an even playing field. This can further be implemented by constituting regulatory bodies to supervise the quality of dental care in every sector.
Moreover, for upgrading dental services, the integration of digital technologies to increase accessibility and the efficiency of service delivery would be required. Tele-dentistry can serve as an impactful tool in cases where people living in remote areas find it difficult to access dental clinics. Consultation via online platforms enables practitioners to reach dental care services to those who, more often than not, could never actually bring themselves to into a dental clinic. This would drastically reduce several access barriers such as distance, lack of transportation, and monetary challenges. AI incorporation in dentistry has enormous prospects in better diagnosis, patient management, and treatment planning. AI can assist dentists in faster and more accurate detection of a broad range of oral diseases, such as finding cavities or detecting oral cancer in its very early stages. AI can provide more accurate treatment recommendations for better clinical outcome, it can also work on administrative tasks allowing dentists to provide greater attention and care to their patients. The government plays a crucial role in scaling up dental services through supportive policies and funding. One of the key areas for investment should be the expansion of public dental health programs. Initiatives like the National Oral Health Program (NOHP) and other public health campaigns geared toward public education about dental hygiene should be endorsed.

Scaling-up would be another barrier in ensuring affordability. Dental care is prohibitively expensive for many in India, especially those in the lower-income group. The government may thus look into reducing the cost of dental treatments and facilitating access to such services by extending health insurance cover to include dental treatment or by setting up government-subsidized dental clinics. Public-private partnerships would be instrumental here, in providing nominal fee dental care, especially in rural and underserved areas. Apart from affordability, enough dental services need to be available. Mobile dental clinics with facilities for basic dental care can be sent to set up in underserved areas for providing identification and treatment of those who are unable to travel to centers in the cities. In addition to handheld dental services, mobile clinics would also increase awareness about oral health. The integration of these clinics with India’s existing public health system would enable the establishment of a truly inclusive health care framework.

The application of digital health products should also be considered to enable dental care to be more effective. Mobile phone applications that alert patients to undergo checkups, inform them on how to conduct dental hygiene habits, or advise them on maintaining good oral hygiene can be great in helping curb dental diseases. These products are especially useful in rural families where they might lack the convenience of accessing a dentist. The government and the private sector can join hands and create and promote such apps to make sure the population in general reaps its benefits. Investment in public campaigns for preventive dental care is important in minimizing the load of dental diseases in the future. For instance, education of children on regular tooth brushing and the need to shun sweets can help avoid oral complications once they are adults. Moreover, attempts at curbing the use of tobacco, a primary cause of oral cancer, should be intensified. Public campaigns highlighting the risks of tobacco to oral health can result in an educated public and improved long-term health results.

Private dental professionals also need collaborations with the government to scale up dental services. An example is the establishment of dental outreach programs, where private dental professionals donate their time to provide treatment to underprivileged communities. These kinds of initiatives not only increase the coverage of dental services but also promote a community sense of responsibility among professionals. Scaled across the country, these initiatives would provide dental care to even the most marginalized segments.
One of the most urgent problems that must be solved is the lack of dental specialists, particularly in rural communities. To counteract this, the government can provide incentives for specialists to practice in underserved communities. These incentives may take the form of tax relief, subsidies, and even free accommodation for specialists practicing in remote areas. Also, developing more fellowship and residency programs within specialized areas of dentistry would enable young professionals to become experts in orthodontics, periodontics, and oral surgery. To effectively scale up dental care, the whole system has to be engaged. This involves manufacturers of dental equipment and materials used in the practice. Spending in the research and development of lower-cost and sustainable dental products may lower the cost of dental care, allowing practitioners and patients alike to get good quality care at an affordable price. The government can partner with manufacturers of dental equipment to foster innovation in this sector. The contribution of dental auxiliaries, including dental hygienists and assistants, cannot be ignored in the scaling process. These individuals are crucial to making dental clinics operate smoothly and efficiently. By increasing training programs for dental auxiliaries and acknowledging their contributions as part of the dental team, India can enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of its dental care system. In addition, developing dental tourism can expand the industry on a large scale. India is already a destination for medical tourists who come in for treatments for cardiology and orthopedics. By developing dental tourism, India can emerge as a hub for cheap yet quality dental treatment at the international level. The government can provide incentives and encourage dental professionals and travel companies to join hands to develop dental tourism as a successful industry.

Scaling up dental care in India is not so much about enhancing access and affordability but also about adopting innovation, education, and sustainability. With focused investments in education, infrastructure, technology, and public awareness, India has the potential to develop a dental health care system that can deliver to its expanding population. Through increasing cooperation among the government, private sector, and civil society, we can make the future of dental health care in India brighter, healthier, and inclusive for everyone.

(Author is Dental Surgeon and Senior Fellow of International College of Dentist at New Delhi. Email : drashishguptaoffice@gmail.com )