Dental Commission Act aims at making dental education more practical, affordable: Mansukh Mandaviya

NEW DELHI: The Dental Commission Act is aimed at making dental education more practical and affordable, and bringing transparency in the entire system, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday. He inaugurated the new headquarters of the National Dental Commission (NDC) and laid the foundation stones for three nursing colleges in Andhra Pradesh and one in Jammu and Kashmir virtually.

"The advent of the dental commission heralds a new era in dental education and administration," he said during the programme during which he also presided over an MoU signing between the Dental Council of India and Quality Council of India for assessment and rating of undergraduate dental colleges. Mandaviya also launched the National Dental Register under the National Health Digital Mission.

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"Through the Dental Commission Act, the government has made an effort to make dental education more practical, affordable and bring transparency in the entire system, simultaneously providing patients with affordable and good treatment," Mandaviya said. The health minister emphasised that with the launch of the National Dental Register (NDR), created under the 'One Nation One Register', people will get the identity and qualification of dentist in a transparent manner. "The NDR will provide Unique Identification (DCI-ID) to all dentists practising in India after verification from the state dental councils. The NDR will also help citizens identify dentists verified by state dental councils," he said.

Highlighting the government's commitment to strengthen the nursing workforce and mitigate healthcare disparities across regions, Mandaviya said this function here is a part of the "government's scheme to establish 157 new nursing colleges co-located with existing medical colleges". With increasing demand of trained Indian nurses abroad, the government has incorporated foreign language courses in medical education institutes providing an additional advantage to students in capturing opportunities abroad, he said.