A. B. Shetty Dental College celebrating Silver Jubilee this year

A. B. Shetty Dental College celebrating Silver Jubilee this year

Mangalore Today

Mangalore, Feb.4: “A year long celebrations are planned commemorating the Silver jubilee of A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Science, the premier Dental Science College in Mangalore” said Mr. Vinaya Hegde, Chancellor of Nitte University.

 

Speaking to media persons, Mr Hegde said that “the college was started in 1985, with the encouragement and support of late Sri Ramakrishna Hegde, the Chief Minister of Karnataka” “It was affiliated to Mangalore University in the beginning. Later it came under the Rajive Gandhi University of Health Sciences. Today it is one the major institutions under the Nitte University”.

“More than one lakh patients are treated free of cost every month at the Dental college hospital and the 22 Satellite Medical centres spread across North Kanara, South Kanara, Mercara and Kasargod Districts, established by the Nitte education Trust”. The Nitte Education Trust was founded by late Justice K S Hegde, former Supreme Court Judge and Speaker of the Lok Sabha, with the intention of community development, education and health care. 

 

 

The College was named after the late Health Minister in the Madras Presidency and subsequently in the Mysore state, who was also a well-known leader of the community Sri Attavara Balaksrishna Shetty. With the BDS programme the college started functioning from the ‘Amritostava Building’ of the Bunts Hostel, Mangalore and came to be known as A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Science.

Those were the days when only Institution with Medical colleges started dental college, Nitte Education Trust became the first Institution to start a stand- alone dental college. A.B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental science has also reputation of being the second such college in the country.

By the time the first batch of students came to internship program, peripheral health centres were established for their training. Thus from the beginning itself the college made a focused effort in providing good teaching and intensive training.

 

In 1989 MDS program was commenced. When the government of Karnataka established the Central Health University RGUHS, the college came under its affiliation in 1997. Consistently and continuously the infrastructure and training facilities were upgraded to provide an excellent academic environment for the students which is evident from the ranks secured and academic recognition achieved by the students, which is hallmark of the college. The college has rare honour of being as one of the first colleges in Asia to be recognized as training centre for the MFDS and MRCS programs of the Royal college of Surgeons, Edinburgh and England respectively. The institution has signed a MOU with Okayama University Dental School, Japan for research and staff Exchange. The college is also the academic affiliate of the Oman Dental College of the Sultanate of Oman government.
   
Consequent to the formation of Nitte University in 2008, by Nette Education Trust, the college became its first constituent college. Today, the college runs the BDS program with an intake of 100, MDS in 8 specializartions with an in rake of 50, certificate course in oral implantology in collaboration with Frankfurt University, Germany and Fellowship in Craniofacial Surgery. The Nitte Meenakshi institute of craniofacial Surgery which is part of college specializes in the treatment of cleft and palate anomalies and complex craniofacial deformities. In association with Cleft Children International, Zurich, Swidzerland and Smile Train Organization, USA the institute conducts 750 cleft operations annually at free of cost. On addition, weekly camps, one day denture camp, school oral health and hygiene programs are also regular feature.

With the kind of infrastructure, faculty, learning and training resources, the college has come to occupy a place of pride in the area of dental education in the country and has been rated as the 12th best Dental college of India.

With a strong alumni base of over 2000 who are doing well professionally and academically and are spread over Indian subcontinent abd other developed countries of the world, the college in its silver jubilee year pledges itself to cause of dental care and education and rededicates to the vision of Nitte University of building a humane society through excellence in education and health-care. On this occasion Nitte University wishes to fondly remember with gratitude the help and support of late Ramakrishna Hegde. The University also thanks the faculty, staff, alumni and students for making A B Shetty memorial Institute of Dental Sciences what is today.

  

The Silver Jubilee Celebrations will be formally launched on February 6 by Padmabhushan Hon. Brig. Dr. Anil Kohli, President, Dental Council of India. He will also lay the foundation stone for the Silver Jubilee Super Speciality Building.

 

Mr. Vishal Hegde, Trustee, Nitte Education Trust, Prof. Dr. Shantharam Shetty, Vice Chancellor, Nitte University, Prof. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Principal & Dean, Prof. Dr. Krishna Nayak, Dean (Academics) were present on the occasion.