Manipal, 25^th August 2022: The Manipal College of Dental Sciences (MCODS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal today declared its maiden National Undergraduate Student Conference open. The Manipal Dental Conference (MDC) will take place between August 25^th to 27^th, 2022. The objective of this conference is to bring a change in the conventional learning patterns for undergraduate dental students by providing them with advanced level exposure in the dentistry field as most conferences in the stream of medicine are usually held for post-graduate students and private practitioners, which their under-graduate counterparts usually miss out on.

The conference which spans three days has a plethora of events and activities planned out such as keynote lectures that will be delivered by some veteran medical professionals hailing from the field of dentistry such as Dr. Satish Kumar Menon, founder of Kaizen Dental India, Dr. PC Jacob Maxillofacial Prosthodontist at Ora-Dental Care, Dr. Varun Acharya from Acharya Dental, Chennai, Dr. Ashith Acharya from SDM College of Dental Sciences, Dr. Sagar Abichandani - Prosthodontist and Celebrity Smile Expert. The lectures will range across many topics such as Aesthetic Dentistry, Forensic Odontology, among many others.

Present at the inauguration ceremony were Chief Guest Dr. PC Jacob, a renowned Prosthodontist, Vice Chancellor of MAHE Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M.D Venkatesh as the Presider of the event. The event was also graced by the presence of Dr. Varun Acharya India's only leading American Board-Certified Prosthodontist and Dr. Ashitha Uppoor, Dean, MCODS, Mangalore, Dr. Monica Charlotte Solomon, Dean of MCODS, Manipal, and Dr. Vidya Saraswati, the Associate Dean, MCODS, Manipal, as the guests of Honor, along with MCODS & MAHE officials.

In addition to keynote lectures, MDC will also witness several workshops across 3 days of the conference which will aim to help students improve their clinical skills. The workshops will be conducted by Dr. Deeksha Karkada from Coltene Company, Dr. Neeta Shetty from iFix Implant Company, and Dr. Varun Nambiar - Oral Surgeon and Social Media Influencer. In addition to these stalwarts from the industry, the internal dentistry departments and in-house faculty will also be organizing workshops for the students during the conference. The workshops will revolve around a wide range of subjects such as Laser, Emergency Medicine, Implant Dentistry & Social Media Branding to name a few.

Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M.D. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), said: “The MDC aims to bring students from various dental colleges across India under one roof to engage in interesting discussions about dentistry and take back enormous learnings. We aim to provide them with a combination of several activities that will help them gain hands-on experience about this field. We have received participation in new numbers and are sure that this conference is going to be an immense success.”

In order to cultivate the habit of research and instill innovative thinking amongst dental students, a Poster and Paper presentation competition will also be organized. Interestingly, 180 abstracts have already been shortlisted to be presented during the conference which will be judged by highly senior faculties from MCODS. The conference will also hold an enriching and insightful panel discussion on the topic, ‘Future of Dentistry in India.’ Lastly, a quiz competition comprising a prelim and a final round will also be organized with questions revolving around general dentistry. 

Dr. Monica Charlotte Solomon, Dean, MCODS – Manipal, said, “The Manipal Dental Conference is one of its kind and aims to provide undergraduate dental students with the kind of exposure that usually PG students or private practitioners are accustomed to, this will enable them a holistic understanding of the field and help them understand the nuances of the profession that they are soon going to call their own.”

The Manipal Dental Conference will be host to 652 students who have registered from 18 dental and medical schools across the length and breadth of the country. Some of these educational institutions include AB Shetty Dental College, AJ Institute of Dental Sciences, MS Ramaiah Dental College, Bangalore, SRM, Chennai, Meenakshi Dental College, Chennai, and Subharti Dental College, Uttar Pradesh.