New Delhi: For decades, a popular name for dental clinics across the country has been “Smile”. The aim is quite simply to draw people with the promise of a perfect smile—even if they don’t need any other medical treatment.
It seems to have worked.
Earlier, people rarely went to a dentist unless they had to. But now they don’t wait until they are in excruciating pain to visit a dentist: they go to dental clinics for cosmetic reasons alone.
And celebrities aren’t the only ones going for dental makeovers. The average middle-class Indian is also forking out big bucks to get that perfect smile.
“People rarely went to a dentist unless they had a toothache that could not be ignored any longer,” says Dr Supriya B. Bhatia, a dentist who runs Smile Delhi – The Dental Clinic in an upscale Delhi neighborhood.
“But dentistry has changed over the last decade or so from need-based to want-based… Now, nearly half the patients at the clinic come for a smile makeover,” she adds.
Dentistry in India has seen a paradigm shift in the last few years from being primarily focused on basic oral health issues, such as pain relief and extractions, to offering specialised, high-end treatments.
This shift—from basic services such as tooth removal to implants and aesthetics now—has been aided by modern dental techniques, preventive care and cosmetic enhancements. This means that patients now have access to a range of treatments that prioritise both functionality and aesthetics.
Many dentists the ThePrint spoke to said it was no longer unusual for brides-to-be, job-seekers or students headed to college to splash out on services like dental veneers—which can cost as much as Rs 12,000-25,000 per tooth.
Dental veneers are thin shells made of porcelain or similar materials that can be customised to cover the front surface of teeth to correct issues like chips, discolouration or misalignment, thereby creating a uniform and natural look for teeth.
But if dental veneers are in vogue, demand is also high for procedures and products like teeth whitening, gum depigmentation and contouring, clear aligners (invisible braces) and cosmetic restorations.
Dr Dhiraj Setia, who runs two clinics named The Dental Roots in Gurugram, says half his patients come for such aesthetic services. His clinics see an average footfall of 70-80 patients a day, including expats and dental tourists.
“When I started practicing 22 years ago, cosmetic dentistry at the most included procedures like teeth alignment. Now patients come even with specifications like how their laterals should be like,” says Setia.
Setia recalls fitting a 55-year-old housewife from a middle-income family—who had spent “nearly a lifetime” with stained and crooked teeth—with dental veneers.
“It’s not only celebrities who want that perfect smile; it’s nearly everyone now,” Seti says.
Big on high technology
Industry veterans say the significant transformation over the years has been made possible by advancements in technology, increased dental health awareness and growing demand for aesthetic enhancements.
As a result, treatments are now being developed to maximise functionality while ensuring superior natural aesthetics and enhanced patient comfort.
These advancements in dental treatments have transformed the lives and smiles of young, healthy individuals as well as older and medically compromised patients who previously had to cope with compromised dentition and poor nutrition, says Dr Vipin Dehane, oral and maxillofacial surgeon and implantologist with Fortis Hospitals in Mumbai.
And if private clinics offering top-end dental cosmetic services are seeing the change, government centres are not far behind either.
At the Centre for Dental Research and Education at AIIMS, Delhi, for example, nearly 30-35 percent of the nearly 1,000 patients in the outpatient department (OPD) each day come for aesthetic treatment, says Dr Ritu Duggal, who heads the Centre.
If the growing popularity of dental aesthetics is redefining the sector, technological advancements have made most dental treatments for issues such as impacted, decayed or broken teeth nearly painless, encouraging more people to opt for them.
These factors have led to the expansion of India’s dental care market, valued at $653 million in 2022. It is estimated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.40 percent till 2030 and reach $1,339 million by that year, according to market estimates.
Comfort is the key
Visiting dentists for procedures like root canal treatment (RCT)—which involves filling the root canal of a damaged or infected tooth—was an arduous task for patients until a few years ago. It often involved considerable pain and discomfort during multiple sessions that could stretch for weeks.
Now, most RCTs are done in a single sitting—and are nearly painless.
Duggal explained that many factors have contributed to this change.
“With today’s more potent and long-lasting local anesthetics, patients can have better comfort throughout treatments. During dental procedures, patients can feel less anxious and more relaxed thanks to sedative methods like oral sedation and nitrous oxide, sometimes known as laughing gas,” she said.
Gum surgery and cavity preparation, on the other hand, are two dental procedures that use the cutting power of laser beams for surgical procedures.
By reducing tissue trauma, surgical procedures using the latest technology can reduce pain and suffering. In addition, computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology enable the creation of highly accurate dental restorations, such as crowns and bridges, with less discomfort and fewer adjustments.
“The advancement of technology in dentistry has revolutionised the patient experience. Procedures that were once associated with pain and discomfort have now become much more comfortable, thanks to these innovations,” P.P. Reddy, founder chairman of FMS Dental Clinics in Hyderabad, told ThePrint.
If aesthetics in dentistry is the new buzzword, advanced technology has also made restorative dentistry—which involves missing or damaged teeth—a cakewalk for patients, relatively speaking.
According to Dr Achuth M. Baliga, a consultant in oral surgery and implantology at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru, this transformation has been made possible with the advent of nanotechnology in dental material science and hardware like precision microscopes, which assist clinicians in providing accurate treatment and provide long-lasting restorations.
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Looks matter, smile the most
Dr Priyank Sethi—who has two centres named Stunning Dentistry in New Delhi—says the sector has benefited from the trend of putting appearance at the centre of everyone’s life.
“It’s an age where social media and platforms like Instagram are very important to the way a large number of people live their lives. They understand that looking good and being presentable is important and a good smile is nearly a necessity,” he said.
Dr Mahesh Verma, a prosthodontist and the former director and principal of Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS), too, underlined that dentistry in the country is growing rapidly, much like other allied health services such as hair, skin and cosmetic surgery industries.
“Everybody wants to look smart, beautiful, young, youthful, don’t they? People have a desire to take care of their oral health and enhance the way their teeth appear. And that’s why dental clinics are using that opportunity to offer their patients the procedure and quality of services they want,” Verma, who was formerly vice-president of the Dental Council of India (DCI), added.
Reddy concurred that increased access to information, the influence of social media and the global trend of self-care have made people realise that good oral hygiene is essential for overall health, and a pleasing smile can enhance personal and professional interactions.
He said the stigma of dental visits has diminished and regular check-ups as well as cosmetic procedures have become normal, even though they come at a price.
According to Dehane, laser gum depigmentation, for example, costs nearly Rs 15,000 per quadrant while gum contouring may cost about Rs 12,000 per quadrant. Patients get gum pigmentation and contouring done for two or all four quadrants.
Teeth whitening, on the other hand, can cost up to Rs 40,000 in private clinics. Services at government facilities such as MAIDS and AIIMS are not entirely free but cost a third of what private dentists charge—and patients are still willing to pay.
For this reason, experts say not only is the demand for specialised dental clinics rising but dentists entering the profession also find it easy to establish a career.
A game of supply and demand
India has nearly 320 dental colleges, with about 60 percent in the private sector. Nearly 24,500 bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) students graduate from these colleges every year.
The annual fee for a BDS course in private institutions ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 6 lakh a year while the fee in government institutions is generally between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh.
The advantage of a BDS degree over an MBBS—often the first choice of those looking for a career in medicine—is that a BDS graduate can have a promising enough career even without specialising, says Verma, vice president of IP University in Delhi.
According to public health dentist Dr Vikrant Raj Mohanty from MAIDS, another benefit of dentistry is that dentists do not have schedules as gruelling as those of doctors even during the initial years, especially in government settings.
“Of course, it is not easy for resident dentists in dental hospitals with high patient footfall, but it is not as bad as many tertiary care hospitals either,” said Mohanty.
There is also a growing trend of dentists training abroad for skill upgradation and advanced diploma courses.
At Sethi’s centres, for instance, he makes it a point to hire those with foreign degrees. “It’s often a hallmark of quality service and patient experience,” he says.
But dentists looking to set up their own clinics, especially in metropolitan and tier-1 cities, may not find it so easy.
A senior member of the DCI, who did not wish to be identified, pointed out a glut of dentists in big cities.
“As dental services are not covered by insurance in India, dentists mostly want to be in these places due to the paying capacity of patients. This means there is a considerable disparity in the distribution of dentists,” he said.
The DCI member told ThePrint that the commission was pushing state governments to hire dentists in state health services to address this issue.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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This article is misleading…… The picture presented here is story of very few dentist sitting in Delhi…. Today dental colleges are finding it hard to fill their seats…