NDC scraps provisional registration rule to save dental students from suffering internship delays
Divyansh.Kumar@timesofindia.com 27.07.2026
Around 25,000 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) graduates will not have to wait for the administrative approvals as the National Dental Commission (NDC) aims to smoothen their transition from college to dental hospitals. The NDC abolished the mandatory requirement of acquiring provisional registration from State Dental Councils (SDCs) before commencing their mandatory internship.
This will reduce paperwork, lower financial burden, and accelerate the entry of young dentists into the healthcare workforce. In the earlier process, introduced by the erstwhile Dental Council of India (DCI) in November 2021, the students had to submit multiple documents, frequent council offices, and wait for approval before starting their clinical training.
The SDCs will now immediately issue permanent registration directly after successful completion of the internship, removing an entire layer of regulatory compliance. Dr Sarjeev Singh Yadav, principal, Government Dental College and Hospital, Hyderabad, says, “The reform removes an unnecessary administrative bottleneck, ensuring timely commencement of compulsory internship. It reduces administrative workload for both institutions and regulatory authorities. This is a landmark student-centric reform embodying the vision of Ease of Doing Business and Minimum Government, Maximum Governance by simplifying regulatory processes without compromising quality.”
Timely internship completion will now enable smoother eligibility for postgraduate admissions, employment and career progression, he says.
Seamless Transition
For students, however, the biggest gain is time. Dr MD Manzur Ahmed, national president, All India Dental Students & Dental Surgeons Association (AIDSA), says the reform eliminates one of the biggest administrative hurdles that delayed graduates despite having completed all academic requirements. “Before November 2021, students began their compulsory rotatory internship immediately after passing their final BDS exam. However, once provisional registration became mandatory, many were forced to wait for administrative approvals before starting clinical training,” he says. “Depending on the SDC, this reform could save several weeks to a few months. More importantly, it eliminates uncertainty.
Students can now move seamlessly from graduation to internship, obtain permanent registration on time, become eligible for postgraduate admissions sooner, and enter the dental workforce without unnecessary administrative delays,” Dr Ahmed adds. Delays in internship commencement automatically postpone internship completion, which in turn affects eligibility for permanent registration, postgraduate admissions, government recruitment and private employment. “Their career progression gets delayed not because they lack competence, but because of avoidable administrative procedures,” he says.
Financial Stress
Provisional registration contributed little to patient safety or academic supervision and had largely become a bureaucratic exercise. Dr Divakar Moodautiya, assistant lecturer, Maharana Pratap College of Dentistry, Gwalior, says, “Provisional registration was purely paper pushing that burdened students. It made no tangible contribution to responsible clinical care or patient safety on the ground.” The process also imposed an unnecessary financial burden on graduates. “Beyond the procedural chaos, graduates faced a compounding financial strain, paying twice for both temporary and permanent registration fees, alongside out-of-pocket expenses for legal documentation, affidavits, and mandatory travel to state council headquarters for physical verification,” says Dr Moodautiya.
