When the Government Dental College and Research Institute (GDC), Bangalore, one of the premier dental institutes in South East Asia, celebrates its golden jubilee from December 26, it will not only mark 50 years of the scientific growth of dentistry in the country, but a turning point in the history of the college too, which is poised for a phenomenal growth as an autonomous institution now.
The only college in the country to offer Ph.D programmes, the first in South East Asia to start post-graduate courses in community dentistry way back in 1970, and in oral medicine and radiology too, bolstered with state-of-the-art equipment, and with an enviable out-patient turnout of about 300 per day, GDC is now ushering in a new era through specialized treatments such as dental implants at affordable prices for the common man, full-fledged OT for oral and maxofacial surgery, digital library facility, and audio visual teaching aids, among others, to make it a better centre of excellence and an affordable, patient-friendly hospital.
Other plans on the anvil include increasing the number of PG seats, expansion of the building to create more patient facilities, enhancing the grant in aid, and renovation of the college auditorium to make it a ‘scientific hall’ on par with international standards, says Dr. S.S.Hiremath, Director of the college.
Although GDC began operating in a small way in the out-patient block of Victoria Hospital, under the stewardship of its founding principal Dr. S. Ramachandra, the college catapulted into an institution with excellent academic standards and professional escellence. Even today, the gold medals notched up by students of GDC is one of the highest, and the ‘GDC tagline’ is much sought after for placements, both in India and abroad, points out Dr. Hiremath. Recognition by the Dental Council of India, and being selected by the WHO for expert exchange programmes under the Colombo plan, within just a few years of its inception, were the initial landmark achievements of GDC which set the tone for its subsequent growth.
So when Dr. C. N. Shastry, Organising Secretary of the celebrations, says, “the history of our college is synonymous with the history of dentistry of not only Karnataka, but of India”, he is not off the mark; and it is with “a deep sense of gratitude” that the alumni recalls the efforts of doctors C G Raju, K R Devanath, B. G. Hegde, and N. R. Shetty among others, who were responsible for the rising of the stature of the institute, says Dr. H. N. Shama Rao, one of the earliest to pass out from GDC.
While the achievements of the institution has made history outside the country too, especially in the USA and UK, what it really means for the common man is that practically every treatment available in the private sector including emergency care and cosmetic dentistry is now within his financial reach, and this gives the celebrations a larger dimension. For details, log on to www.gdcbalumni.
com