This particular post has been given by Dr. Shasank that gives a concise review of the various steps involved if you are planning to migrate to Australia for higher education after BDS.
Changes to immigration arrangements have been made that will assist medical practitioners who wish to migrate to Australia. The changes, made as part of the enhancements to Medicare, allow Medical Practitioners to migrate to Australia under one of the General Skilled Migration visa categories.
Dentists working in general practice or specialise in one of the following principal fields: Orthodontics, Periodontics, Paediatric (children’s) dentistry, Prosthodontics, Endodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Public Health Dentistry, and Radiology.
Australian Dental Council(ADC)
The Australian Dental Council (ADC) is the organisation responsible for assessing overseas trained dentists to enable them to obtain registration in Australia. ADC also accredits Australian dental schools. The Dental Boards, dental schools, the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and the Australian Dental Association are represented on the ADC.
Recognition Procedures in Australia
Each Australian State and Territory has separate legislation covering the recognition of dental qualifications. To practise dentistry in Australia you have to be registered with the local State or Territory Dental Board.
There are three ways in which overseas qualified dentists can enter the profession in Australia: by enrolling at an Australian dental school where they may be granted some credit for previous study; by immediate recognition of their existing qualifications; or by successfully completing the Australian Dental Council (ADC) examinations.
If Qualifications Not Immediately Acceptable to Registration Boards
If your qualifications do not immediately meet Australian requirements, there are two options. The first is to complete an Australian dental degree course at one of the Australian Universities. The second option is to undertake the examination procedure conducted by the ADC described below.
Australian Dental Council Examination
Overseas trained dentists are eligible to undertake the ADC examination procedure if they have completed and passed a dental degree that included at least four years’ full-time academic study at a university recognised by the ADC. Proof of eligibility for registration as a dentist must also be provided.
The ADC examination procedures have been developed specifically to assess the abilities of overseas trained dentists whose qualifications are not accepted as a basis for registration by Australian Dental Boards.
The examination procedure consists of three parts >>>>>
A ) an Occupational English Test (OET) for which an overall “A” or “B” standard is required to progress.
B ) a written Preliminary Examination (Multiple Choice Questions and Short Answer Questions).
C) Final Examination (clinical)
These three exams must be taken sequentially .
The clinical examination is held over three to six days and includes the following three sets >>>
Clinical Dentistry I
Clinical Dentistry II
Clinical Dentistry III
Aspects of all clinical disciplines such as Orthodontics, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Pharmacology will be included where appropriate (practical and/or theoretical and/or viva voce). You will be examined at the same level as that reached by recent graduates from Australian universities.
What are the exam locations and schedule ???
If you live overseas, you may take the OET and the ADC Preliminary Examination at an overseas venue. If you are in Australia, you can sit both these examinations in any of the State capital cities and some larger provincial centres.
The Preliminary Examination is usually held in the first week of March and in the first week of September each year. You are allowed unlimited attempts at this examination, but a new fee must be paid for each attempt.
The Final Examination is held only in Australia, usually twice a year in July and November.
Candidates resident outside Australia may be able to obtain a temporary entry visa to cover, at their own expense, the trip to Australia to attend the examination.
You are allowed two attempts ONLY at this Examination.
An ADC Certificate is issued upon successful completion of the ADC examination procedure. The ADC Certificate entitles you to apply for registration to any of the Australian Dental Boards.
Finally , Australia and a complete new life beacons you. Have a great Australian Dream.
thanx for great information
Happy to help … You can browse the site for more information …
WHICH EXAMS ARE EASIER???CANADA OR AUSTRALIA???
Both have their easy points & tough points …
Thanks for the great article. Wondering how easy it is to find a job as a Dentist after successfully getting the ADC certification? Had a look at job sites and most of the dental jobs require local or NZ/UK work experience. Seems like overseas trained dentists without local experience might find a hard time getting employment. Trying to decide whether it’s worth it to go through the whole ADC exams process when it might take some time to find a dental practice willing to hire dentists with no local experience. Your insight on this would be much appreciated.
Yes , It’s not an easy task .
Part 1 Hurdle_____ To clear all the exams , finish the immigration formalities , arrange finance and then finally moving to Australia.
Part 2 Hurdle_____ Getting a work experience to get hired by hospitals or clinics .
Its hard … But its the way that all dentists who migrate to Australia have to go through .
But once u make it there as a dentist , the returns are very high compared to any other place in India .
i would like to know about every detail regarding the australian exam . Kindly keep me updated on my e mail id .
:)
thank you
DR Anubha Raj
thank you so much for the elaborate information given here. it cleared up a lot of those dusty clouds of doubt. however, i’d like to know what steps to take if i do not plan on migrating, but wish to take a masters degree in a clinical field from australia, instead. what then? do kindly assist me with the details. i’d very much appreciate it.
thank you.
Dr. Lekshmi R.S.
p.s. i would prefer if you could find time to email me.
plzz tell m what all foreign university exams can be given in india thru online and about full scholership programs also
and try to mail m on my email id…
If you want to take admission in DDS program in California, then you can check with your University for loan as well as scholarship otherwise these days so many banks are providing loans for Education abroad and at very less interest rates. Otherwise the organizations offering loans and scholarships in California are:
College Student Loan Centre
UCLA Financial Aid office
AACN education
So please check with them and fulfill the pre requisites of scholarships and start applying for it.
As for online exam … The exams happen in 2 to 3 stages . The last stage of exams usually take place in the country you are trying for . So to clear the qualifying exam completely you will need to give the exams on spot . No Online exams will give you direct approval ( with respect to MBBS / BDS / DENTISTRY ) to directly practice in foreign countries .
Check these Links : Might be Useful for you http://www.fao.ucla.edu/
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/students/financial-aid
Quiet a good oppurtunity,bt i want to know about how to register myself for this adc exam,i mean how to get my name registered for this exam.kindly plz send it to on my email id.in wait for ur reply…………..
Read this article http://www.dentalorg.com/australian-dental-exam-part-1.html
hi. read your article.very informative. i would like to do my post graduation in australia but i do not wish to migrate. Is that possible? can you please mail me the details.
Not possible … u need to be in Australia for doing Post Graduation there .
Read this article … It will give u ideas … http://www.dentalorg.com/australian-dental-exam-part-1.html
http://www.dentalorg.com/australian-dental-council-books.html
hi. i would like to know if an australian degree is valid for working in other countries or i have to go through the whole procedure to migrate into other countries. i would also like to know which is the best place abroad to do my mds.
hi.. thank you so much for the information…. I am a Periodontist. have finished my postgraduation In India so can this degree be valid for practising in Australia???? and if YEs how??? Can you please tell me the exact procedure
You have to clear the Qualifying exams there . Details are the same that you read n the article . DO contact the Australian Embassy for all the details .
thanks for the lot of info, one of my friends is looking forward to give australian boards, he is in a search for an oriented and sincere study partner, couldnt find any in lots of forums, he is from india as well … please help me in sharing the details of any interested aspirants. thanks in advance.
hey hav read ur article . really informative..
can u please tell how to apply for doing mds in australia after doing bds from india
Sir,cud u plz tell me if australia accepts our BDS or its d same like we have to do DDS first in USA? i mean after clearing these tests,we start with the post graduation there or the graduation of their country??
After Clearing U r allowed to practice as a general dentist .
I am doin my internship currently in b.d.s in india under M.G university..is this university recognized my ADC??if so? Can I register now itslf and start preparing so that after completing my internship I can give my ADC exams??do let me know..details to ma email I’d..
Yes MGR University degree is accepted . You will need to give the ADC Exams and clear them before you can practice in Australia .
Hi Deb,
My son is currently studying for BDS in Amritha Institute of Dental Sciences in India. Can you please let me know whether the BDS degree from the autonoums university (like Amritha group of institutions) will be recoganized in Australia or UK or USA to apply for higher studies ?
No Indian BDS degree is directly valid in UK , Australia , USA . In each of these countries one needs to clear qualifying exams like NBDE etc . In the site you will find many articles giving informations on these . See these articles for a start :
After BDS UK : http://www.dentalorg.com/settle-in-uk-as-dentist-after-bds.html
After BDS USA : http://www.dentalorg.com/bds-nbde-dds-20-steps-to-dds-the-american-dream.html
After BDS CANADA : http://www.dentalorg.com/dentistry-in-canada-after-bds-1.html
I am doing my internship in BDS from SRI RAMACHANDRA UNIVERSITY,Chennai.Can i register for this exam and start preparing???
Yes … U can register … And u will need to get ur registration number for further exams .
hello! i will be moving to australia later this year. I have recently come to know that there has been a change in the ADC regulations. Please let me know if this is true. Also, I have completed my BDS from NTR university, Andhra Pradesh. But, I belong to the new regulation batch 2007-12 where my total course period is 41/2 (theory)+1/2(internship). I wish to know if my degree is valid outside India.
For all the latest regulations plz visit the Australia Embassy . They can provide you the most updated regulations . I will post as soon as I get the latest finalized regulations .
i want to give the ADC exam next year. so when should i register myself and send the documents for registration? also how should i prepare for the clinical exam?
Read this article http://www.dentalorg.com/australian-dental-exam-part-1.html
Hi All,
I have completed my BDS last year. Can anyone please let know about the total fees to be paid for becoming a dentist in australia?
Thanks in Advance
One needs to give ADC exam to be eligible as a dentist in Australia . There are other articles that answer your qs in the website . Plz have a look at them . Along with that you will also come to know about many other crucial informations on Australian Dental Exam
i mean post graduation needs fees of 1cr?if yes is ther any way to get scholarship…please tell me the full procedure for scholarship application..thanks
See this article it might help you
http://www.dentalorg.com/what-is-the-cost-of-dds.html
For more details on loan systems do visit the Australian Embassy . They can give you the accurate details .
Hello Dr Deb sir, Thank you for your continuous effort in providing and updating information in dentalorg. Sir can you throw light on the 6 months training program for appearing for ADC and if its better to do MPH and get a work visa and then prepare for ADC exam?
Yes , That a good idea . One of my friends has gone to Australia . There he has joined a 2 year course of Dental Technician . Idea is that in 2 yrs he will get an interim citizenship of Australia . In the 2 years he will also prepare for the ADC Exams .