September 13, 2011
School of Dentistry, Kochi
 

“We will carry forward the values we have learned at our alma mater during the upcoming years of our professional practice. Education here at Amrita has helped us understand who we are, how we are to conduct ourselves, how to give, care, love others and sacrifice and a whole lot more.”
 

Students from the graduating class of the School of Dentistry shared these sentiments as they received their degrees of Bachelors in Dental Surgery (BDS) on August 30, 2011.
 

In an era where health care is changing at an incredible pace, dentistry has become an advanced science offering countless possibilities to learn. It is now considered a highly skilled profession with many sub-specializations.
 

No longer is the field of dentistry limited to basic dental treatment alone, now complex oral and facial structures are routinely dealt with.
 

At Amrita, students receive extensive training in both the basics as well as the advanced procedures.
 

Emphasizing this fact was Shri. G. Karthikeyan who inaugurated the graduation ceremony. “You are extremely lucky to study in Amrita because you have Amma as the Chancellor of your institution,” he remarked.
 

“Amma has said that what we learn in the classroom and what we learn beyond are like two legs that we need to walk,” stated Prof. Shantikumar Nair, Dean of Research and Director of the Amrita Center for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine (ACNSMM), addressing the young graduates.
 

“In order for us to move forward, we need both these legs acting in unison,” he emphasized.
 

Dr. Nair also highlighted the importance of research. “Research is about critical thinking, the attitude where we question and probe deeper.”
 

Sampoojya Swami Poornamritananda Puri pointed out to the graduates the importance of knowing and understanding the inner self. “We explore, question and investigate the outside world, but it is also important to conduct an exploration of the inner world,” he said.
 

“The understanding that we get from the research of the inner world is what truly helps us to move forward. For this to happen, your intuition has to manifest,” he added.
 

Since its inception in September 2003, the Amrita School of Dentistry has offered training in bachelors, masters and doctoral programs with specialties including Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Paediatric Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Radiology, Periodontics & Implantology, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Pathology & Microbiology and Community Dentistry.