Dr. Balagopal Varma R., Head of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Vice Principal of the Amrita School of Dentistry was recently awarded membership to the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.

He was inducted as a member of the college at its 21st biennial convocation at Queenstown, New Zealand on April 1, 2012.

This is the first time that a person working in India received this prestigious award, MRACDS.

The Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in mutual arrangement with the Royal College of Edinburgh provides access to educational courses and program to its fellows and members. Members have voting rights and are eligible for nomination and election to the college council, and also for being on various college committees.

Dr. Varma completed his BDS in 1990 and MDS (Pedodontics) in 1994, both from the College of Dental Surgery in Manipal. Subsequently he worked as an Assistant Professor in Pedodontics at the College of Dental Surgery, Manipal and Mangalore.

Later, Dr. Varma had the opportunity to serve as Senior Registrar in Pediatric Dentistry at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, a teaching hospital of Melbourne University. This hospital is a major referral center for children with systemic conditions and syndromes.

Here Dr. Varma received training in dental management for children of special needs and dentoalveolar trauma. He worked with leaders in the field of Pediatric Dentistry, including Roger Hall and Nicky Kilpatrick.

After returning from Melbourne, Dr. Varma worked at Ragas Dental College and Hospital and Apollo Hospital, both in Chennai, before joining Amrita.

Dr. Varma joined the Amrita School of Dentistry in 2004. He nurtured the Department of Pediatric Dentistry during those early formative years. Today, thanks to his efforts, the Department offers postgraduate courses and in Kerala, is the only such college department to offer comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia to patients.

Over the years, Dr. Varma has contributed to three textbooks. He has also authored many scientific journal publications. He has presented several papers in national and international conferences.

An examiner for both BDS and MDS, Dr. Varma is a member of the Board of Studies at several Indian universities.

As a member of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Dr. Varma will now have the opportunity to learn about novel clinical techniques and practices and introduce them into Indian settings. We congratulate him on his achievement.

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Dr. Balagopal Varma Gets Award

May 11, 2012
School of Dentistry, Kochi