Founded in 1985 at Deralakatte near Mangaluru by the then Nitte Education Trust and the current Nitte University, the A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, is close to celebrating 30 years of its service.
It was the first professional institute established by the trust founded by the late K.S. Hegde and is now being nurtured by his son Nitte Vinay Hegde, Chancellor of Nitte University.
The university has established 15 rural satellite centres over a 150-km radius from the institute catering to 333 villages.
The centres were conceptualised and nurtured by the founder dean N. Sridhar Shetty, who thought of providing quality oral health to the rural population, said a release from the university.
The satellite centres are located at Sringeri (Chikkamagaluru district); Madikeri (Kodagu district); Nitte, Bailoor, Mundkur, Hejamadikodi, Marnakatte, Dabbekatte, Nada (Udupi district); Subrahmanya, Thalipadi, Farangipete, Bengre, Konaje (Dakshina Kannada district) and Bellikoth (Kasargod district of Kerala).
With one to two dental surgeons for each centre, one administrative officer from the local community and well-equipped dental clinics, the centres have been established as a public-private partnership with the involvement of the local community.
Till date, over 10 lakh patients have received free treatment at these centres since 1991.
Following this initiative, the Dental Council of India has made it mandatory for all dental colleges in the country to have at least three rural centres.
The institute has also introduced single day denture camps for senior citizens by Sridhar Shetty. More than 2,000 dentures have been delivered successfully to senior patients in about 60 single-day camps.
In the field of academics, the institute has so far produced over 2,400 graduates (BDS) and 1,200 postgraduates (MDS) while many have obtained their Ph.D. degrees too.
