Dentists Can’t Perform Aesthetic Surgeries And Hair Transplants: TGMC

Quoting the National Medical Commission (NMC), the TGMC stated that only those with formal surgical training in plastic surgery (MCh/DNB) or dermatology (MD/DNB) are authorised to carry out such procedures. These qualifications, the NMC said, involve “adequate surgical grooming” and include hair transplantation and aesthetics as core components of their curriculum, a requirement dentists and oral surgeons do not meet.

“The curriculum of various specialities should be the guiding principle for all RMPs while undertaking any procedure including aesthetics and hair transplant procedures,” the notice reads.

It also notes that the Dental Council of India (DCI) had also issued guidelines on this subject in 2022 without consulting the Ethics and Medical Registration Board, and that the NMC’s stand remains firm on protecting the integrity of qualified specialities.

In its statement, the TGMC said dentists (BDS) and MDS-qualified oral and maxillofacial surgeons “lack formal surgical knowledge and training so as to perform the aforesaid procedures,” and that such practices fall outside their permitted scope.

Medical associations across Telangana welcomed the move. “This is not just a clarification. It’s a step toward restoring ethical discipline in the field and protecting patient safety,” said a senior dermatologist from Hyderabad. The dermatology and plastic surgery communities have long raised concerns over unauthorised aesthetic clinics and cross-speciality encroachment.