(Know your mentor series is an interview based series of stalwarts of dentistry. We take you through their journey and give them a platform to talk in a heart-to-heart personal manner.) This month, our mentor is Sports Dentist Dr Sneha Divekar. Dr Sneha is one of the most active clinician and academician in the field of sports dentistry. A mentor with the Institute of Sports Science and Technology (ISST), and the Organising Chair of DentalReach Digital Conference & Awards DRDCA 2022, Dr Sneha has also received numerous awards like Rising Star of the Year by IERCT Global and InsightCare “40 Under 40 Passionate Women Leaders in Healthcare 2023”. She has also authored a chapter “Sports Dentistry for Children and Adolescents” in a textbook of Pediatric Dentistry.
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in Sports Dentistry?
I started my clinic in Pune, India in 2012. I learnt esthetic dentistry & advanced endodontics, I conducted lot of camps and my practice flourished. I always had the desire to do something different, so while the mundane routine of a regular dentist started becoming boring, I decided to look up something different in dentistry. I was looking for something that no one had yet ventured into. That is when I came across Sports Dentistry and I found it extremely dynamic and interesting. Not only did I realize that there is no course on Sports Dentistry in India (this was in 2017), but also that the way a Consultant Sports Dentist works - do dental treatments for athletes, co-ordinate with the sports healthcare professionals, create awareness for athletes and coaches, etc - requires a lot of knowledge about both sports plus dentistry and also involves lot of social skills. I found this challenging and potentially rewarding.
2. Could you please provide an overview of the Diploma in Sports Dentistry course offered at the Institute of Sports Science and Technology (ISST) in collaboration with DentalReach? What is the main objective of the program?
Initially, in 2018, we had launched a 3 months Certificate program in Sports Dentistry and the main objective was to sensitize the dentist to the topic of Sports Dentistry so they are better equipped to deal with athletes and their dental care. I took a lot of efforts to spread awareness about sports dentistry and after 4yrs, by August 2022, we had completed 8-9 workshops on sports dentistry and almost 70 dentists completed our course. This encouraged us to upgrade the course and we launched the Diploma in Sports Dentistry in September 2022 in collaboration with DentalReach. This program is now 6 months distance learning with a 2-day contact program, 400 pages of course content, 200 marks online exam and 1 practical assignment.3. What are the eligibility criteria for enrolling in the Diploma in Sports Dentistry course?
BDS from any recognized university in India can do the course. We have interns doing the course with us as well but they need to submit their final year result. Post-graduates, clinicians, academicians are all welcome to do the course. With growing focus on sports, the need of the hour is such that although you can call it a super-specialisation, we didn't limit the course to only postgraduates, anyone from BDS level should also be able to do it.4. What are the core areas of knowledge and skills that students can expect to gain during the course?
The main knowledge that the dentist needs to have is various aspects of sports sciences and sports medicine, specific dental care and injury management issues of athletes, all types of mouthguards and most important, how to co-relate sports issues with dentistry like sports nutrition, sports psychology and sports medicine. When performance in sports has gained so much importance, there is a lot to understand how the stomatognathic system can affect athlete’s performance. The dentist has to update many skills like fabricating mouthguards, endodontic and esthetic dental injury management, sports first aid and suturing.
Free for members
Keep reading — it's free
The rest of this article is open to DentalReach members. Create a free account, or sign in, and every article on the site opens in full.
