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BDS 3rd year: subjects and books.

10 subjects, 10 standard titles, with author, publisher and edition for each. Following the Dental Council of India course regulations.

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3rd year

Subject by subject

Only three subjects are examined this year. General Medicine, General Surgery and Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology. The other seven start now but are examined in the final year, and their book lists are there.

General Medicine

Systemic clinical medicine — history-taking, physical examination, and diagnosis/management of common medical conditions relevant to safe dental practice and patient management. DCI-specified hours: 60 lecture, 90 practical, 150 clinical. Examined at the end of 3rd year (one of the three '3rd BDS examination' subjects, along with General Surgery and Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology).

  1. Textbook of Clinical Medicine for Dental Studentsprimary textS.N. Chugh, Anshul Chugh · Avichal Publishing Company (APC Books) · 5th edition (2019) — the most recent edition this research could confirm — the edition in circulation as of September 2026The standard dental-specific General Medicine textbook for Indian BDS students, explicitly built around the BDS syllabus rather than the MBBS one; the usual first recommendation for this subject in Indian dental colleges.
  2. Davidson's Principles and Practice of MedicinereferenceStuart H. Ralston, Ian D. Penman, Mark W. J. Strachan, Richard P. Hobson (eds.) · Elsevier · 25th editionThe internationally standard, in-depth medicine text (primarily aimed at MBBS/postgraduate readers); used selectively by more ambitious BDS students for deeper reading rather than as the primary dental-specific exam text —.
  3. API Textbook of MedicinereferenceY.P. Munjal (editor), for the Association of Physicians of India · Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers · 9th edition (2 volumes)A comprehensive, India-authored medicine reference, but oriented more toward MBBS final-year and NEET-PG(medicine) readers than BDS students; included as an optional supplementary reference with lower confidence on its uptake specifically among BDS students.
  4. Golwalla's Medicine for Students: A Reference Book for the Family PhysicianreferenceAspi F. Golwalla, Sharukh A. Golwalla, Milind Y. Nadkar · Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers · 25th/26th edition (both concurrently listed by different resellers)A well-known general/family-medicine reference in India; occasionally used by BDS students as a general-medicine companion alongside the dental-specific text.

General Surgery

Principles of general surgery and surgical patient management relevant to dental practice. DCI-specified hours: 60 lecture, 90 practical, 150 clinical. Examined at the end of 3rd year (one of the three '3rd BDS examination' subjects).

  1. Textbook of Surgery for Dental Studentsprimary textSanjay Marwah · Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers · 3rd edition (2025)Dental-specific general surgery textbook built around the BDS syllabus; confirmed as a top recommendation for this subject by an Indian dental bookseller's BDS reading-list blog.
  2. SRB's Manual of SurgeryreferenceSriram Bhat M · Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers · 8th edition (2026)Very popular concise, exam-oriented MBBS surgery manual; also used by some BDS students as a supplementary reference alongside a dental-specific text.
  3. Bailey & Love's Short Practice of SurgeryreferenceP. Ronan O'Connell et al. (eds.) · CRC Press / Taylor & Francis · 28th editionThe internationally standard, in-depth general surgery reference; used selectively by BDS students, mainly for deeper reading rather than as a primary exam text.
  4. A Manual on Clinical SurgeryreferenceS. Das · Dr S Das's Publications · 18th edition (2025)Widely used Indian clinical-surgery manual (bedside/clinical-method oriented), popular at MBBS level and used by some BDS students for clinical-methods orientation.

Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology

Full clinical-years treatment of oral pathology and oral microbiology, expanding substantially from the introductory Year-2 coverage. DCI-specified hours: 120 lecture, 80 practical, 200 clinical. Examined at the end of 3rd year (one of the three '3rd BDS examination' subjects).

  1. Shafer's Textbook of Oral Pathologyprimary textR. Rajendran, B. Sivapathasundharam (10th edition led by B. Sivapathasundharam) · Elsevier India · 10th edition (2024)The standard Indian oral pathology textbook, used from the introductory Year-2 portion through the full Year-3 course. Note: this is the same book informally referred to as 'Rajendran & Sivapathasundharam' — not a separate title from Shafer's.
  2. Oral and Maxillofacial PathologyreferenceBrad W. Neville, Douglas D. Damm, Carl M. Allen, Angela C. Chi · Elsevier (South Asia Edition available) · 5th editionThe internationally standard, more detailed oral pathology reference; used selectively alongside Shafer's, mainly by students preparing for postgraduate entrance exams.

Oral Medicine and Radiology

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 20 lecture, 70 practical, 90 clinical) but has NO separate 3rd-year university examination — it continues into 4th year and is examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 20 lecture, 70 practical, 90 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 20 lecture, 70 practical, 90 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Periodontology

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 30 lecture, 70 practical, 100 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 20 lecture, 70 practical, 90 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 30 lecture, 70 practical, 100 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.

Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge

Introduced and taught in 3rd year (DCI-specified Year-3 hours: 30 lecture, 70 practical, 100 clinical) but examined only in the Final (4th year) BDS examination. See the 'Fourth Year BDS' entry below for the full textbook list.

Taught this year, examined in the final year. The textbook list for this subject is on the Fourth Year page, where its university exam falls.
Frequently asked

BDS 3rd year — questions

What subjects are in BDS 3rd year?

General Medicine, General Surgery, Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology, Oral Medicine and Radiology, Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Periodontology, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge.

Which books should I buy for BDS 3rd year?

General Medicine: Textbook of Clinical Medicine for Dental Students; General Surgery: Textbook of Surgery for Dental Students; Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology: Shafer's Textbook of Oral Pathology

Can you print these books for me?

We print from a PDF you send us and are entitled to print. We do not host, sell or supply book PDFs. Send the file on WhatsApp with the page range and we quote in minutes.

How much does printing a textbook cost?

Black and white is 50 paise a page, colour is Rs 1 a page, and binding is Rs 40 per bound volume. Anything past roughly 1,500 pages we bind in two or three volumes so the spine survives the year.

We print files you send us. We do not host, sell or supply book PDFs — send us a file you are entitled to print and we print and bind it. Editions move: check the current edition before you buy or print.

Printing your BDS 3rd year reading?

Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.

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