This comes amid ongoing disputes between medical and dental regulatory authorities over the scope of practice for aesthetic procedures.
Published Dec 18, 2025 | 2:01 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 18, 2025 | 2:01 PM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: The Union Health Ministry has clarified that dentists with OMFS qualifications may perform aesthetic and limited hair-restoration procedures, but only within the cranio-maxillofacial region. The clarification seeks to resolve a long-running dispute between dental and medical regulators, balancing DCI’s expanded OMFS training framework with NMC concerns over scope of practice and patient safety.
The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry confirmed on Tuesday, 16 December, that dentists who hold an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) degree can perform aesthetic surgical procedures and selected hair-restoration procedures within the cranio-maxillofacial region.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel addressed the matter in response to questions raised by Rajya Sabha member Vivek K Tankha. The MP asked whether the Dental Council of India permits OMFS practitioners to perform aesthetic dermatology procedures, whether such permission exceeds the DCI’s statutory mandate, and whether this conflicts with the National Medical Commission Act 2019.
“Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons who undergo training under the Dental Council of India’s MDS Course Regulations, 2017 are permitted to perform aesthetic surgical procedures and selected hair-restoration procedures limited strictly to the cranio-maxillofacial region,” Patel stated. “OMFS specialists receive extensive training as part of their approved and recognised postgraduate curriculum.”
Patel said that the domains of OMFS practitioners differ from those of dermatology and general medicine. “The scopes of DCI and NMC remain complementary rather than conflicting,” she said.
“The government promotes inter-regulatory coordination among different statutory bodies to ensure regulatory clarity, uphold patient safety, and maintain integrity of professions regulated by the respective regulatory bodies.”
The clarification arrives amid ongoing disputes between medical and dental regulatory authorities over the scope of practice for aesthetic procedures.
The controversy traces back to 6 December 2022, when the Dental Council of India issued a notification clarifying that OMFS practitioners with adequate training could perform aesthetic and hair transplant surgeries. DCI specified that such procedures could only be undertaken by practitioners registered with a State Dental Council who had access to proper infrastructure and emergency support systems.
DCI’s position built upon an earlier regulatory change. On 26 August 2019, the council had legally amended the Master of Dental Surgery Course Regulations through a Gazette Notification, expanding the OMFS training scope to include facial aesthetic surgeries such as facelifts, blepharoplasty, and otoplasty, bone graft harvesting from the hip, skull, and lower leg, skull base surgeries and jaw joint surgeries, craniofacial trauma and cancer surgeries, and hair transplant as a skill enhancement module.
Between 2021 and 2022, the DCI issued three separate communications affirming that OMFS professionals were qualified to perform both aesthetic and hair transplant procedures under the existing training framework.
The National Medical Commission took a different position on the matter. On 29 May, the Telangana Medical Council sought clarification from the NMC regarding the scope of practice for OMFS practitioners.
The NMC responded on 13 June, stating that the DCI had issued its 2022 notification without consulting the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the NMC.
The commission reiterated its official guidelines, stating that hair transplant procedures should preferably be undertaken only by those with formal surgical training such as MCh/DNB in Plastic Surgery or MD/DNB Dermatology with adequate grooming in dermatological surgical procedures.
NMC added that aesthetic procedures should be undertaken only by registered medical practitioners who have adequate training as per their curriculum, with the curriculum of various specialities serving as the guiding principle.
Following the NMC’s clarification, the Telangana Medical Council issued a public notice on 26 June stating that dental surgeons, including OMFS specialists, lack qualifications to carry out aesthetic procedures or hair transplantation surgeries.
“Dentists (BDS)/Dental Surgeons, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (MDS) do not have the aforesaid specialties as core topics in their curriculum and as such, they lack formal surgical knowledge and training to perform these procedures,” the TMC notice read.
The council argued that OMFS practitioners do not have aesthetic procedures and hair transplantation as core topics in their curriculum, and therefore lack formal surgical knowledge to perform these procedures.
Dermatologists and plastic surgeons welcomed the TMC’s position. “The TMC’s stand against quackery and crosspathy reflects its integrity and deep commitment to the medical profession,” a group of dermatologists and plastic surgeons stated.
The TMC subsequently wrote to the Director of Medical Education and the Vice Chancellor/Registrar of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, requesting authorities to withhold the posting of MDS-OMFS students in plastic surgery departments.
“We request your kind authority to withhold the posting of MDS-OMFS students in Department of Plastic Surgery which specifically deals with Aesthetic & Hair Transplantation Procedures,” the letter stated.
Two days after the TMC’s notice, the Telangana Dental Council issued a clarifying notice on 28 June asserting that properly registered Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are fully qualified and authorised to perform facial aesthetic procedures and hair transplants under Dental Council of India standards.
The TDC emphasised the legal amendments made by the DCI through the 26 August 2019 Gazette Notification and cited the three DCI communications from 2021-2022 affirming OMFS professionals’ qualifications.
The council urged the public not to be misled or unduly influenced by communications from organisations other than the DCI or respective State Dental Councils.
The Health Ministry’s statement on 16 December resolves the jurisdictional conflict by confirming that OMFS practitioners can perform aesthetic procedures, but only within the cranio-maxillofacial region where their training applies.
This position acknowledges both the DCI’s expanded curriculum and the NMC’s concerns about scope of practice. By limiting OMFS practitioners to the cranio-maxillofacial region, the ministry establishes clear boundaries that prevent overlap with dermatology and general medicine while recognising the surgical training OMFS specialists receive in their postgraduate curriculum.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
