Pune: State medical education minister Hasan Mushrif has said that amid growing challenges like oral cancer, tooth decay and gum diseases, private institutions must take the lead to provide quality preventive healthcare services and conduct awareness campaigns, especially for citizens in rural areas where penetration of oral and dental healthcare is low.Mushrif was speaking at the 20th graduation ceremony organised by MA Rangoonwala College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre on Thursday.He inaugurated the college’s state-of-the-art digital simulation lab for pre-clinical dental training. The new digital simulation lab includes 100 workstations with Japanese-inspired dental mannequins, modern European standard LED lighting, high-speed dental equipment, camera-supported teaching systems and large screens for live demonstrations. The facility will help students observe, practice and repeat dental procedures in a setting close to real clinical work, improving their confidence, accuracy and readiness before entering patient careMushrif said dentistry is evolving with the help of AI, digital tools and simulation-based learning. Experts said that with the right tools, dentists or trained non-medical personnel can detect oral lesions — cancerous, pre-cancerous and non-cancerous — and many Indian companies are taking the lead for the same. One such Pune-based company, Edgescan, is driving the change with its AI app, Mukhia Plus.Meanwhile, the minister further said that given the volume of dental problems and the role dentists can play in diagnosing oral cancer cases since 2024, the state govt had included dental treatments related to oral surgeries under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, making it affordable for citizens to get access to oral healthcare. In 2025, Maharashtra reported 14,704 oral cancer cases.
