The Union Ministry of Health has clarified that Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (OMFS) are permitted to perform certain aesthetic surgical procedures and selected hair-restoration procedures, provided these are strictly limited to the cranio-maxillofacial region.
Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel, said that OMFS specialists who undergo training under the Dental Council of India’s (DCI) MDS Course Regulations, 2017 are adequately qualified within their defined scope of practice.
The clarification came in response to questions raised by Rajya Sabha member Shri Vivek K Tankha, who sought to know whether the DCI allows OMFS to undertake aesthetic dermatology procedures, whether such permissions go beyond the Council’s statutory mandate, and whether they overlap or conflict with provisions of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019. He also asked if such overlaps raise public safety or regulatory concerns and whether the government plans to issue advisories or coordination mechanisms between the DCI and NMC.
Addressing these concerns, Minister Patel stated that OMFS specialists receive extensive and structured training as part of their recognised postgraduate curriculum. She emphasised that their professional domain is distinct from dermatology and general medicine, and therefore, the regulatory scopes of the DCI and the NMC are “complementary rather than conflicting.”
“The Government promotes inter-regulatory coordination among different statutory bodies to ensure regulatory clarity, uphold patient safety, and maintain the integrity of professions regulated by the respective councils,” the Minister told the House.
Referring to patient safety concerns, Patel also cited the National Medical Commission’s guidelines on Aesthetic Surgery and Hair Transplant Procedures issued on September 20, 2022. These guidelines specify that hair transplantation should preferably be performed by medical professionals with formal surgical training, such as MCh/DNB Plastic Surgery or MD/DNB Dermatology, where hair transplantation forms a core part of the curriculum.
The NMC further clarified that aesthetic procedures, including hair transplantation, should only be undertaken by registered medical practitioners who have adequate training as per their respective curricula. The Commission underlined that such procedures require proper skills in patient selection, diagnosis, surgical techniques and post-procedure care, along with appropriate infrastructure and trained manpower to manage complications.
The apex medical regulator also noted that aesthetic procedures are not emergency interventions and categorically stated that there is no justification for allowing untrained or unqualified individuals to perform them under “exceptional circumstances.”
Earlier, the Health Ministry had informed Parliament that the NMC had not received any complaints regarding unqualified or unregistered persons carrying out aesthetic dermatology or laser treatments across the country.
