Karnataka has seen a big rise in demand for Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) seats. For the first time in years, all 2,709 BDS seats for 2025 and 2,650 seats for 2024 have been filled. Earlier, many seats remained empty. In 2023, out of 2,709 seats, 199 were vacant. In 2022, out of 2,810 seats, 1,398 seats were not taken. Sharan Prakash Patil, Karnataka's Medical Education Minister, said, “There is a growing interest in the dental course.” Traditionally, medical and dental courses attract more students. However, dental courses used to be the second choice for those who missed medical seats. Now, fewer dental colleges and no increase in seats have made available seats fill fast. Sources say delays in medical seat allotments, late approvals for more medical seats, and legal issues have pushed more students towards dental courses. Meanwhile, seats in Pharmacy, Pharma Science, AYUSH, Yoga, and Nursing still have many vacancies. This year, 791 Pharmacy, 36 Pharma Science, 174 Yoga Naturopathy, and 995 AYUSH seats are vacant. Out of 34,050 nursing seats, only 12,386 are filled. In 2024, 16,744 nursing seats, and in 2023, 22,774 seats went vacant. Dr. Patil said, “From 2023, nursing seats fill through the Common Entrance Test (CET) by Karnataka Examinations Authority. 20% government quota seats and 80% private/management seats are on CET rank. Government seats cost ₹10,000, private seats around ₹1,00,000, which students find costly.” Because of this, government quota seats fill up while many private seats remain empty.