About
His story
For fifty years Dr. Vishwas Puranik has built three careers side by side: a clinician in Dombivli, a teacher of law and ethics to dentists across India, and a builder of institutions, from a local branch of the Indian Dental Association to the national presidency.
Chapter 1
Konkan roots, Mumbai training
His roots are in the Konkan. He studied at R.P. Gogate College, Ratnagiri, and qualified as a dental surgeon (BDS) from the Government Dental College, Mumbai, in 1975.
The Konkan never left him. He chairs the Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati Devasthan Trust at Phungus in Ratnagiri district, and the Devrukhe community honoured him as Devrukhe Bhushan in 2010.
Chapter 2
Dombivli, 1976
He set up his practice at Niranjan Society, M.G. Chowk, Dombivli West, in 1976, arriving, as he later put it, as a budding dentist in a town where his mentor Dr. N.D. Mokashi was the name everyone knew.
In 1999 he became Dombivli’s first implant dentist, and went on to train in implantology and the jaw joint in Germany and the UK (2000) and in Switzerland and the USA (2004). He helped start the dental department at Manav Kalyan Kendra, served as honorary dental surgeon to the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, and as panel dentist for Air India, ONGC and Hindalco.
Chapter 3
The dentist who studied law
In 1991, at 38 and with a full practice, he earned a law degree (LL.B) from Mumbai, followed by a postgraduate diploma in medico-legal systems in 1998–99.
That rare double qualification became his national voice. He has given about 150 lectures on medico-legal problems in dentistry, at state and national conferences, dental colleges and the World Dental Congress, and is Course Director for medico-legal issues at the Indian Dental Association’s Head Office. For a year he also wrote Danta-Puran, a weekly Marathi column in Maharashtra Times.
Chapter 4
From branch founder to National President
He climbed every rung of the Indian Dental Association. He was a founder member and Founder Treasurer of IDA Dombivli in 1984, its President in 1987–88 (when the branch launched its magazine, Dentograph), and chaired the organising committee of the first state conference held in Dombivli in 1992.
He became President of IDA Maharashtra in 1996–97, when the state won the national Best State Branch trophy, and National Vice-President in 1997–98. In 2016 he was elected President-Elect of an association of more than a lakh dentists; a local report noted that no one stood against him. He served as National President in 2017, chaired the World Dental Show in 2019, and convened IDA’s Constitution Committee for fifteen years.
Chapter 5
Vaidyakiya Madat Nidhi: giving back
The idea of a medical-aid trust was born at a Devrukhe Brahman Parishad in Dombivli in December 2000, attended by about 2,500 people. Vaidyakiya Madat Nidhi Trust was registered in April 2001 with him as Founder President.
It pays for treatment that patients cannot afford, funded by members who join for Rs 1,000 and by donors. By its own count it has given more than Rs 86 lakh to over 2,855 patients. Its Arogya Sevavrati Puraskar has honoured Dr. Nitu Mandke, Dr. Vikas Amte, Dr. Snehalata Deshmukh, Dr. Sanjay Oak, Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte and Dr. Mahesh Verma, and its Arogya Mitra Puraskar honours nurses and caregivers.
Chapter 6
Dombivli’s civic life
He is President of Dombivli Gymkhana, where he served four terms as Vice-President and edited its magazine, Samwad. He is a past Director of the Rotary Club of Dombivli East and a trustee of Vidyarthi Sahayyak Sanstha, Mumbai.
Dombivli has honoured him with the Dombivli Dhanvantari award in 2002, the first time it went to a dentist, and the Adarsh Dombivlikar Puraskar.
Chapter 7
The global stage
He has attended nine FDI World Dental Congresses, spoke at the FDI congress in New Delhi in 2014, and represented India at the FDI congress in Prague in 2026, inviting 135 countries and 189 dental associations to Mumbai.
Today he is Vice Chairman of the IDA’s International Committee and Chairman of the Reception Committee for the FDI World Dental Congress 2027 in Mumbai, 21–24 October 2027.
Timeline
Fifty years at a glance
1952
Born on 28 November
1975
BDS, Government Dental College, Mumbai
1976
Begins practice in Dombivli
1984
Founder Treasurer, IDA Dombivli Branch
1987–88
President, IDA Dombivli Branch
1991
LL.B, Mumbai
1996–97
President, IDA Maharashtra State Branch
1997–98
Vice-President, IDA Head Office
1999
Dombivli’s first implant dentist
2001
Founds Vaidyakiya Madat Nidhi Trust; Fellow, Indian Society of Oral Implantologists
2002
Dombivli Dhanvantari award
2010
Devrukhe Bhushan
2014
Lifetime Achievement Award, IDA Dombivli; speaker at FDI 2014, New Delhi
2017
National President, Indian Dental Association
2019
Chairman, World Dental Show
2026
Represents India at FDI 2026, Prague
2027
Chairman, Reception Committee, FDI World Dental Congress, Mumbai
Qualifications
- BDS, Government Dental College, Mumbai (1975)
- LL.B, Mumbai (1991)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Medico-legal Systems (1998–99)
- Fellow, Indian Society of Oral Implantologists (2001)
- Implantology and TMJ training in Germany, the UK, Switzerland and the USA (2000–04)
Roles today
- Chairman, Reception Committee, FDI World Dental Congress 2027
- Vice Chairman, International Committee, IDA Head Office
- Central Council member, IDA (since 1996)
- Course Director, Medico-legal Issues in Dentistry, IDA Head Office
- President, Dombivli Gymkhana
- Founder President, Vaidyakiya Madat Nidhi Trust
- Chairman, Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati Devasthan Trust, Phungus