Dental PG Admission 2026 Cut-Off Slashed By 20 Percentile Points
The cut-off was revised to help fill vacant postgraduate dental seats, says NBEMS, clarifying that NEET-MDS 2026 ranks published in its result notification dated June 2 remain unchanged
NEW DELHI: The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has reduced the qualifying cut-off percentiles for admission to Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) programmes through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for MDS (NEET-MDS) 2026.
The qualifying percentile has been reduced from 50 to 29.424 for General category (UR/EWS) candidates, from 45 to 24.424 for General Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) candidates, and from 40 to 19.424 for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC), including PwBD candidates from these categories, said an official notification.
To view the official notification, click here.
The NEET-MDS 2026 result was declared on June 2.
According to NBEMS, the revision follows a letter dated October 12, 2026, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The reduction was implemented to help fill vacant postgraduate dental seats (particularly in private and government dental institutions) following initial rounds of counselling.
The minimum qualifying percentiles have been lowered by 20.576 percentile points across all categories in accordance with the Dental Council of India (DCI) Master of Dental Surgery Regulations, 2017, and the second proviso to Clause 7(1) of the DCI Master of Dental Surgery Course (First Amendment) Regulations, 2018.
Revised qualifying percentiles and cut-off scores for NEET-MDS 2026
| Category | Minimum qualifying criteria as per the information bulletin of NEET-MDS 2026 | Cut-off Score as per minimum qualifying criteria information bulletin (Out of 960) | Revised minimum qualifying criteria (as per 12.10.2026) | Revised cut-off score following the lowering of the percentile (out of 960) |
| General Category (UR/EWS) |
50 Percentile | 308 | 29.424 Percentile | 234 |
| General PwBD | 45 Percentile | 289 | 24.424 Percentile | 218 |
| SC/ST/OBC (Including PwBD of SC/ST/OBC) | 40 Percentile | 271 | 19.424 Percentile | 200 |
No change in rank
However, the NBEMS has clarified that the NEET-MDS 2026 ranks published in its result notification dated June 2 remain unchanged.
The candidature remains provisional, subject to their fulfilment of the eligibility criteria specified in the NEET-MDS 2026 Information Bulletin and verification of their face identification and biometric details, wherever required.
Candidates are advised to regularly check the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) website, mcc.nic.in, for the latest counselling updates.
For queries, candidates can contact NBEMS at 011-45593000 or submit them through the board’s Communication Web Portal, exam.natboard.edu.in/communication.php.