In 1993, the college was the first in the country to set up a Department of Oral Implantology. In 1995, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, UK, recognised the college as one of the few overseas centres for the conduct of their fellowship exams in MFDS and MOMS. In 1998, the college was the first in India to establish an exclusive Craniofacial Hospital & Research Centre. The centre treats trauma, cancer and other deformities of the head and neck region.

The new millennium—2001—saw the college begin a partnership with the Smile Train programme, a non-governmental organisation based in the USA which supports the treatment of children with cleft lip and cleft palate. The collaboration has enabled the rehabilitation of close to 5000 children over the past nine years.

In 2002, SDMCDS became the first dental college in India to be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, or NAAC, an autonomous body of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The NAAC awarded the college ‘Five Star’ status. In July 2009, SDMCDS was reaccredited by the NAAC, this time with ‘Grade A’ as per the new grading system, and a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.77/4 (94%), making it the top health sciences institution in India and fourth overall for any type of institution.

The BDS degree offered in SDMCDS was recognised by the Malaysian Government in 2004 after a thorough inspection by officials of the Ministry of Health of that country. This recognition allows Malaysian graduates from the college to practice dentistry in their country also.

SDMCDS and Tufts Dental School, Boston (which is one of the leading dental institutions in the USA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for academic collaboration and student exchange. Since then, students from both institutions have visited each other and collaborated on a number of topics of mutual interest.

Since January 2006, SDMCDS has been organising the residential programme of the Master of Clinical Dentistry in Prosthodontics offered by King’s Dental College, London, UK. Also in 2006, the college set up an exclusive Department of Forensic Dentistry—the first in India. The department is now recognised by the Karnataka Government as a State Referral Centre for forensic dental cases.

In October 2008, the college received its 7,00,000th patient. The number stands at 7,75,000 today. Overall, close to 38 lakh treatment procedures have been rendered in the hospital and reflect the trust of the people of the north Karnataka region in the institution’s services.
In 2009, the college was one of the few centres in India to offer the one-year postgraduate certificate course in Oral Implantology and Endodontics, under the aegis of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
     
The college established India’s first Department of General Dentistry in February 2009, wherein multi-specialty dental care was provided under supervision of faculty from diverse departments. This ensures comprehensive oral health care for patients under one roof, and is a one-of-a-kind facility in the country.

In March 2010, the college set up the Faculty Practice Clinic wherein patients can avail treatment from Professors, Associate Professors and Readers. Also in 2010, the college entered the Guinness World Records for having the world’s tallest home-grown cactus, which today stands at 85 feet.