Dr. Hegde dreamt of being a dentist in his childhood. Armed with good examination scores, he turned this dream into a reality by enrolling at the Government Dental College in Bengaluru in 1978. He opted for the WHO-patterned 4 year BDS course, graduating in 1983. After graduation, he refined his skills by working with senior dental surgeons in the general dentistry field.

In 1985, he partially switched to a teaching programme at A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences as a tutor. He then received the first place at the state professional entrance examinations, enabling him to join the masters programme at the Government Dental College at the Victoria and Vani Vilas complex in 1988. In 1990, he completed the course with an MDS in Orthodontics and proceeded to rejoin his teaching post at A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences as an assistant professor.

Three years later, he shifted to Bangalore to establish a private practice with his wife, Dr. Reshma Hegde. By 1994, they had set up their practice at St. John’s Church Road.

Alongside his private and consulting practice, Dr. Hegde continued to nurture his passion for teaching. He taught at M R Ambedkar Dental College (5 years) and served as Head of Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics at Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences from 2000 to 2014. He was primarily responsible for starting the Post Graduate programme in orthodontics at Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences in 2007.

After his years as an educator, he chose to completely focus his attention on his private and consulting practice, building up a reputation for high-quality and honest dentistry.
Dr. Hegde has numerous publications in orthodontics in various peer-reviewed journals.