The Advanced Education in General Dentistry-1 (AEGD-1) Residency

1. Act as primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. This includes providing emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care, providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner; and directing health promotion and disease prevention activities.

2. Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.

3. Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.

4. Function effectively and efficiently in multiple health care environments within interdisciplinary health care teams.

5. Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care. This includes using critical thinking, evidence or outcomes-based clinical decision-making and technology-based information retrieval systems.

6. Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.

7. Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.

*Based on ADA guidelines

The AEGD Residents are expected to make a full-time commitment to the program during their academic year. This translates to on-time attendance at all scheduled lectures and conferences while devoting time beyond regular clinic hours to program related activities. Residents are encouraged to participate actively in all case presentations and treatment planning discussions and critically analyze and discuss scientific articles during the literature review meetings.

Residents are expected to diagnose and treat veteran patients in a diligent and compassionate manner and to relate well and respectfully to fellow workers and the general public. Appropriate dress and appearance is required for all activities associated with the program. Scrub-wear is provided.

Dental Residents are evaluated daily on their knowledge through interactions with mentors in the clinical setting, literature reviews, treatment planning conferences and during case discussions. Their treatment skills are also evaluated daily through clinical observations, review of lab cases, daily and monthly record reviews and other contact with mentors.   Resident’s skills are assessed and critiqued whenever they are observed and residents are informed of ways to improve clinical skills, dental record entries and/or patient management techniques. Informal counseling is used to identify both strengths and weaknesses and includes advice on how to provide better dental care for their patients. Formally, residents are evaluated quarterly in writing by the mentors and director using the Dental Resident Rating Report.

A. Operative Dentistry:

1. Restore single teeth in the permanent dentition with a wide range of materials and methods.

2. Place restorations and perform procedures to enhance the patient’s facial esthetics.

3. Restore endodontically treated teeth.

B. Restoration of Edentulous Space

1. Replace missing teeth for patients utilizing removable prostheses.

2. Replace missing teeth for patients utilizing uncomplicated (6 units or less) fixed prosthesis.

3. Communicate prosthesis design to laboratory technicians in a professional and effective manner and evaluate the resultant prosthesis.

4. Integrate implant dentistry with conventional dental therapy

5. Diagnose, plan, and place conventional implants

6. Restore uncomplicated endosseous conventional implants with fixed or removable prostheses

C. Periodontal therapy:

1. Diagnose and treat early and moderate periodontal disease using surgical and non-surgical procedures.

2. Diagnose and manage advanced periodontal disease.

3. Evaluate the results of periodontal treatment then establish and monitor a periodontal maintenance program.

D. Endodontic therapy:

1. Diagnose and treat pain of pulpal origin.

2. Perform uncomplicated non-surgical anterior and posterior endodontic therapy.

3. Manage uncomplicated non-surgical molar endodontic therapy.

4. Treat or manage endodontic complications

E. Oral surgery:

1. Perform surgical and non-surgical extraction of teeth.

2. Perform uncomplicated hard and soft tissue pre-prosthetic surgery.

3. Treat or manage patients with complications related to intra-oral surgical procedures

F. Evaluation and treatment of dental emergencies:

1. Diagnose and treat patients with intra-oral dental emergencies and infections.

2. Diagnose and manage intra-oral hard and soft tissue lesions of traumatic origin.

G. Pain and anxiety control utilizing behavioral and pharmacologic techniques:

1. Provide control of pain and anxiety in the conscious patient through the use of psychological interventions, behavior management techniques, local anesthesia and oral conscious sedation techniques.

2. Prevent, recognize and manage complications related to the use and interactions of drugs, local anesthesia and oral conscious sedation

H. Medical Emergencies:

1. Anticipate, diagnose and provide initial treatment and follow-up management for medical emergencies that may occur during dental treatment.

I. Oral Mucosal Diseases and oral and maxillofacial pathology

1. Diagnose and manage common oral mucosal lesions by accurately describing and developing a reasonable differential diagnosis and treatment plan.

2. Demonstrate use and knowledge of appropriate medications to treat oral-facial diseases

3. Perform biopsy of oral tissue and correctly complete tissue submission form for microscopic evaluation

4. Recognize and diagnose common oral maxillofacial pathology

J. Temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain:

1. Demonstrate the ability to diagnose simple facial pain/TMD and manage with either pharmacologic agents or splints or combination of both.

2. Diagnose, treat or refer patients with orofacial pain

K. Occlusal disorders:

1. Diagnose and manage patients with occlusal problems such as worn dentition, poor anterior guidance, traumatic occlusion, centric relation prematurity, or occlusal plane discrepancy

L. Assess, diagnose, plan and provide emergency and comprehensive multidisciplinary oral healthcare for a wide variety of patients including those with special needs:

1. Obtain and interpret the patient’s chief complaint; medical, dental and social history; and review of systems. 2. Function as the patient’s primary and comprehensive oral health care provider.

3. Use available diagnostic and prognostic information to integrate multiple disciplines into an individualized, comprehensive and sequenced treatment plan for patients with complex needs.

4. Develop and carry out dental treatment plans for patients with special needs such as complex medical problems, significant physical limitations and developmental disabilities

5. Modify the treatment plan, as indicated, to effectively manage unexpected circumstances or individual patient needs.

M. Obtain informed consent:

1. Obtain informed consent for dental treatment by discussing with patients or guardians of patients the following: findings; diagnoses; risks, benefits, alternatives, and process of various treatment options, realistic treatment expectations, and patient responsibilities during and after treatment.

N. Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams including consultation and referral:

1. Obtain and interpret clinical and radiographic data and additional diagnostic information from other health care providers or other diagnostic resources.

2. Make referrals to, and obtain consultations from, professional colleagues for the assessment of medical, psychological, and social problems presented by dental patients

O. Provide and manage delivery of patient-focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner:

1. Develop and carry out dental treatment plans for patients, including patients with special needs in a manner that considers and integrates the patient’s medical, psychological and social needs.

2. Consult with dental specialists and coordinate patients’ care with dental specialists determined by the patient’s treatment plan.

P. Direct health promotion and disease prevention activities:

1. Participate in community programs to assist in the prevention and reduction of oral disease.

2. Use accepted prevention strategies such as oral hygiene instruction, nutritional education and pharmacologic intervention to assist patients in the improvement and maintenance of their oral and systemic health.

Q. Use advanced dental treatment modalities as defined by the program:

1. Incorporate conventional implants in the patient’s treatment plan

2. Use implant retained removable prosthesis whenever indicated to restore edentulous and partially edentulous patients

3. Perform surgical extractions whenever the clinical situation requires

4. Use CBCT to diagnose osseous lesions and plan implant placement

R. Physical evaluation and medical assessment:

1. Obtain and interpret the patient’s chief complaint, medical, dental and social history and review of systems

2. Know the indications for common lab studies and how to interpret their results

3. Understand the relationship between oral health and systemic disease

4. Interpret a physical evaluation performed by a physician to determine its impact on dental treatment

S. Practice Management:

1. Provide patient care by working effectively with allied dental personnel and performing sit-down four-handed dentistry.

2. Employ and promote ethical principles in the practice of dentistry and in relationships with patients, personnel and colleagues.

3. Understand, and participate in, a system for continuous self-evaluation and quality improvement in a dental practice.

4. Understand basic principle of business management and practice development

Salary is $60,000 per year.  The residents are entitled to 14 days annual leave and six days of sick leave accrued during the academic year.  Residents are also eligible for life insurance and health insurance at a greatly reduced rate. 

The residents work four 10-hour days (7 am to 5:30 pm) per week and will be on a day off schedule of Monday one week and Tuesday the next or a Thursday Friday schedule.  Residents are expected to take minimal non-business hour call. The program observes all federal holidays (9 per academic year).