VA Great Lakes Dental Residency Program

A new frontier of dental postgraduate education

The Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Milo C. Huempfner VA Community Outpatient Clinic in Green Bay, Wisconsin, are the educational sponsors of our postdoctoral dental residency training programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.

Our vision is to create unified and collaborative postgraduate dental residency programs, considered to be the premier residency destinations for dental graduates seeking general dental or specialty dental residency programs.

Residents who complete our programs gain the real-world experiences and gain a sense of certainty and confidence in how to treat a full spectrum of patients and their unique oral medical challenges. Unlike any other dental residency programs, our VA dental programs expose residents to a broad range of complex conditions and medically compromised patients.

Our esteemed alumni continue to distinguish themselves in practices and dental associations.

A mission to serve

With a continuing commitment to the highest standards of care, we believe that our primary goals are to provide high quality advanced training to recent dental graduates while serving our country’s Veterans. Through values reflecting compassion, dignity, integrity, and service, our residency programs affirm our dedication to care for Veterans.

Our clinical training

VA Great Lakes Dental Residency programs reside throughout multiple facilities and locations.

For admission to any of our Postdoctoral Dental Residency General or Advanced Specialty Programs, all prospective candidates must complete the PASS Application on the American Dental Education Association’s PASS application website. Click on the PASS Program Finder to search for our programs. When viewing each program and training site, you will see a unique PASSCODE that will represent the program and training site to which you are interested in applying. Use that PASSCODE on your application. You will also see additional application requirements. Application requirements are also listed on each program page on our website.

• Applicants may apply during their senior year of dental school. The applicant must be enrolled in or a graduate of an American Dental Association accredited dental school and have passed parts I and II of the Dental National Board.
• Applicants must be United States citizens.
• Applications may be filed through the Postdoctoral Applications Support Service (PASS) sponsored by the American Association of Dental Schools. This system relieves the applicant of completing multiple and repetitive applications to individual programs by allowing the applicant to file one standardized application with this centralized service. Applications should be received by PASS by October 15. Please note, this program simply facilitates the application process and has no impact upon the selection process. Information and PASS application forms and instructions can be obtained online at http://www.adea.org/.

Please note: Our programs do NOT participate in the National Matching Service (MATCH) sponsored by the American Association of Hospital Dentists.

Candidates are selected based upon academic records, letters of recommendation, and a personal interview.

The prospective resident is reminded that significant variation exists between accredited programs in terms of personnel, resources, and patient demographics. The prospective resident must assess programs on an individual basis to determine whether the program structure and personality will satisfy their objectives in seeking additional professional education. A personal visit and interview is essential to achieve this goal.

To contact us for more information, please send us email and include the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Dental school currently enrolled in (if applicable)
• How did you hear about us?
• Program you are interested in:

1. AEGD
2. Prosthodontics

Because all of the VA Great Lakes Dental Residency Programs are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, you can be confident that you’ll be learning from a proven institution that maintains the highest academic standards.

Our accredited Postdoctoral General Dentistry Programs include:

• Advance Education Program in General Dentistry (AEGD)

Our accredited Postdoctoral Advanced Specialty Education Programs include:

• Prosthodontics

Our teaching staff believes that its role is to help each resident achieve clinical competencies and then challenge the resident’s clinical understanding and decision-making capabilities.  All training is conducted under the direction and supervision of full-time and part-time staff. Attending instructors are educationally qualified and present during clinic and lecture sessions for consultation.  Our faculty for at each site consists of:

Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee VA Dental Clinic Staff                                   

Full-time staff

• 6 general dentists
• 1 oral surgeon
• 3 prosthodontists
• 3 periodontists
• 3 full-time prosthodontic residents

 Part-time staff

• 3 general dentists
• 1 prosthodontist
• 2 oral surgeons

Milo C. Huempfner VA Outpatient Clinic Green Bay WI
Green Bay VA Dental Clinic Staff                                   

Full-time staff

• 2 general dentists
• 1 oral surgeon
• 2 prosthodontists
• 1 periodontist

The Great Lakes Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Residency enrolls residents at two VA locations.  The Clement J. Zablocki VAMC in Milwaukee, WI enrolls three to four AEGD residents and the Milo C. Huempfner VA Health Care Center in Green Bay, WI enrolls two AEGD residents.

Each resident is afforded:

• Their own operatory to perform multiple aspects of dentistry
• Their own desk and computer in the Doctor’s Office

 Each resident’s operatory has:

• A dedicated dental assistant to work alongside the Resident
• Digital radiography equipment
• Armamentarium provided for comprehensive treatment:

                             - Root canal therapy
                             - Fixed and removeable prosthodontics
                             - Direct restorations
                             - Oral surgery

The patients are complex, and the standards are high. It is expected that residents will work efficiently as the needs of our Veteran population are extensive, yet the overriding emphasis is on quality, not quantity. The dedicated and energetic resident will find unlimited opportunities to excel, not only clinically, but also through direct resident feedback, we are able to be innovative with our program and improve resident experiences.

Interested candidates can apply through PASS at:  https://www.adea.org/PASSapp/applicants/

• Site at Milwaukee VA - Milwaukee, WI – PASS Designation = AEGD 111
• Site at Green Bay VA - Green Bay, WI – PASS Designation = AEGD 1521

For more information about the Advanced Education in General Dentistry, you may use the “Contact Us” form on the website or directly contact:

Richard Kaplan, DMD
Director, Advanced Education in General Dentistry
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
5000 W. National Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53295
Phone:
Email: richard.kaplan@va.gov

Jesse W. Smith, DDS, MSFACP
Director, Zablocki VA Great Lakes Advanced Specialty Education in Prosthodontics
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
5000 W. National Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53295
Phone:
Email: jesse.smith4@va.gov

For The VA Great Lakes Dental Residency Graduate Education Bulletin in Graduate Prosthodontics Residency program, please contact us.

For more information, specific to the program, please inquire to the program director, or use the contact us option to seek more information.