Dentistry Residency Curriculum

Our curriculum provides high-quality general dentistry and specialty service training to residents. Rotations include anesthesia and emergency medicine, as well as specialty enrichment rotations. Lectures cover topics including oral surgery, medical diagnosis, anesthesia, implant therapy, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics and practice management.

Clinical Rotations

Anesthesia Rotation

During this rotation, the dental resident will obtain an overview of anesthesiology as a medical specialty and will focus on those aspects of anesthesiology important in the safe practice of dentistry.

Goals

The emphasis will be on risk assessment and the knowledge of requisite clinical pharmacology, with exposures to airway management and patient monitoring.

Objectives

Residents must be assigned to an anesthesia rotation with supervised practical experience in the following:

Preoperative evaluation
Assessment of the effects of behavioral and pharmacologic techniques
Venipuncture technique
Patient monitoring
Airway management
Understanding of the use of pharmacologic agents
Recognition and treatment of anesthetic emergencies
Assessment of patient recovery from anesthesia

Emergency Medicine Rotation

The hospital-based dentist sees a significant number of patients who are medically compromised, have sustained physical injury or both. Such patients are seen for both consultation and treatment.

Medical emergencies are more likely to occur in the hospital dental facility than in a typical office practice. Hospital-trained dentists must be able to identify patients who are prone to certain types of complications so that they are able to rationally prescribe treatment that places the patient at minimal risk. They also must be able to initiate prophylactic measures during treatment to prevent adverse events.

A significant number of patients with chronic disease are seen by dentists on a continuing care basis. The dentist must be able to recognize signs and symptoms of decompensation of various organ systems so that appropriate and timely consultation can be initiated and a medical crisis averted.

Hospital-trained dentists must have the ability to manage minor and commonplace problems such as vasovagal syncope and hyperventilation. They must also be able to distinguish minor problems from potentially life-threatening emergencies. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, dentists and their staff must be able to appropriately support and sustain the patient until help arrives or the patient has been safely transferred to the appropriate section of the hospital.

Goals of the Emergency Medicine Rotation

The judgment and skills necessary for hospital-trained dentists to provide professional care can only be developed through a carefully designed program which combines selected didactic material with clinical experience. The purpose of this rotation is to gain experience in emergency medicine with an emphasis on patient assessment and interventions appropriate to the resident's level of experience.

Objectives and Knowledge Base

During the emergency medicine rotation, dental residents will increase their knowledge and understanding of various pathophysiologic entities and their management by means of self-study, one-on-one interaction with the professional staff and hands-on experience.

Residents will gain exposure to the emergency room management of patients presenting with:

Upon completion of this rotation, dental residents should demonstrate improvement in:

Wound management and treatment of lacerations
Radiographic interpretation
Physical diagnosis skills
The recognition and management of medical emergencies
Patient interviewing techniques

Hematology and Oncology Enrichment Week

Goals

To expose residents to inpatient unit operations and the management of patients.
To enhance residents’ understanding of the medical management of cancer patients.
To enhance residents’ understanding of laboratory values.

Head and Neck Cancer Enrichment Schedule

Goals and Objectives of Enrichment Week

ENT Clinic-Cancer Center: To expose the resident to the clinical presentations of head and neck cancer.
Head and Neck Cancer Surgery: To expose the resident to the surgical resection and/or reconstruction.
Radiation Oncology: To provide the resident with observations in the diagnosis and treatment planning of radiation therapy for head and neck cancer patients and to observe delivery of treatment.

Specialty Enrichment Second Year

These full-day observational visits to specialty areas of dentistry outside of University Dental Associates are designed to enhance residents’ understanding of the development of professional relationships for their future private practice. 40 hours.

Monday: Orthodontics

Tuesday: Periodontics

Wednesday: Pediatric Dentistry

Thursday: Endodontics

Friday: Oral Surgery

Conferences and Didactics

Clinical training is augmented with lectures in subjects including:

Oral surgery
Medical diagnosis
Anesthesia
Implant therapy
Endodontics
Periodontics
Orthodontics
Practice management

Clinical experiences include participation in multidisciplinary teams for both cleft lip/palate and craniofacial patients. Residents also rotate through a number of other services, providing care as a member of that particular service.

License Requirements

A resident not licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners before beginning the program is required to obtain an intern permit as outlined in the dental laws of North Carolina. Additionally, successfully matched residents of the program must also be U.S. citizens and have graduated from an accredited U.S. dental school.

More Resources