Academic Programs

At the predoctoral level, faculty in the Department are responsible for curriculum in general dentistry, treatment planning, risk management, ethics, law and jurisprudence, geriatrics, and special care dentistry. Faculty are engaged in the didactic, preclinical, and clinical instruction of predoctoral dental students in these domains, as well as in other activities offered throughout the scope of the D.M.D. curriculum.

At the postdoctoral level, the Department offers the Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program which provides outstanding opportunities for advanced training in all aspects of general dentistry at the PGY1 and PGY2 level. The residency is designed to refine and enhance the resident’s clinical skills and scientific base to improve the practice of general dentistry. The Department offers the General Dentistry fellowship program for a limited number of individuals who have completed two years of postdoctoral general dentistry training and wish to further their education and training in general dentistry. Finally, the Department offers a Digital Dentistry Fellowship program, which is a one year non-degree program, that offers interested dentists the chance to enhance their didactic knowledge, hands-on and clinical skills utilizing already established and emerging digital technologies.

Advanced Education in General Dentistry

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry program is a one-year (optional second-year) residency with special emphasis in clinical general dentistry. The residency is designed to refine and enhance the resident’s clinical skills and scientific knowledge base in order to improve the practice of general dentistry. The program enrolls eighteen first-year residents who practice and learn in a setting that closely resembles a modern group practice.

Program Goals and Objectives

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency prepares individuals to enter the field of general dentistry with confidence and expertise.

The goals of the program are to:

• Provide advanced training beyond the predoctoral level.
• Expand the scope and depth of knowledge and clinical skills so residents can provide comprehensive care to a variety of patient groups.
• Enhance and develop the resident’s understanding of and competence in the application of recent advances in patient management.
• Enhance the resident’s ability to interact with various health practitioners to coordinate and integrate the patient’s oral health care into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary plan.
• Expand the scope and depth of knowledge leading to the oral health management of compromised patients.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of the ability to apply modern practice management theory.
• Provide residents with the analytical skills necessary for evaluation of professional literature to ensure the capacity for continued, self-directed growth.
• Provide training in community-based, primary care settings addressing the needs of underserved populations.

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program offers selected individuals who have completed the PGY1 residency program opportunities to further their education and training through additional clinical and didactic experiences.

The PGY2 program adds the following goals:

• Provide training and experience in the delivery of care in hospital settings.
• Provide training and experience in the development of scholarly endeavors to enhance the resident’s abilities and skills to become leaders in the field.
• Provide residents with opportunities to further expand the scope and depth of areas of interest.

Program Description

The AEGD program includes clinical and didactic experiences designed to prepare residents for a successful and fruitful career. Approximately fifteen percent of the resident’s time is devoted to a comprehensive didactic program, designed to build upon and enhance prior knowledge. Advanced instruction, in the form of lectures, seminars, and conferences, is offered in all disciplines of dentistry and dental practice, including restorative dentistry, fixed and removable prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, preventive dentistry, practice management, epidemiology, TMJ dysfunction, sedation, pain and anxiety control, geriatric dentistry, medicine, management of medically compromised and developmentally disabled patients, physical assessment, and infection control. Residents participate in literature reviews, case presentations, treatment planning seminars, and the management of the group practice.

The AEGD program provides a solid, comprehensive clinical experience that is centered around the general dentistry clinic at UConn Health. Our goal is to have the area serve as a model group practice. It is within this setting that the resident learns management skills, maintenance of financial and medico-legal documents and records, operatory organization, clinic management, appointment control, and overall patient and practice management. Residents receive advanced training in oral diagnosis, treatment planning, and case management to improve the residents' ability to provide patients with comprehensive care using a multidisciplinary approach. All phases of care are rendered within the clinic, allowing each resident to manage a wide variety of patients and treatment modalities.

AEGD residents may rotate through community healthcare centers around the State of Connecticut and UConn Health clinics to enhance the educational and clinical experience.

The AEGD program is responsible for the dental emergency service of UConn Health and residents rotate on emergency on-call. Residents learn to manage acute dental problems, interface with all health disciplines in the John Dempsey Hospital, and provide a broad range of urgent dental treatment to a diverse patient population.

Competency and Proficiency Statements

The AEGD program’s competency and proficiency statements describe the attributes of a graduate of the program. They are intended to communicate the expectations of the faculty to the resident and serve as the basis for evaluation of the resident’s satisfactory completion of the program.

Each statement is designated as either an area of competency (C) in which graduates are expected to have little experience at the beginning of their programs or as an area of proficiency (P) in which graduates are expected to be competent at the beginning of their program and gain further experience, skill and judgment as the program progresses.

• Competency and Proficiency Statements

Resources

The AEGD program occupies a modern, fully equipped thirty-two chair facility within UConn Health and is an integral component of the School of Dental Medicine. A complete staff of dental auxiliaries, clerks, and a practice administrator is dedicated to the program.

The faculty of the AEGD program includes a full-time program director, several part-time attendings, and a large complement of volunteer attendings. Specialty support and instruction are provided in every discipline by the faculty of the School of Dental Medicine.