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Advanced Education in General Dentistry Certificate Program

Program Overview

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry is a twelve-month postdoctoral certificate program in general dentistry. This residency program provides advanced training in clinical dentistry and applied basic sciences and refines skills necessary for the general dentist to provide comprehensive patient care for all population groups. The program is approved and fully accredited by the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association.

Upon successful completion of the program, the graduate can receive 200 hours of educational credit toward fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and may become educationally qualified to seek board certification by the Certifying Board of General Dentistry.

WHAT THE PROGRAM OFFERS

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry program is a planned, sequential postdoctoral one-year training program that is specifically designed to meet the needs of dental school graduates desirous of enhancing their skills as general dental practitioners. The program has didactic and clinical components. The didactic experience is designed to enrich predoctoral training in the basic, diagnostic and clinical sciences. The focus of the clinical component of the curriculum is in-house comprehensive care to a wide range of patients presenting with complex dental needs. The AEGD program does not offer a formal research training component in the curriculum; nonetheless, there is didactic involvement in research design and in-depth review of the dental literature.

DIDACTIC TRAINING

The didactic experience occupies approximately 25% of the training program and involves all the recognized disciplines in dentistry and related sciences. Primarily utilizing the seminar format, didactic offerings are made in the areas of physical evaluation, diagnosis and treatment planning, prevention, periodontics, operative dentistry, prosthodontics, orthodontics, TMD, pediatric dentistry, dental implants, oral surgery, anxiety and pain control, endodontics, special needs patients, literature review and practice management. AEGD residents are expected to take an active role in these presentations and in many cases will be called upon to lead seminar sessions.

CLINICAL TRAINING

The clinical component of the training program places the resident in direct patient care approximately 70% of the time. An emphasis is placed on the comprehensive care of patients presenting with a broad range of dental concerns. Although there is a concerted effort to provide training and experience in the newest methodologies and techniques in dentistry, a major focus of clinical training is to enhance the resident's ability to make judgments in diagnosis, treatment planning and decision-making during the course of treatment. Residents are challenged to develop treatment plans that are tailored to the individual needs of the patient. Those treatment plans should place the oral health considerations of the patient in the context of a number of medical, personal and financial factors. Recognizing the changing demographic profile of patient populations in general practice, an especially attractive feature of the clinical program is the availability of special needs patients to the Advanced Education in General Dentistry clinic. Residents administer comprehensive dental care to ambulatory outpatients, which include the elderly; chronically ill; emotionally, developmentally or mentally disabled; handicapped and highly medicated individuals.

FACULTY AND FACILITIES

The clinical faculty of the AEGD program is composed of general dentists and dental specialists from the academic, institutional and private sectors. A general dentist faculty member is in attendance during each clinic period to assist the resident with patient management and clinical problems while ensuring that comprehensive care is administered. Clinical faculty with specialty training also attend the Advanced Education in General Dentistry clinic to provide advanced clinical instruction in patient care related to their discipline.

The clinical activity of the program occurs primarily in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry clinic in the School of Dentistry. A modern facility equipped with up-to-date technology, the Advanced Education in General Dentistry clinic offers the opportunity to practice modern concepts of dental practice utilizing well-equipped individual operatories and current materials and techniques. Full-time support personnel include a practice manager, patient care coordinator, dental hygienist, dental assistants and a clinic receptionist.

Last modified: 05/22/2002 at 05:10:12