Description of Department: The Department of Family Dentistry has two major clinical teaching components: the dental senior undergraduate students and the postdoctoral Advanced Education in General Dentistry program. The faculty consists of 8 full-time and 21 adjuncts. The AEGD
students work with all full-time faculty, with two individuals having primary responsibility for overall organization and patient management. Most of the specialties are represented in the full-time faculty and consultations are readily available from all specialties on an as-needed basis.
Objectives of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program: The Advanced Education in General Dentistry program is designed to improve and refine the resident's skills and knowledge in the practice of general dentistry. The goal is to develop a general practitioner who can plan and deliver a higher quality of dental services, have the ability to better plan and coordinate complete treatment for patients, and will, when specialty services are necessary, coordinate the treatment. The resident will also be better able to assess the patient's overall health and recommend treatment appropriate to the patient's medical as well as dental status. The student will be exposed to a broad range of clinical experiences while delivering comprehensive care to an assigned group of patients. This group of patients will be treated solely by the resident with opportunities to discuss treatment planning, treatment progress and outcomes with other residents and assigned faculty. The resident will be involved with the financial management, auxiliary management, and appointment planning, thus adding to practice management skills.
Clinic Facilities: The AEGD program is located in a modern clinic which houses the faculty practice and the fourth-year program. The AEGD resident practices in the same area as the faculty practice, utilizing the same supply, appointment mechanism, charts and financial records as does the faculty practice. The operatories are completely equipped with modern units and designed for four-handed sit-down dentistry. All support areas: laboratory, x-ray equipment and supplies, are within easy reach. Extramural rotations include St. Luke's Children's Hospital, which provides additional experience in Pediatric Dentistry. This rotation provides additional experiences in Pediatric Dentistry and fee-for-service General Dental Practice.
Auxiliary Staff: The auxiliary staff includes full-time dental assistants, a receptionist, a full-time dental hygienist, supply personnel, and adequate secretarial support.
Laboratory Support: Laboratory support is provided by two in-house technicians and select commercial laboratories. Various laboratories are used to assist the resident in mastering laboratory communication skills.
Clinical Programs: Approximately 85 percent of the time will be spent in general dental practice. Each resident will have responsibility for his/her own group of patients, which will be assigned to assure a broad experience in type and complexity of treatment needs. Dental emergency responsibility will be part of the program.
Didactic Program: The didactic program constitutes approximately 15 percent of the total experience and will consist of seminars by discipline trained faculty in all specialty areas. Material is presented in a lecture format on some occasions. In additon, the use of pre-treatment, mid-treatment and post-treatment case presentations is an important component. Department faculty discuss specific problems and needs of patients who are actually a part of the resident's practice, thus relating the technical and the biological considerations to actual treatment plans. This assures full participation by the resident and quality decisions for the benefit of the patient. Both discipline faculty and attending faculty participate in these seminars. Journal clubs are used to help the resident become familiar with the current literature and research.
Attending Faculty: The faculty will primarily be chosen from the faculty of the Department of Family Dentistry. This departentment currently has members with advanced training in periodontics, endodontics, fixed prosthodontics and removable prosthodontics. In addition, the resident has easy access to all specialty faculty who are available for consultation and assistance during the times the AEGD resident is treating patients. A specific faculty person is assigned to the AEGD residents during clinic sessions and the private practice faculty are available for consultation and assistance.
Benefits: The resident is granted the normal University holidays and two weeks vacation, one to be taken near the Christmas holidays and one planned by the resident. Professional liability insurance will be paid from the program's income. Residents cannot participate in the practice of dentistry outside the institutional program. The program will support the cost of a temporary resident's license, which grants the privilege of treating dental patients within the College of Dentistry. The resident license in not valid outside of the educational program.
Application:
Please include the following:
Admission: All applicants must be graduates of an accredited dental school in the United States or Canada. Applications and transcripts should be received no later than October 15th of the preceding year. Selected applicants may be invited for an interview. Selection is made by the program director and select department faculty. Notification will be made by late November of the preceding enrollment year.
Correspondence should be addressed to:
Dr. Ana M. Diaz-Arnold
Director, AEGD Program
Department of Family Dentistry
College of Dentistry
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1001
(319)335-7322