The University of Iowa College of Dentistry

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program

The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery offers a four-year, fully accredited residency training program. Upon completion of study, the resident is eligible for examination leading to certification by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Optional degrees in addition to the oral and maxillofacial surgery certificate and M.S. are offered by special arrangement, including M.D. and Ph.D.

The goal of this residency is to provide the highest level of training in the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and to insure development of skilled surgeons capable of providing continuing, comprehensive care. The program boasts a strong academic flavor with a high priority given to research. Research opportunities are readily available to assist the resident in completing the M.S. program.

Three primary teaching facilities are utilized to provide educational and patient care experiences: 1) The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC); 2) The University of Iowa College of Dentistry; and 3) the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. All three facilities are in close physical proximity and are undeniably among the very best and well-equipped in the country. To assure training and exposure in the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery, outside rotations are provided at the expense of the department. Rotations are further outlined under curriculum.

Faculty, Staff and Facilities

The UI College of Dentistry offers interdisciplinary relations with all graduate and undergraduate departments, providing considerable experience in dentoalveolar surgery, sedations, outpatient general anesthetics, and implants. Staff members include a strong complement of full-time registered nurses, dental assistants, and clerical support. The College of Dentistry offers a state-of-the-art audiovisual and graphics department, frequently utilized for case documentation and for presentations given locally, nationally, and internationally.

Our department is further enhanced by a full-time faculty member with an M.S. in pharmacology. The Dows Institute of Dental Research is an integral part of the College of Dentistry and offers complete research facilities and equipment, animal operatories, and associated faculty, staff and research assistance; such assistance includes a full-time statistician. A Ph.D. mentor, also a member of our department, facilitates research projects and grant formulation.

In 2001, a new, state-of-the-art dental clinic facility opened at UIHC. It features clinical areas for oral surgery, orthodontics, prosthodontics, and general dentistry.

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department provides each resident with a work station within the resident's room. Conferences are held in a large, modern conference room complete with audiovisual connection to the main operating suites. The operating suites at UIHC are large, modern, and rival any throughout the country, private or otherwise.

Evaluation and Assessment

The process of evaluation includes a biannual evaluation, with feedback from all faculty, off-service rotations, and staff. Such evaluations, which occur formally with the graduate program director, emphasize strengths, weaknesses, and guidelines to promote the resident's professional development. Yearly in-service training exams and mock board examinations further identify strong and weak areas and ensure competency.

The residents have ready access to a number of fine medical dental libraries. The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery maintains an up-to-date compilation of textbooks and journals directly related to the specialty. The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences has more than 220,000 bound volumes and 3,500 serials and journals, many of which are now available online through Hardin. Personal computers linked to a CD-ROM medical-dental database allow residents and staff to conduct literature searches. Interactive computer simulation and satellite teleconferences are available and utilized frequently.

Resident Lifestyle

Curriculum

We expect the residents to take responsibility for enhancing their learning environment, and we encourage outside reading. The graduate program director reviews the curriculum annually, with input from all faculty and staff members, to ensure an evolving experience and improvements in specific rotations and didactic experiences.

The didactic program is enhanced with teaching patient rounds, grand rounds, and journal club. Presentations and participation at national meetings and forums are highly encouraged and financially supported.

The remainder of this time period is spent in clinical oral and maxillofacial surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the UI College of Dentistry, where they perform oral surgical procedures that gradually increase in difficulty, to develop the resident's surgical skills and judgment as rapidly as the aptitude of the individual resident permits.

Instruction, training, and experience encompass procedures for admission of patients, accomplishment of pre-operative histories, system reviews, physical examinations, ward orders, indicated laboratory procedures, preoperative care, surgical procedures, postoperative care and ward management, inter-service consultation, and completion of clinical records.

Daily ward rounds are conducted. The resident attends all department didactic conferences in addition to those of visiting lecturers. Elective courses are encouraged as time permits. Research projects are also continued during this period.

Clinical instruction and supervision of the junior graduate residents and rotating dental students assigned to the oral and maxillofacial surgery service is expected. Comprehensive mock board examinations are given yearly encompassing the full scop of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Research

For further information, contact Dr. Teresa Morgan