Predoctoral Program: Curriculum

Dental Practice and Clinic Practicum

The Dental Practice and Clinic Practicum track is designed to prepare the student to provide comprehensive care in a modern practice setting. The track consists of coursework, experiential activities and clinical training experiences.

The basic elements of practice management and professional development are stressed throughout the program.

Dentist-Patient Interactions and Practice Management:
The course prepares students to deal with social issues relating to healthcare delivery; laws, rules and regulations for healthcare delivery; risk management; information and business management systems; interactions among healthcare providers; and health and the practitioner. The section also prepares and trains students in the areas of infection control and environmental safety.

The course also provides for a community-based mentoring program. The purpose of the program is to expose students to the extramural practice of dentistry in order for them to experience the dental profession from the perspective of the private practitioner. Students are also exposed to real-life practice situations and learn to deal with the emotional, financial and social aspects of dentistry and patient care.

Clinical Practicum:
The clinical training of students and general patient care activities at the School of Dental Medicine are conducted primarily within practice groups (teams) in which there is a vertical integration of students, a horizontal integration of faculty, and a dedicated staff.

Each team consists of a team leader and representatives of the disciplines of restorative dentistry, periodontology, endodontology, prosthodontics and oral diagnosis. Teams also include a patient care coordinator, full time dental hygienist, and dental assistants. A central reception area is responsible for the scheduling of patient appointments, answering phones, entering data into the computer database and patient records and generating quality assurance data.

Student providers consist of a mix of third- and fourth-year students for the majority of patient care activities. First and second-year students participate in clinic activities commensurate with their level of ability.

Delivery of care is the responsibility of the team. Patients are assigned to students for examination and the development of a treatment plan. While most care is usually delivered by a single student provider, some patients may be treated by other members of the team depending on the complexity of the required care and other factors. The members of the team are responsible for the delivery of comprehensive dental care including continual maintenance of the treated patients' oral health.

Evaluation of student performance is not based on rigid requirements or numerical quotas. Competency is evaluated on an ongoing basis and is determined by a Team Management Committee using standard competency criteria developed by the faculty of the School of Dental Medicine.

In order to satisfy some of their competencies students participate in specialized clinics including pediatric dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral and maxillofacial radiology, and orthodontics.

Selectives:
Selectives are an integral part of the academic experience at the School of Dental Medicine. The selectives program for predoctoral students provides a broad range of opportunities including funded summer research projects and internal and external experiences in all of the clinical specialties. Selective experiences include activities such as rotations at the School of Dental Medicine or at external sites, and public service experiences at locations in the inner city and in Third World countries.

The Office of Dental Academic and Student Affairs maintains a file of available selectives. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs oversees this program and evaluates all requests for selective experiences and helps tailor them to the needs of the individual student.