Pediatric Dental residents at CHAM receive formal experience through seminars, hospital rotations and continuing education courses. Hospital rotations in Pediatrics and Anesthesia serve to integrate the Pediatric Dental resident into the hospital mainstream. Didactic training includes lectures in pediatric dentistry, growth and development, interceptive orthodontics, prevention, sedation techniques, behavior management, radiology, pharmacology, oral pathology, biostatistics, orthodontics and special patient care. Journal Club and literature review supplement formal treatment planning seminars.
With direct involvement in the Craniofacial Center, each resident not only learns the management of complex facial growth problems, but also establishes a liaison with specialists in plastic surgery, speech therapy, otolaryngology, orthodontics, neurology and genetics. This broadens our referral base and fosters total patient care. In addition, residents are exposed to valuable diagnostic techniques not often included in pediatric dental education, such as nasopharyngoscopy, videofluoroscopy and advanced imaging, as well as genetic counseling.
During the course of the 24-month Pediatric Dental program, time is specifically allocated for research pursuits, and residents are required to complete meaningful research projects. Additionally, residents are encouraged to complete case reports or other works of publishable quality during their residency program. Our complex of hospitals and experiences for these pursuits can be particularly rewarding.
Pediatric Program Overview
Our Pediatric Dentistry program is hospital based and offers an unusually broad exposure to all relevant components of the specialty. In addition to extensive management of primary care patients, our residents care for the developmentally disabled and medically compromised. Pediatric Dental residents actively participate in the Center for Craniofacial Disorders. The primary emphasis through all of these activities is to integrate clinical experience with didactic knowledge.
Ours is one of five graduate dental programs. Residents have available to them a large number of other specialists and support personnel, with whom they may consult in the treatment of cases requiring a multidisciplinary approach. All residents receive extensive exposure to all aspects of pediatric dental care, including minor and major dental trauma, sedation techniques, orthodontics and operating room experience. Six to eight new residency positions will be offered each year for the 24-month program that commences July 1.
Program Strengths
- Access to a diverse patient population
- Extensive clinical experience, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach
- Excellent medical staff support
- Full- and part time staff supervision
- Extensive exposure and experience in interceptive and fixed orthodontics
- Excellent institutional resources for in-depth management of medically compromised and developmentally disabled patients
- Extensive emergency room and operating room experience
- Support for research activities