Eastman Institute for Oral Health / Educational Programs / Advanced Education General Dentistry / About the Program / Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives

Goals EIOH University of Rochester Two-Year Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program

Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program at Eastman Institute for Oral Health at University of Rochester is designed to provide training beyond the level of pre-doctoral education in Oral Health Care using applied basic and behavior sciences. Education in the program is based on the concept that oral health is an integral and interactive part of total health. The program is designed to expand the graduates knowledge and skills to enable them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups.

The two year residents are expected to fulfill the postgraduate requirements of University of Rochester Eastman Institute for Oral Health and the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Education through the accreditation requirements.
To attract and educate the future leaders of dental practice, dental education, dental research, and community service.
To stimulate the resident’s interest and prepare the graduate for a possible career in academics and research.
Prepare the graduate to act as primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. This includes providing emergency and multi-disciplinary comprehensive oral health care, providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the General Practitioner, and directing health promotion and disease prevention activities.
Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
Function effectively and efficiently in multiple health care environments within interdisciplinary health care teams.
Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care. This includes using critical thinking, evidence of outcome-based clinical decision-making, and technology-based information retrieval system.
Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.
Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvements that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.

Goals EIOH University of Rochester One-Year Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program

The one year residents are expected to fulfill the postgraduate requirements of University of Rochester Eastman Institute for Oral Health and the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Education through the accreditation requirements.
To attract and educate residents with a strong interest in enhancing clinical skills and theoretical knowledge in dentistry to become successful when entering clinical practice.
To stimulate the resident’s interest and prepare the graduate for a possible career in academics and research.
Prepare the graduate to act as primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. This includes providing emergency and multi-disciplinary comprehensive oral health care, providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the General Practitioner, and directing health promotion and disease prevention activities.
Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
Function effectively and efficiently in multiple health care environments within interdisciplinary health care teams.
Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care. This includes using critical thinking, evidence of outcome-based clinical decision-making, and technology-based information retrieval system.
Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.
Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvements that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.

Competencies for the Graduating Residents Two-Year AEGD Program

The 2-year residents are expected to achieve proficiency level in four areas of the competencies listed below.

Documentation, information management and quality improvement

Evaluate scientific literature and use information in the literature in making evidence based professional decisions.
Maintain a patient record system that facilitates the retrieval and analysis of the processes and outcomes of patient treatment.
Modify the treatment plan, if indicated, based on therapeutic outcomes, unexpected circumstances or the patient's individual needs.

Pediatric Dentistry

Perform pediatric pulpal therapy (Elective)
Restore intra and extra-coronal defects in the primary dentition. (Elective)
Perform uncomplicated surgical procedures on pediatric patients. (Elective)
Use pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic behavior management techniques with the pediatric patient. (Elective)

Pulpal therapy

Diagnose and treat pain of pulpal origin, to include performing uncomplicated, non-surgical endodontic therapy of anterior and posterior teeth.
Recognize and treat uncomplicated endodontic situations and emergencies.
Manage complex endodontic therapy and complications.

Restoration of teeth

Restore single teeth using a functionally acceptable range of materials and methods.
Place restorations and perform techniques to enhance facial esthetics.
Restore intra and extra coronal defects.
Restore endodontically treated teeth.

Temporomandibular Dysfunction and Occlusion

Diagnose and manage a patient's occlusion.
Treat minor occlusal abnormalities and arch space problems using space maintenance and other orthodontic appliances.
Diagnose and non-surgically treat uncomplicated temporomandibular disorders.

Replacement of teeth

Treat patients with missing teeth requiring uncomplicated removable and/or fixed prostheses.
Communicate with laboratory technicians and evaluate the resultant prostheses.
Recognize and manage cases requiring complicated prostheses.
Treat patients with missing teeth using uncomplicated dental implant restorations.
Manage the surgical component of dental implant systems.
Assess and manage complications of dental implants.

Treatment of medical and dental emergencies

Anticipate, diagnose and provide initial treatment and follow-up management for medical emergencies that may occur during dental treatment.
Diagnose and manage dental emergencies, performing uncomplicated or reversible techniques where indicated
Provide initial treatment and then manage patients with intra-oral, extra-oral, and complex orofacial emergencies and infections.
Perform initial treatment and management of extra-oral facial trauma (Elective)
Treat intra-oral hard and soft tissue lesions of traumatic origin (Elective)
Manage intra-oral soft tissue lesions of nontraumatic origin.

Periodontal Therapy

Diagnose periodontal disease using the periodontal examination and radiographs.
Treat and manage mild and moderate periodontal disease, including non-surgical and surgical techniques.
Recognize and manage periodontal emergencies and complications of periodontal treatment.
Evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish and monitor a periodontal maintenance program.

Obtain Informed Consent

Explain and discuss with patients, parents or guardians of patients who lack decisional capacity, findings, diagnoses, treatment options, realistic treatment expectations, patient responsibilities, time requirements, sequence of treatment, estimated fees and payment responsibilities, in order to establish a therapeutic alliance between the patient and/or parent or guardian and care provider.

Oral Pathology, Oral Surgery and Hospital Protocol

Perform surgical and nonsurgical extraction of erupted teeth.
Perform uncomplicated pre-prosthetic surgery
Perform biopsies of oral tissues.
Recognize and manage surgical emergencies and complications of intra-oral surgical treatment.
Extract uncomplicated impacted wisdom teeth.
Diagnose and manage common oral pathological abnormalities.
Provide dental treatment in an operating room. (Elective)
Provide comprehensive management and care for inpatients or same day surgery patients from the beginning to the end of a patient's hospital experience. (Elective)
Request and respond to requests for consultations. (Elective)
Identify needs and make referrals to appropriate health care providers for the treatment of patients with physiologic, psychologic and social problems.
Perform dental consultations and request medical consultations for hospitalized patients and patients in other health care settings. (Elective)

Planning and providing multidisciplinary comprehensive care

Integrate multiple disciplines into an individualized, comprehensive, sequenced treatment plan using diagnostic, risk assessment and prognostic information for patients with complex needs.
Develop and carry out dental treatment plans for special needs patients in a manner that considers and integrates those patients’ medical, psychological and social needs.
Provide dental care as part of an interprofessional health care team.
Diagnose and manage oral manifestations of systemic disease.

Patient Assessment and Diagnosis

Obtain and interpret a patient’s chief complaint, history of present illness, medical, dental, family and cultural background, social histories, and review of systems.
Obtain and interpret appropriate laboratory and radiographic data and obtain additional diagnostic information through consultation with other health care providers.
Perform a history and physical examination and collect other data to establish a risk assessment for use in the development of a dental treatment plan.
Establish diagnosis and risk assessment incorporating historical, laboratory, radiographic and clinical findings.

Practice Management

Function as a patient’s primary oral health care provider.
Treat patients efficiently in a dental practice setting.
Use and implement accepted sterilization, disinfection, universal precautions and occupational hazard prevention procedures in the practice of dentistry.
Practice and promote the principles of jurisprudence and ethics in the practice of Dentistry and in relationships with patients, personnel and colleagues.
Provide patient care by working effectively with allied dental personnel including performing sit-down, four-handed dentistry.

Medical risk assessment

Select and use assessment techniques to arrive at differential, provisional, and definitive diagnoses for patients with complex needs.
Treat patients with a broad variety of acute and chronic systemic disorders and social difficulties, including patients with special needs.

Promoting oral and systemic health and disease prevention

Use accepted prevention strategies such as oral hygiene instruction, nutritional education, and pharmacologic intervention to help patients maintain and improve their oral and systemic health.

Sedation, pain and anxiety control

Evaluate the need for use of behavioral and/or pharmacologic modalities in management of pain and anxiety based upon psychosocial factors and anticipated clinical procedures.
Use pharmacologic agents in the treatment of dental patients.
Provide control of pain and anxiety in the conscious patient through the use of psychological interventions, behavior management techniques, local anesthesia, and oral and nitrous oxide conscious sedation techniques.
Prevent, recognize and manage complications related to the use and interactions of drugs used to sedate patients and control pain and anxiety. (Elective)
Provide control of pain and anxiety in the conscious patient through the use of parenteral conscious sedation techniques. (Elective)

Request and respond to requests for consultations

Identify needs and make referrals to appropriate health care providers for the treatment of physiologic, psychological and social problems presented by dental patients.
Perform dental consultations and request medical consultations for hospitalized patients and patients in other health care settings. (Elective)

Research (Elective One-Year Residents)

Design a study and write a research protocol.
Perform a research study.
Complete the write-up and present the results of the research project.

Intra-Oral Photography

Achieve competency in taking a series of extra- and intra-oral photographs.

Communication and Writing Skills

Can communicate well with patients, colleagues, and staff both verbally and in writing. Can develop and present literature reviews, case presentations, research presentations and other seminars using evidence based supporting literature as well as communicate the information in understandable manner both verbally and in writing.

Ethical Behavior

Demonstrate the application of principles of ethical reasoning, ethical decision-making, and professional responsibility as they pertain to the academic environment, research, patient care, and practice management.

Competencies for the Graduating Residents One-Year AEGD Program