Advanced Education Programs

Application/Admission  Specialty Programs (Endodontics > Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery > Orthodontics > Pediatric Dentistry >  Periodontics > Prosthodontics) Advanced Education in General Dentistry  Graduate Programs (Biomedical Sciences > Dental Hygiene > Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology) Continuing Dental Education

APPLICATION/ADMISSION

All applicants for specialty and residency programs  must hold the DDS, DMD, or equivalent degree, and must give evidence of high scholastic achievement. All programs require a supplemental application, official transcripts of undergraduate and dental school coursework and three letters of recommendation.  Requirements regarding National Board examinations vary by program. Applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States must present evidence of mastering English as a foreign language (a minimum score of 550 on the TOEFL examination is required), and must provide evidence of financial support for their studies. Further, graduates of non-U.S./non-Canadian dental schools may be required to furnish a translation and evaluation, in English, of their academic record by a certified agency. Individual specialty training programs may impose additional requirements as indicated within their program descriptions.

Applications to the programs in advanced education in general dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and pediatric dentistry must be made through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). Applications to programs in endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics and prosthodontics should be made directly to the Dental School.  Applications for the program in oral and maxillofacial pathology are submitted to the graduate school.

 To be interviewed and considered for admission to an advanced education program in general dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and pediatric dentistry, applicants must participate in the National Matching Service.

The endodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics programs do not participate in the National Matching Service and make offers directly to applicants.

Students intending to pursue a Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree must submit a separate application to the Graduate School.

 The application deadlines vary by program.

Before applying to the Dental School, potential applicants should note the University of Maryland policy concerning prevention and management of student and employee infection with bloodborne pathogens and the Dental School’s technical standards for admission and matriculation . In addition, although the admissions process does not include questions concerning any prior criminal activity, individuals who may have had a prior or subsequent conviction or nolo contendre plea for a felony may encounter denial or removal of licensure.

All requests for applications and additional information pertaining to specialty and residency programs should be directed to

The Dental School’s Web home page provides current information about all programs and admissions requirements.

All requests for applications or information pertaining to the graduate programs should be directed t

SPECIALTY PROGRAMS

 GENERAL INFORMATION

Advanced Specialty Education certificate programs are designed to provide successful candidates eligibility for examination by the appropriate specialty boards. Programs of 24 months each are offered in endodontics and pediatric dentistry. The programs in orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, and oral and maxillofacial pathology are 36 months’ duration; and the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency/MD program extends over a period of six years.
Qualified applicants for advanced specialty education programs may seek dual enrollment as candidates in combined certificate/degree programs. Successful candidates receive a certificate in a clinical specialty from the Dental School and a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences or the PhD in Biomedical Sciences or Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology from the University of Maryland Graduate School. All programs are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.

FACILITIES

All specialty programs except oral and maxillofacial surgery use individual operatories on the third floor of the Dental School in an area designated Advanced Specialty Clinics. Programs provide conference rooms for students and maintain appropriate laboratory and research facilities. Students have access to the Health Sciences and Human Services Library on the campus as well as the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md. Also available within the Dental School is an Independent Learning Center where students may use materials in a variety of media. The program in oral and maxillofacial surgery is based in the University of Maryland Medical Center, a large metropolitan teaching hospital adjacent to the Dental School.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Stipends for postgraduate candidates may be available on a limited basis.  Information regarding the extent of these stipends can be obtained by writing to individual program directors.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION

A certificate of training is awarded to candidates who have satisfied all requirements of the program and have paid all debts to the University. Selected students in joint certificate and graduate programs who enter into a training agreement are required to complete the requirements of both programs before a certificate is awarded.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS FOR CERTIFICATION

In the evaluation of postgraduate student performance, the following letter grades are used: 

Students must maintain an overall B average. A course in which a grade of less than B is received may be repeated at the discretion of the department. The grade in the repeated course, whether it is higher or lower than the original grade, replaces the original grade. All failing and incomplete grades must be removed before a certificate is conferred. A course with an incomplete grade does not have to be repeated, but the requirements of the course must be satisfied before a certificate is conferred.
Further, students must demonstrate clinical competency in all areas of patient management and treatment. Any student who fails to meet these academic standards in a given semester may not be permitted to continue in the program.

ENDODONTICS

Objectives

Scope of Training

The program integrates both biological and clinical sciences. Lectures, seminars, and literature reviews cover diagnosis, treatment planning, treatment objectives, and a variety of topics related to endodontics and to dentistry in general. Students attend professional meetings and continuing education courses held within the University and in the Baltimore-Washington area.

The heaviest concentration of basic science material is in the first year of study. During that year, the student is expected to choose a research topic and to write a protocol for presentation to the faculty and other graduate students. The results of this research are presented at a special seminar in the last semester of study and, if possible, at a national meeting. Interspersed with the basic science courses are a variety of clinical courses supervised by trained specialists from a variety of backgrounds.

The second year and third years emphasize clinical endodontics including conventional treatment, retreatment, management of emergencies, endodontics and surgery. Residents devote a significant amount of time and effort to complete their research projects. Also, appropriate time is devoted to clinical teaching during this year.

Site of Training

The major training site is at the Dental School, including the Special Patient Clinic.  However, rotations at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center are also included in the Endodontic program.

Number of Positions

Three

Faculty

Special Admission Guidelines

Length of Program

36 months - certificate with master's degree

Curriculum 2008-2009

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ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

Objectives

Scope of Training

During the first year, students enter residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Maryland Medical System and University of Maryland Dental School. Students participate in clinical exodontia procedures and other dentoalveolar surgery. They attend patient rounds, oral pathology seminars, a course in physical diagnosis with the second-year medical students, combined surgical-orthodontic conferences, implant conferences, and they are assigned a two-month, off-service rotation with the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland Medical System.

During the second and third years of the residency, the oral and maxillofacial surgery residents will enter the University of Maryland School of Medicine at the level of the third year of medical school. The residents are required to pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step I before entering medical school. The residents are undergraduate medical students for the next two years (third and fourth year of medical school). At the end of the third year of the program the trainees will graduate with an MD degree after they have successfully achieved all medical school requirements.

In the fourth year of residency, the resident will enter a one-year internship in general surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. This one-year period of training will qualify the resident to obtain medical licensure in most states. During this period, the trainee will gain experience in both general medical management of the surgical patient and in principles of general surgery with rotations in trauma surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, and surgical intensive care.

The fifth year of the residency program is at University of Maryland Medical System and the Dental School. Graduate instruction in head and neck anatomy, advanced oral pathology, pharmacology, physiology, and microbiology is required. Fifth-year residents perform complex ambulatory surgery in the surgery clinics of the Dental School and University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, fifth-year residents are introduced to major maxillofacial surgery procedures in the operating room. Trainees attend all departmental conferences and receive advanced instruction in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Research is considered an important factor, and all trainees are required to participate in a research project during the fifth year, suitable for presentation at the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meeting and eventual publication. Fifth-year residents generally attend at least one regional conference of interest to oral and maxillofacial surgery.

The sixth year of residency is at the University of Maryland Medical System, the Shock Trauma Center and affiliated hospitals. The chief residents are responsible for the direction of the surgical team on their service and for the care of hospitalized patients. The chief resident functions as first assistant for all of the operating room surgical procedures performed during the year. During this year, residents participate in all conferences held by the department and continue their research projects.

Site of Training

During the course of the program, students will rotate through training sites at the Dental School, University of Maryland Medical System, Shock Trauma Center, and the intramural faculty practice. Optional off-service rotation to other institutions in the United States will be considered on an individual basis.

Facilities

Training sites are all fully equipped for the performance of both routine and complex oral and maxillofacial surgical assessment and management.

Number of Positions

Two residency positions per year

Full-Time Faculty

Part-Time Faculty

Special Admission Guidelines

Length of Program

Six years (72 months), including two years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and one year in general surgery internship at the University of Maryland Medical System.

Curriculum

Years II-III  

School of Medicine Clinical Rotations

Year IV

Residency Training in General Surgery

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ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL PATHOLOGY

Refer to graduate programs.

ORTHODONTICS

Objectives

Scope of Training

Students gain experience in the treatment of patients with all types of dentofacial deformities. A broad mastery of alternative techniques with different variations of the Edgewise appliance is emphasized, along with modern forms of removable appliances. Treatment is provided for adults, adolescents, and children. Students also provide orthodontic treatment in complex rehabilitation cases in coordination with graduate students in prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, and pediatric dentistry.  Surgical orthognathic cases are treated in conjunction with oral and maxillofacial surgery residents at the University of Maryland Medical System.

Through an extensive series of lectures, seminars, and case conferences, a comprehensive didactic background in relevant basic sciences and clinical orthodontics is provided. Each student, working with faculty supervisors chosen from the Dental School and University, must complete an original research project. While pursuing a certificate in orthodontics, students are enrolled in a Master of Science degree program in biomedical sciences. Courses taken for the master's degree also satisfy some certificate requirements. Students also serve as instructors in the predoctoral didactic, pre-clinical and clinical programs.

Site of Training

Most of the clinical and didactic program takes place within the Dental School. The clinical program is conducted in a modern, eighteen chair clinic.  Off-campus experiences include attendance at the craniofacial anomalies clinic at James Lawrence Kernan Hospital and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The program brings in guest lecturers, and students attend continuing education courses sponsored by the Maryland State Society of Orthodontics, The Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists, and the American Association of Orthodontists

Number of Positions

Four

Faculty

Length of Program

Three years

Curriculum 2008-2009

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PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

Objectives

Scope of Training

Academic course work occupies approximately 20 percent of the postdoctoral students’ time and includes case conferences, research methods, orthodontic diagnosis, laboratory technique, literature review, oral pathology, general anesthesia rotation, pediatrics rotation, applied teaching, etc. The residency is based at the Dental School and the University Hospital, with additional experience at Kernan Hospital.  Residents provide comprehensive dental care to their assigned patients as well as have emergency rotations.  Residents also participate in conferences with the interdisciplinary medical staffs.  Each student is required to complete a research project and prepare two documented cases similar to that required for Board certification. The resident receives a certificate and meets the eligibility requirements for the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.  This program combined with a Master’s degree, requiring an additional year, is intended for the clinician who wishes to pursue a career as a teacher/researcher. 

Site of Training

The primary site of training is the Dental School. Other sites include the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Kernan Hospital.

Facilities

In addition to using the individual private operatories in the Dental School, each postdoctoral student is assigned approximately 20 percent of their time to Kernan's Hospital. The University Hospital and Kernan Hospital are used for rehabilitative dental care to patients receiving general anesthetics.

Number of Positions

Five

Faculty

Special Admission Guidelines

Length of Program

Two years (3 years for Master’s degree)

Curriculum - 2008-2009

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PERIODONTICS

Objectives

Scope of Training

The advanced dental education program in Periodontics is designed to train residents in all facets of periodontology and to prepare them to become Diplomates of the American Board of Periodontology. The program is based in a core curriculum of traditional periodontics that includes training in all aspects of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning.  Residents become proficient in all currently accepted modalities of surgical and non-surgical therapy. The program provides a strong foundation in the scientific basis for specialty practice in periodontics, with particular emphasis on the critical use of current literature and knowledge.  Diversity in the training of faculty exposes each resident to various concepts of conventional surgical and non-surgical therapy.  Residents gain experience in managing a periodontal maintenance program.  Extensive training is provided in implantology which includes surgical preparation of the implant site and placement of implants.  Clinical experiences also include contemporary bone regeneration techniques for alveolar ridge and maxillary sinus augmentation.  Postgraduate students receive in-depth instruction in all areas of conscious sedation and gain experience in the administration of conscious sedation, including clinical exposure to intravenous sedation.

Residents receive experience in treating patients with all categories of periodontal diseases, particularly those patients with advanced stages of the diseases.  Clinical training in oral medicine includes periodontal treatment of older adults and medically compromised patients as well as the management of non-plaque related periodontal diseases and disorders.  Lectures, seminars, and conferences are held in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning, surgical techniques, periodontal maintenance, implantology, and practice management.  Seminars are conducted with other specialties to interrelate all fields of dentistry and medicine; with guest consultants who are experts in their field; and with postdoctoral students in periodontics from other teaching institutions.  During assignments at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, residents learn diagnostic methods in laboratory medicine.  Residents lecture and provide clinical supervision to pre-doctoral dental students. The preparation and documentation of cases suitable for submission to the American Board of Periodontology is a requirement for graduation from the program.

Residents also must apply and register as graduate students in the Master of Science program in Biomedical Sciences through the Graduate School, University of Maryland, Baltimore.  Graduate coursework completed as part of the specialty program fulfills course req