Electives

senior electivesPredoctoral Electives – Special Topics Courses

Third- and fourth-year dental students are provided the opportunity to register for elective courses which cover a wide range of topics. Electives are offered during the fall and spring terms. Courses are held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00-7:00 p.m. (see course descriptions below for session details).  Each elective course consists of an 8-hour commitment for 0.50 credits or a 15-hour commitment for 1.00 credit. Please read the course descriptions below which include the time commitment and number of credits.

Policies & Eligibility

Third-year dental students may register for no more than one (1) elective per term. This limitation is inclusive of the third-year Research with Mentor course (ODSC 599).

Fourth-year dental students may register for no more than two (2) electives per term, which is exclusive of any clerkship course or the Research with Mentor course (ODSC 599).

Any student wishing to enroll in an elective course must be in good academic standing.

Grading

All elective courses are graded as pass/fail. Instructors may assign exercises and assessments at their discretion; however, at minimum, attendance is required at all course meetings dates in order to achieve a passing grade. Please see course descriptions for additional grading criteria.

Students who do not request to have an elective course dropped from their schedule prior to the first meeting date will receive a “W” on their transcript to indicate withdrawal from the course.

Upon successful completion of the elective course(s), credit will be given under the special topics course, DNTS 548, and it will appear on your official transcript.

Registration

When choosing your elective(s), please carefully check your schedule to ensure you are available to attend all sessions, and for D4 students also make certain that multiple elective courses do not have overlapping session dates.

Please use this link to register for the electives:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S5LZ72X

 

Questions may be directed to:

Mrs. Ellen Seed
eseed@umaryland.edu

 

Offerings for Spring 2023

 

Mindfully Navigating Conflict Resolution in the Practice of Dentistry 

Faculty:  Dr. Douglas Drewyer 

Session Information: All sessions will take place from 5-7 pm in room 9105 on Monday 1/23, 2/6, 2/27 and 3/13.   

Attendance Limit:  16 students 

 

Course Description: Please join me for a conversational course where we address Conflict Resolution through the power of being present without judgement, strengthened through behavioral practices allowing clarification of our mutual feelings and needs.  Effectively learn to develop ways to make life more ONE-DERFUL for all our partnerships, personally and professionally.  Learn how to make requests that transform “Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Now what?” to a more peaceful, mutually rewarding co-existence. 

Grading Requirements: Grading is pass/fail, based on attendance (100% is expected).  Specific Criteria: Some written assignments to develop our skills and enrich our classroom exchanges. 

 

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The Joy of Learning:  It’s a Life-Long Process 

Faculty:  Dr. Arasu Chellaiah 

Session Information: All sessions will take place from 5-7 pm in room G309 on Wednesday 4/5, 4/12 and 4/19/23. 

Attendance Limit:  26 students  

 

Course Description: In order to cope with the ever increasing knowledge, continuing active research and clinical developments in dentistry, students need to become life-long learners and develop a passion for continuous learners to be top-notch dentists.  This course aims to accomplish the following: 

1)  Understand recent developments in the fields of brain research and the psychology of learning 

2)  Learn and apply specific learning techniques such as mind mapping (radiant learning) and Socratic-method 

3)  Through classroom exercises and assignments, students will be empowered to identify their unique learning style and intelligences 

4)  Students will receive instructions and online help on speed reading, memory, psycho-cybernetics and creative problem-solving techniques. 

 

Grading Requirements: Grading is pass/fail, based on 100% attendance and any other requirements assigned by Dr. Chellaiah. 

 

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DNTS 548:  Aesthetic Dentistry, an Inter-Disciplinary Approach 


Instructor:  Dr. David Mazza 

Credits: .50 

Seating capacity: 50 

 

Dates: Wednesday, 1/11, 1/25, 2/8 from 5-7 pm and 2/22 from 5-6 pm in room G310 with a hands-on lab session on 2/22 from 6-7 pm in C lab. 

  • Anatomy of an esthetic smile 
  • How to personalize smiles 
  • Tooth whitening protocol 
  • Gingival esthetic principles 
  • Diastemas closure, achieving natural looking results 
  • Composite laminate veneers 
  • Porcelain laminate veneers 
  • Principles of color in dentistry, shade selection and matching protocol 
  • Troubleshooting common problems with esthetic dentistry 
  • Reviewing several clinical cases and walking the students through actual cases from start to finish 
  • One hour “hands-on” instruction 

 

Grading Requirements: Attendance of all sessions of the elective and completion of the handout after every session. 

 

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DNTS 548:  Dental Implants: Diagnosis, Treatment Planning with Clinical Cases 


Instructor:  Dr. David Mazza 

Credits: .50 

Seating capacity: 50 

 

Dates: Wednesday, 3/8 (G310), 3/29 (G310), 4/12 (G205) from 5-7 pm and 4/26 from 5-6 pm in room G310 with a hands-on lab on 4/26 from 6-7 pm in lab C. 

 

Course Description:

This course is designed to familiarize the dental student with principles of implant treatments, treatment planning and review of actual clinical cases from start to finish.  

 Discussion Items:
 

  • Introduction to implants and its biological considerations. 
  • Treatment planning of implant cases utilizing CT scan, Simplant software 
  • Case selection (medical, masticatory musculature dynamics), prosthetic workups for implant cases 
  • Single unit implant, implant bridges and full arch, full mouth reconstruction plus implant supported over-denture protocols 
  • Implant protected occlusion 
  • Progressive load of dental implants 
  • Troubleshooting of common dental implant problems 
  • Reviewing several clinical cases and discussion of actual cases from start to finish 

 

Grading Requirements: Attendance to all sessions of the elective and completion of the handout after every session. 

 

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DNTS 548:  Overview of Clinical Anesthesia and Sedation  

Instructor:  Dr. Marvin Leventer 

Credits:  0.50 

 

Dates:  All sessions take place from 5-7 pm in room G309 on Wednesday, 2/15 and 2/22. 

 

Course Description: Overview of clinical anesthesia for dentistry.  Covered topics include oral sedation, IV sedation, and inpatient and outpatient general anesthesia, and will include pharmacology and practical applications.  Some reading may be assigned. 

  

Grading Requirements:   Attendance to all sessions of the elective is required for a passing grade along with any additional reading or other assignments as designated by the course presenter. 

 

_____________________ 

 

DNTS 548:  Interprofessional Culinary Health and Medicine 


Instructor:  Dr. Isabel Rambob and other UMB faculty 

Credits: 1.00 

 

NOTE:  The application for this course was due by December 5, 2022 

  

Course Description: This course will provide comprehensive, evidence-based nutrition instruction and cooking demos led by culinary experts then live/virtual group discussions. Students will have the opportunity to cook meals using simple ingredients and common cooking tools in the theme of the nutrition instruction provided in their own home. This course is structured into 30-60 minutes didactic nutrition content videos, cooking demo videos and live/virtual sessions and assignments (2).  

 

Grading Requirements: Attendance to all sessions of the elective and any other requirements as assigned by the elective faculty.