Specialty Programs

Advanced Education in General Dentistry

General Information

Advanced Education in General Dentistry is a one-year residency program with an optional second year of advanced study and practice. There is also a two-year comprehensive program of advanced study that can be pursued as either a clinical tract or with joint matriculation in the Master of Science program. A PhD program in conjunction with the department of oral and craniofacial biological sciences may also be combined with the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program.

Facilities

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry program operates within the dental school in its own clinic facility specially designed to include treatment areas as well as associated support areas.

Financial Support

Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residents who are graduates of an accredited U.S. or Candadian dental school receive a stipend from the UMB School of Dentistry. In addition, the student is not responsible for paying the UMB School of Dentistry tuition and fees. Graduates of international dental schools are responsible for tuition and fees and do not receive a stipend; however, international students who are simultaneously enrolled in a Master’s do not pay additional tuition for graduate-level master’s courses.

Requirements for Certification

A certificate 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 will receive a master’s degree diploma and certificate when they complete the requirements of the programs.

Academic Standards for Certification

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

Students must demonstrate competency in all clinical and nonclinical areas of the program. Any student who fails to do so may not be permitted to continue in the program.

Objectives

Each Resident shall:

• Act as a primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. This includes: providing emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care; providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner; directing health promotion and disease prevention activities, and using advanced dental treatment modalities.
• Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
• Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.
• 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 or outcomes-based clinical decision-making and technology-based information retrieval systems.
• 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.

  The two year AEGD program incorporates all the goals and objectives of the one year program and is designed to expand the educational opportunities offered by gaining experience in managing highly complex comprehensive dental care.

Scope of Training: One-Year Program

The clinical experiences for each student incorporate a broad range of clinical cases and are designed to match specific needs and interests. Faculty assign patients on the basis of type and complexity of treatment required. Students assume the responsibility for total patient treatment and learn to serve as principal coordinator when specialist care is required.

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry environment simulates a private group practice and is one in which students are exposed to new techniques and concepts in patient care. This atmosphere is enhanced by ongoing clinical research in materials and devices, and the clinical treatment of Advanced Education in General Dentistry patients by attending faculty. Chairside dental auxiliaries, fulltime hygienists, receptionist/clerks, and financial personnel facilitate the efficient delivery of services.

While students spend 85 percent of their time in the Advanced General Dentistry clinic practice facility, the remaining 15 percent is devoted to seminars that cover all dental specialties. These seminars are presented by senior faculty of the School of Dentistry and private practitioners, as well as by the Advanced Education in General Dentistry faculty.

First-year students can apply for an optional second year of training that continues and expands the postgraduate program’s clinical and didactic components. Second-year students manage increasingly complex comprehensive care cases, including the placement and restoration of dental implants, and participate in the regular seminar series. In conjunction with the program director, these students also develop an in-depth seminar and literature review program to meet their individual interests and objectives. Second-year students may also be provided an opportunity to pursue areas of individual clinical and/or didactic concentration one- half day per week; e.g., conscious sedation, special patient care, oral surgery. These additional experiences must be approved by the program director.

Number of Positions: One-Year Program

4 to 9

Scope of Training: Two-Year Program

This program pursues the one-year objectives while the curriculum emphasis can be either clinical or centered around matriculation in the Master of Science program offered within the dental school. The intent is to direct potential careers into education/research, advanced general or specialty practice. At the same time, students treat increasingly more difficult comprehensive care patients, increase their level of independent clinical activity, and improve practice management skills. Research required for thesis development is usually conducted in a clinical or laboratory setting and offers a wide selection of interest areas such as ongoing materials studies based in restorative and esthetic dentistry, special patients, geriatrics, TMD, and implantology. Additional opportunities may be specifically tailored to provide experiences at extramural training sites, and experience in preclinical and clinical teaching areas may be provided. An additional six months to one year may be necessary beyond the 24-month program to ensure completion of all requirements for the Master of Science program. For those interested, a PhD program is available contingent on acceptance by the program and the Graduate School. Contact the program director if you desire to be considered for this program.

Number of Positions: Two-Year Program

Two per year

Site of Training

The Advanced General Dentistry clinic is located on the 2nd floor of the dental school. This clinical facility consists of 20 units and all associated support areas such as reception, X-ray, and laboratory and contains state-of-the-art equipment such as a CO2 laser, digital radiography, digital impressions, CAD CAM (CEREC) dentistry, dental micrioscope, rotary endodontics, and air abrasion unit.

Endodontics

Objectives

• To train dentists to become specialists in the field of endodontics with the objective of pursuing careers in private practice, academics, or health related fields. 
• To provide in-depth training in the basic sciences as related to endodontics and to have the graduate integrate this background into endodontic practice. 
• To provide advanced education and training in the field of endodontics consistent with the standards provided by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation. 
• To prepare residents to design, conduct, analyze, and discuss a scientific research investigation. 
• To provide an atmosphere that fosters the appreciation of the importance and advantages of membership and participation in organized dentistry. 
• To prepare residents to become Diplomates of the American Board of Endodontics. 
• To provide an environment conducive to evidence-based practice and life-long learning.

Scope of Training

The program integrates biological and clinical sciences to teach evidence-based endodontics by integrating the best research evidence with clinician expertise and patient values. Lectures, seminars, and literature reviews cover ethics and professionalism, biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, the history of endodontics, teaching methodology, jurisprudence, risk management, practice management and medical emergencies. Residents also participate in the preclinical and clinical mentoring of predoctoral students. Residents attend and/or present at professional meetings, study clubs, and continuing education courses held within and outside of the University. All residents dually enroll in the Graduate School's MS program in oral biology.  Consideration to opt out of the MS degree is given to those who hold a similar degree or higher upon entering the endodontics certificate program.  Regardless of enrollment in the MS degree program, all residents must participate in research and compile the results of the project in either a manuscript suitable for publication, a master’s thesis, or a Ph.D. dissertation. Although there is time for treating patients, most of the biomedical science courses are scheduled in the first year of study. The second and third years emphasize teaching, research activities and clinical sciences including diagnosis, treatment planning and prognosis; non-surgical and surgical endodontic treatment and retreatment; a variety of endodontic techniques; outcome evaluation; radiography and other diagnostic imaging technologies; management of medically compromised patients; emergency treatment for endodontic conditions; management of orofacial pain and anxiety; preparation of space for intraradicular restorations in endodontically treated teeth; communication with patients and health care professionals; and the use of magnification and light in endodontic treatment.

Site of Training

The training site is the University of Maryland School of Dentistry's Postgraduate Endodontics Practice.

Number of Positions

Three per year

Special Admission Guidelines

• High scholastic achievement.
• Clinical experience weighted heavily.
• A personal interview is desirable.

Length of Program

36 months, Certificate with Master’s degree.

Thirty-six (36) months.

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology

Objectives

• To prepare students for a career as an oral pathologist in clinical practice and/or academics.
• To allow individuals to obtain substantial experience in clinical care, teaching and research.
• To fulfill the educational requirements for specialty certification by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.

Scope of Training

Students gain experience and training in surgical oral pathology, oral medicine, radiology, clinical pathology, systemic pathology and the basic sciences. An extensive series of lectures, seminars, literature review, applied teaching and case conferences are conducted to provide a comprehensive curriculum that meets the requirements for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology certification. Each student is required to complete a research project and do a poster presentation or prepare a manuscript for publication. By the end of the specialty training, residents can apply to have their completed graduate coursework count towards the course requirements for the Master of Science (M.S.) or Philosophy Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Oral and Experimental Pathology through the Graduate School, University of Maryland. Candidacy research work of an extra 2 to 3 years shall lead to a Ph.D. thesis dissertation.

Site of Training

Most clinical training and didactic courses are conducted within the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry and Department of Surgical Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore campus. Training can also be received in Veterans Affairs Medical Center or other schools of The University of Maryland campus, The Johns Hopkins University and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Number of Positions

Five

Length of Program

Three years (36 months)

Special Admission Requirements

• DDS, DMD, or equivalent degree
• Students must have acceptable scholastic achievement at the pre-doctoral level
• Admission through the Dental School
• Professional experience
• Personal interview may apply

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Objectives

• To prepare individuals for a career in the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• To fulfill educational requirements for specialty certification by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
• To fulfill the requirements for specialty training of the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
• To fulfill fellowship requirements set forth by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
• To fulfill the educational requirements for the MD degree and licensure.
• To fulfill the educational requirements for general surgery internship program completion.

Scope of Training

Six Year Track

During the first year, students enter residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Maryland Medical System and University of Maryland School of Dentistry. Students participate in clinical exodontia procedures and other dentoalveolar surgery. They attend patient rounds, oral pathology seminars, a course in physical diagnosis, combined surgical orthodontic conferences, clinical pathology conferences, implant conferences, and they are assigned a three-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 second year of medical school. The residents are undergraduate medical students for the next two years. 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 and pass USMLE steps 1 and 2.  

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, transplant, vascular, pediatric and surgical intensive care.

The fifth year of the residency program is at University of Maryland Medical System and the School of Dentistry. Fifth-year residents perform complex ambulatory surgery in the surgery clinics of the School of Dentistry and University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, fifth-year residents are introduced to major maxillofacial surgery procedures in the operating room. Trainees rotate through a community private practice (Howard County OMS). 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 and the Shock Trauma Center. 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. Generation of at least one publication or presentation of an abstract at the AAOMS annual meeting is expected.

Four Year Track

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

During the second year, residents are assigned to a two-month trauma surgery rotation at the Shock Trauma Center, a four-month rotation with the Department of General Surgery and a two-month rotation in the Department of Internal Medicine. The remaining months are spent with the oral and maxillofacial surgery service at a more senior level. The second year resident serves as the primary resident at the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore taking call and operating the trauma and elective cases done there.

The third year of the residency program is at University of Maryland Medical System, Shock Trauma Center  and the School of Dentistry. Third-year residents perform complex ambulatory surgery in the surgery clinics of the School of Dentistry and University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, third-year residents participate in major maxillofacial surgery procedures in the operating room. Trainees rotate through a community private practice (Howard County OMS). 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 third year, suitable for presentation at the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meeting and eventual publication. Third-year residents generally attend at least one regional conference of interest to oral and maxillofacial surgery.

The fourth year of residency is at the University of Maryland Medical System and the Shock Trauma Center. 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. Generation of at least one publication or presentation of an abstract at the AAOMS annual meeting is expected.

Site of Training

During the course of the program, students will rotate through training sites at the School of Dentistry, University of Maryland Medical System, Shock Trauma Center, Sinai Hospital, intramural faculty practice and in private practice at Howard County OMS. 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

Three residency positions per year (2 six year positions; 1 four year position)

Special Admission Guidelines

• Applicants should rank in the upper 15 percent of their dental class.
• Applicants should have completed the NBME CBSE examination.
• Applicants require three letters of recommendation.
• A formal interview is required before acceptance of candidates. 
• In accordance with University of Maryland School of Medicine policy, applicants to the combined OMSMD program must be U.S. or Canadian citizens and have a U.S. or Canadian undergraduate degree.

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. Four years (48 months), including one year of rotations on various medical services.

Orthodontics

Objectives

• To educate and train postdoctoral students in the knowledge, skills and critical judgement required to practice the specialty of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics.
• To develop the postdoctoral student's ability to understand, assess and add to clinical research by participation in scholarly research activities.
• To prepare the postdoctoral student to fulfill the requirements necessary for certification by the American Board of Orthodontics.
• To prepare the postdoctoral student to become educators in their field of expertise.
• To encourage the postdoctoral student to provide service to the community by participating in volunteer activities.

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 School of Dentistry. The clinical program is conducted in a modern, seventeen 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

Length of Program

Three years

Pediatric Dentistry

Objectives

• To prepare individuals for careers in patient care, public health, or academics.
• To develop clinical skills in treating normal children with advanced dental needs, as well as growth and development or handicapping conditions.
• To encourage our trainees to be lifelong learners and to make a difference in society.
• To prepare our trainees to be successful in obtaining Board Certification in the specialty of Pediatric Dentistry.
• To fulfill the educational requirements for specialty certification by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

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 School of Dentistry and the University Hospital, with additional experience at Kernan Hospital and Family Health Centers of Baltimore. 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 do a poster presentation or prepare a manuscript for publication. 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 which has a 22 chair clinic devoted to Pediatric Dentistry. Other sites include the University of Maryland Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Family Health Centers of Baltimore and University of Maryland Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Center (Kernan Hospital).

Number of Positions

Five positions in MATCH

Special Admission Guidelines

• PASS/MATCH Program
• Documentation of scholastic achievement, motivation and leadership. Recommendations from individuals well acquainted with the candidate.
• Professional experience.
• Personal interview.

Length of Program

Two years (3 years for Master’s degree)

Periodontics

Objectives

• Graduate clinicians who demonstrate proficiency with the diagnosis, treatment planning, and comprehensive treatment of periodontal diseases and dental implants.
• Graduate clinicians who demonstrate proficiency with the management and the long-term supportive therapy of periodontal and implant patients.
• Provide graduates with a strong foundation in the scientific basis for specialty practice in periodontics, with particular emphasis on the critical use of current literature and knowledge.
• Prepare clinicians to become Diplomates of the American Board of Periodontology.
• Provide graduates with a foundation in the basic sciences sufficient to understand current literature and evaluate future advances relevant to the clinical practice of periodontics and implant therapy.
• Prepare clinicians to work in cooperation with general practitioners and other health care specialists in the delivery of optimal comprehensive dental care.
• Graduate clinicians who discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge as well as contribute to the profession, education, and society.

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 nonsurgical 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 and administration of conscious sedation. There will be complete sufficient didactic and clinical case experiences necessary to be certified to provide conscious 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 predoctoral dental students. The preparation and documentation of cases is a requirement for graduation from the program.

Residents will also apply for admission to the Master of Science (M.S.) program in Biomedical Sciences through the Graduate School, University of Maryland. Graduate coursework successfully completed as part of the specialty program also fulfills course requirements for the M.S. program. Residents are required to conduct a research project and to complete a paper acceptable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal or thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Certificate in Periodontics. Graduates of the Advanced Dental Education Program in Periodontics receive a Certificate in Periodontics upon successful completion of program requirements. Upon submission and successful defense of the master’s thesis, residents are awarded the M.S. degree in Biomedical Sciences by the Graduate School. Completion of the requirements for the M.S. program normally occurs during the Spring Semester of the third-year of the specialty program.

The Baltimore-Washington area is rich in institutions for clinical and basic science expertise, and residents are given opportunities to interact with these valuable resources.

Site of Training

The major site of training is the dental school. Coursework also is taken at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Number of Positions

Three

Special Admission Guidelines

• Applicants must have passed Parts I and II National Board Dental Examinations, with an average score of 85 or higher considered competitive.
• Applicants should rank in the upper 20 percent of their dental class.
• An interview is required before acceptance of candidates.

Length of Program

Three years (36 months)

Prosthodontics

Objectives

• To provide a historical perspective of prosthodontics in a manner that will permit and encourage the student to make objective evaluations.
• To provide a comprehensive background of those biologic and allied sciences relevant to diagnosis, planning, and treatment of routine and complex prosthodontic problems.
• To provide clinical treatment experiences in the various aspects of prosthodontics with emphasis upon attainment of skills and judgment in treating complex patients.
• To prepare the candidate for examination by the American Board of Prosthodontics.
• To prepare the candidate for teaching at predoctoral or postgraduate levels.

Scope of Training

Students are trained to manage and treat complex prosthodontic patients, to include implants-surgical and restorative, maxillofacial, fixed, and removable cases. Lectures, seminars and conferences are held in basic biologic sciences and allied dental sciences related to prosthodontics. Postgraduate students gain experience in teaching as they provide clinical instruction to predoctoral dental students. Training in research methodology is an integral part of the program and culminates as each candidate conducts and presents a research project. A Master of Science degree is available and encouraged.

Site of Training

Major site of training is the dental school.

Number of Positions

Three

Length of Program

Three years (36 months)

Special Admission Guidelines

• Students must have acceptable scholastic achievement at the predoctoral level.
• Clinical experience is preferred.
• A personal interview is required.
• References are required.

Length of Program

Three years (36 months)