General Practice Dental Residency

Rochester General is a 528-bed teaching hospital with a wide range of inpatient, outpatient and clinical teaching facilities.  RGH is accredited by The Joint Commission, and has been recognized as one of the top 100 Heart Hospitals in the United States eight times. RGH is a major teaching hospital of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and is an affiliate of the Cleveland Clinic.

Hospital-based experience is provided in ambulatory, emergency and inpatient settings for five general practice residents during a twelve month program. The educational components of the dental residency program include clinical dental services, off-service rotations and didactic courses. Approximately 70% of the residents' time is devoted to clinical dental services and 30% to rotations. An optional second year program is also available.

Residents successfully completing the program fulfill the experience requirement for obtaining licensure in New York State.

Goals and Objectives

The goals of the General Practice Residency are to educate and train the resident to provide patient care in all areas of general dentistry at an advanced level. The program aims to train residents to:

1. 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.
    
2. Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
    
3. 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.
    
4. Function effectively within the hospital and other health care environments.
    
5. Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams.
    
6. 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.
    
7. Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
    
8. Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.

These goals are evaluated during the year at quarterly evaluation sessions and through an outcomes assessment process. Specific competencies attained by program graduates are in the following areas:

• Planning and providing multidisciplinary comprehensive care
  
  • includes coordinating and providing patient-focused care
  • includes using advanced dental treatment modalities
• Patient assessment and diagnosis
• Practice management
• Documentation, information management and quality improvement
• Treatment of medical and dental emergencies
• Obtain informed consent
• Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams
  
  • includes consultation and referral
• Promoting oral and systemic health and disease prevention
• Medical risk assessment
• Restoration of teeth (operative dentistry)
• Replacement of teeth
  
  • includes fixed and removable prosthesis
  • includes management of implants (surgical and prosthetic aspects)
• Periodontal therapy
• Pulpal therapy
• Oral surgery
• Sedation, pain and anxiety control
• Oral mucosal disease management
• Temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain management
• Occlusal disorder management

Clinical Patient Care Activities

Clinical Dental Services

Residents are typically scheduled from 8:15 am - 12:00 Noon and 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm for direct patient care. Patient care is scheduled throughout the year at the Rochester General Hospital Outpatient Dental Center. Residents are responsible for the comprehensive and emergency care of patients in the Department of Dentistry. They are supervised by the employed and volunteer attending staff of the department. Time is allocated for endodontic, periodontic, pediatric prosthodontic and oral & maxillofacial surgical treatment under the direct supervision of the respective specialists. Clinical experience in placement and restoration of osseointegrated implants is provided. Residents also gain clinical experience in the administration of IV moderate sedation for dental patients. Digital radiography, rotary endodontic equipment, and operating microscopes are utilized in the dental clinic.

Residents provide comprehensive care to geriatric, developmentally disabled, and medically complex patients. Residents also rotate to the RGH-affiliated Independent Living for Seniors program to provide dental screenings for geriatric patients.

On-Call

Residents perform emergency service duties (first call) after hours in consultation with Emergency Department staff.

Inpatient Care

Residents assigned to inpatient care are responsible to obtain and/or review histories, manage and follow-up patients admitted to the dental services. Residents also participate in delivery of dental care in the operating room. A rotation schedule is designed to assure that each resident receives experience in the care and management of hospitalized patients. Residents may rotate to other local facilities for additional training in providing care in the operating room.

Off-Service Rotations

Anesthesia

Residents are assigned to the RGH Department of Anesthesiology on a part-time basis totaling two to four weeks. Residents participate in the administration of general anesthesia and moderate sedation to inpatients and ambulatory surgery patients under the direct supervision of an anesthesiologist.

Physical Diagnosis

The hospital's Department of Medicine provides a didactic and clinical course that allows residents to gain competence in obtaining medical histories and performing physical evaluations. Residents gain an understanding of effective interprofessional interactions in the rotation. Training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support is also provided.

The residency program has flexibility to allow for additional assignments to areas of interest to individual residents. This may include additional off-service rotations or assignments to other Rochester institutions.

Didactic Program

Over 250 hours of scheduled lectures, seminars and courses are provided in various dental and medical subjects. Courses are also provided in specialty areas such as pediatric dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, fixed and removable prosthodontics, and oral & maxillofacial surgery. Other seminar areas of interest include:

• Scientific evaluation of dental literature
• Treatment Planning Conference
• General Dentistry Grand Rounds
• Treatment of Special Dental Patients
• Control of Pain & Anxiety in Dental Practice (IV moderate sedation and nitrous oxide/oxygen analgesia)
• Practice Management & Quality Improvement
• Osseointegrated Implants: surgical and prosthetic aspects

The resident staff are encouraged but not required to conduct research. Guidance and assistance are provided to engage in research as resources and time allow.

Salary and Benefits

The stipend for first-year residents in the class of 2010-11 is $48,152. The stipend and benefits for subsequent years will be determined in advance of the start of the program. Other benefits include:

• Twenty (20) days paid vacation
• Health insurance
• Term life insurance
• Professional liability (malpractice) coverage
• Uniforms (scrubs and lab coats)
• New York State Limited Permit application fee paid
• Pre-employment Physical & Lab Work

Application

Application should be made through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). RGH is a member of the Associated General Dentistry Training Programs of Rochester, which coordinates the application and interview process for the three local post-graduate general dentistry education programs.

Rochester General Hospital participates in the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program. Applicants must be registered with the National Matching Services to obtain a Match code. The RGH match code is 8515.

Residents must meet New York State Education Department requirements in order to practice dentistry in the residency program.

The residency class of 2010-11 will commence with a required orientation program beginning in late June 2010.

For further information or to arrange a tour of the facilities, please contact the GPR Program Director, Anthony Lister at (585) 922-4554 or by email at anthony.lister@rochestergeneral.org