Department of Comprehensive Dentistry
The Postdoctoral Comprehensive Dentistry Division conducts dynamic advanced education programs in Dental Public Health, Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology, Advanced Education in General Dentistry, and Prosthodontics.
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Dental Public Health Program
The Dental Public Health Residency Program is a one year full time, or two year part time, residency in Dental Public Health (DPH). To be eligible, candidates must have a dental degree and have completed a Master’s degree in public health from a school accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is designed to provide dentists with the education to become Board Certified in the specialty. Dentists who complete the program are awarded a certificate in Dental Public Health. Upon completion of the program, dentists are eligible to challenge the .
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Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology Program
The Comprehensive Dentistry Department at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio offers a Postdoctoral Program in Dental Diagnostic Science that was approved in 1979, and began accepting students in 1980. The certificate program offers extensive training in radiation physics and radiation biology, radiographic techniques and interpretation, and is designed to prepare students to take the .
Students will be responsible for performing, interpreting, and updating conventional and advanced radiographic procedures such as CT, Cone Beam CT, and magnetic resonance images acquired in the graduate clinic or assigned in courses. Our graduate clinic includes three cone beam CT machines from three different manufacturers. In addition we have a steriolithography machine for modeling body parts and making surgical guides.
Our report writing area is similar to that of a medical facility including voice converting dictation equipment and software. Students write reports of scans from across the country as captured on all brands of CBCT machines. A student who is planning for an academic career may extend his/her Certificate program for six months to obtain a Master of Science degree. Our research facilities include our own Ph.D. physicist, laboratory, and a designated technician, as well as five Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologists.
Each student is required to conduct a research project. Certificate students participate in ongoing research and are required to complete a project for journal publication. Master of Science students are required to complete a thesis following the regulations of the on campus graduate school of biomedical science.
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Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program
The Comprehensive Dentistry Department offers an accredited one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program (AEGD). The department is committed to providing excellent advanced education in general dentistry to individuals who plan to seek careers in general dentistry. In keeping with the generalist concept, the majority of patient care is supervised by General Dentistry faculty, all of whom have had one to three years of training in an AEGD and/or General Practice Residency (GPR).
Intensive clinical and didactic training in comprehensive care of patients with complex medical issues, critical thinking, and treatment planning are the top priorities of our program. In addition, the AEGD program provides advanced training in the dental specialties in an effort to expand the treatment repertoire practiced by our program’s graduates. Program participants will also work and consult on a regular basis with orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, and prosthodontists. Comprehensive dental care is provided in the .
Didactic instruction is an important component of our program. Three hundred and fifty hours are devoted annually to lectures, seminars, and continuing education courses that cover a wide range of advanced dental topics. The majority of this didactic instruction is concentrated during the months of July and August at the inception of the program with additional didactic instruction throughout the year.
An optional second year of our AEGD program is available for interested 1st year AEGD participants. During the second-year, more time will be spent in the AGDC providing comprehensive care to a wide variety of patients. In addition, there are additional teaching responsibilities of first year AEGD participants and undergraduate dental students.
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Prosthodontics Program
The Comprehensive Dentistry Department offers a comprehensive three year, advanced education program in prosthodontics. Progressive clinical, laboratory, and didactic experience in fixed, removable, maxillofacial and implant prosthodontics, as well as interrelations with other medical and dental specialties are emphasized. Biomedical sciences relevant to the practice of prosthodontics are integrated into the curriculum which correlates biological, behavioral, and clinical disciplines. The biomedical sciences are incorporated into the comprehensive postdoctoral clinical experience, culminating in the award of a Certificate in Prosthodontics and the opportunity to receive a Master of Science degree.
The Postdoctoral Prosthodontics Program actively recruits applicants who will strive for both clinical and academic excellence and who seek a balanced program covering patient care, education, and research. Applicants must be team players, enthusiastic contributors to an atmosphere of clinical and intellectual exchange, and driven by the desire to excel. The Postdoctoral Prosthodontics Program at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Dental School is fully accredited by the .
The goal of the Postdoctoral Prosthodontics Program is to provide progressive clinical, laboratory, and didactic experience in fixed, removable, maxillofacial and implant prosthodontics and to prepare the resident to skillfully practice the clinical art and science of prosthodontics in a specialty practice. An additional goal of our program is to prepare the resident to successfully complete the . Interrelations with other medical and dental specialties are emphasized. All prosthodontic residents are under the direct supervision and guidance of board certified faculty. The certificate program is 35 months in duration.