Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from this program will:

• Apply the fundamental principles of the biomedical and behavioral sciences as they relate to the promotion and provision of oral health care
• Apply legal, ethical and regulatory principles to the provision of oral health care, including practice management
• Apply interpersonal and communication skills to empathetically and effectively care for diverse patient populations and function in the health care environment
• Apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to provide evidence-based patient-centered care
• Evaluate various models of oral health management and care delivery
• Participate in improving the oral health of individuals, families, and groups in the community through oral health promotion, education and interaction with other health professions
• Manage medical emergencies and complications that may occur during dental treatment
• URecognize and manage pain, anxiety, prescribing practices and substance abuse disorders, trauma, hemorrhage, and infection of the orofacial complex by selection, administration, or prescription of pharmacological or non-pharmacologic agents in the treatment of dental patients.
• Demonstrate competence in providing oral health care within the scope of general dentistry for children, adolescents, adults, and special needs patients. This includes: Perform a complete dental examination to arrive at a diagnosis, risk assessment and prognosis of the patient’s oral condition/s. Develop, present, and implement an integrated treatment plan, including the risks and benefits of various options, to address a patient’s oral health needs. Prevent, identify, and manage dental caries. Prevent, identify, and manage periodontal conditions. Prevent, identify, and manage pulpal and periradicular conditions. Identify and manage patients with oral surgical needs. Identify malocclusions and the need for space management. Manage restorative procedures for defective teeth or to restore function in patients with partial or complete edentulism. Recognize and manage patients with oral mucosal, temporomandibular, and osseous disorders and oral manifestations of systemic diseases. Evaluate the outcomes of treatment, including recall strategies, and prognosis.
• Demonstrate the ability to self-assess competency and plan for lifelong learning

The school offers a four-year curriculum leading to the doctor of dental surgery (D.D.S.) degree. This curriculum is designed to prepare graduates in dentistry to deliver patient care with a scientific basis and a caring manner. As such, it provides a sound background in the biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences with an emphasis on comprehensive oral health care. Exposure to clinical dentistry in the first semester of the first year is a hallmark of this curriculum.

The first year of dental school focuses on instruction in the biomedical sciences that provide a foundation for clinical studies. The first-year student also studies introductory courses in oral diagnosis, preventive periodontics and dental restorative techniques in a pre-clinical setting. Early clinical exposure is further emphasized through clinic-based courses in both the first and the second semesters. Acquisition of basic diagnostic skills and background knowledge is a goal of the first year of the curriculum.

Biomedical science courses extend into the second year; however, the major thrust of the second year is devoted to pre-clinical technique coursework of increasing complexity. In the preclinical laboratory courses, students continue learning the fundamental procedures of dentistry: operative dentistry, prosthodontics (fixed and removable), and endodontics. Clinically, students are introduced to the basic essential skills needed in preventive periodontics. Classroom lecture sessions are also conducted in each of these areas of dentistry along with didactic courses in periodontics, oral diagnosis, oral radiology, and oral surgery.

The primary emphasis of the third year of the curriculum is the clinical practice of dentistry. The general clinic is organized into subunits called teams. Each team includes an established set of faculty and staff. Patients are assigned to students for comprehensive care, from diagnosis and treatment planning through procedures necessary for successful case completion. While the emphasis of the third and fourth years of the dental curriculum is gaining clinical experience, students also attend advanced classes in periodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, operative dentistry and oral diagnosis/oral medicine.

The fourth year involves extensive clinical practice. There are a few seminar sessions and formal courses (e.g., practice management), but the student's major responsibility is to perfect diagnostic, patient-management and technical-treatment skills and demonstrate competence in all the skills required by the faculty of the School of Dentistry.

An outline of the four-year curriculum is given below.

Total Credits: 190

Graduation Requirements

1. Satisfactory completion of all program requirements (program competencies and course requirements).
2. A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher for the student’s period as a dental student.
3. Students must challenge the Integrated National Board Dental Examination prior to graduation.
4. Demonstrate the ability to meet the standards of professional conduct.