Program Requirements

 

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

Program Requirements

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.

Year I
BMS 9300Human Gross Anatomy I5
BMS 9301Human Gross Anatomy II5
BMS 9308Histology2.5
DENT 6305Operative Dentistry I Lecture1
DENT 6305LOperative Dentistry I Laboratory2
DENT 6306Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future I0.5
DENT 6307Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future II0.5
DENT 6310CPatient Care I3
DENT 6313Applied Biochemistry4
DENT 6314CPatient Care II2
DENT 6316Dental Morphology3
DENT 6317Fundamentals of Occlusion and Fixed Prosthodontics3
DENT 6319Ethics and Professionalism1
DENT 6328Clinical Decision Making in Dentistry1
DENT 6350Introduction To The Histopathology Of Oral Tissues2
DENT 6416Complete Removable Prosthodontics1
DENT 6416LComplete Removable Prosthodontics I Laboratory2
DENT 6436Orthodontics: Growth And Development1
LS-MCRB 4180Microbiology4
LS-PHYS 401Physiology Lecture5
Total Credits48.5
Year II
DENT 6315CPatient Care III3
DENT 6352Patient Care IV1
DENT 6402Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future III0.5
DENT 6403Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future IV0.5
DENT 6410Operative Dentistry II Lecture1
DENT 6410LOperative Dentistry II Laboratory2
DENT 6412Introduction to Oral Surgery & Pain Management I1
DENT 6414Pathology I Lecture4
DENT 6415Pathology II2
DENT 6417Removable Partial Prosthodontics1
DENT 6417LRemovable Partial Prosthodontics Laboratory2
DENT 6420Periodontics I2
DENT 6422Fixed Prosthodontics I Lecture1
DENT 6422LFixed Prosthodontics I Laboratory2
DENT 6423Fixed Prosthodontics II Lecture1
DENT 6423LFixed Prosthodontics II Laboratory2
DENT 6424Dental Management of the Medically Complex Patient2
DENT 6426Oral Radiology Lecture2
DENT 6431Pediatric Dentistry I Lecture1
DENT 6435Endodontics I Lecture1
DENT 6440Introduction to Oral Surgery & Pain Management II1
DENT 6442Endodontics II Lecture1
DENT 6442LEndodontics Laboratory2
DENT 6526Orthodontics I1
DENT 6526LOrthodontics I Laboratory2
DENT 6527Pharmacology and Therapeutics I2
DENT 6537Oral Oncology0.5
DENT 6501CIntro to Comprehensive Patient Care8
DENT 6556Radiographic Interpretation1
DENT 6566Bridge Course2
DENT 6568Treatment Planning I1
DENT 6569Treatment Planning II1
DENT 6595Introduction To Implant Dentistry1
Total Credits55.5
Year III
DENT 6312Dental Behavioral Science1
DENT 6411Advanced Restorative Dentistry I1
DENT 6502Grand Rounds I0.5
DENT 6503Clinical Decision Making II0.5
DENT 6509CComprehensive Patient Care I8
DENT 6510CComprehensive Patient Care II4
DENT 6515Periodontics II1
DENT 6518Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future V1
DENT 6520Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future VI1
DENT 6521Oral Surgery III1
DENT 6521CPeriodontics Clinical I1
DENT 6522Oral Surgery IV1
DENT 6524Principles of Oral Medicine and Diagnosis1
DENT 6531COral Diagnosis Clinical I1
DENT 6534Advanced Restorative Dentistry II1
DENT 6538Orthodontics II1
DENT 6542COperative Dentistry Clinical I1
DENT 6551CROral Surgery Clinical1
DENT 6559Diagnosis and Management of Orofacial Pain1
DENT 6564Pharmacology and Therapeutics II2
DENT 6569Treatment Planning II1
DENT 6591CProfessional Development I1
DENT 6592CProfessional Development II1
DENT 6593CProfessional Development III1
DENT 6602Grand Rounds II1
DENT 6606CPediatric Dentistry Clinical I1
DENT 6609CComprehensive Patient Care III8
DENT 6613Periodontal Treatment Planning1
DENT 6617Pediatric Dentistry Seminar0.5
DENT 6633Introduction To Dental Public Health1
DENT 6634Community-Based Dental Education (CODE) I1
DENT 6636COral Radiology Clinical1
DENT 6650Applied Ethics0.5
DENT 6656COrthodontic Clinical I1
Total Credits50
Year IV
DENT 6514Pathology III Lecture1
DENT 6562CRemovable Prosthodontics Clinical II1
DENT 6600Review Of Clinical Dentistry1
DENT 6601CEndodontics Clinical2
DENT 6603Grand Rounds III1
DENT 6604Grand Rounds IV1
DENT 6607CPediatric Dentistry Clinical II1
DENT 6608CPediatric Dentistry Clinical III1
DENT 6610CComprehensive Patient Care IV5
DENT 6611CFixed Prosthodontics Clinical I1
DENT 6614Dentistry For The Special Patient2
DENT 6614CComprehensive Patient Care V10
DENT 6615Transitions: Charting Your Professional Future VII1
DENT 6621CPeriodontics Clinical II1
DENT 6625Oral Surgery Clinical II1
DENT 6635Community-Based Dental Education3
DENT 6626CClinical Treatment Planning1
DENT 6642COperative Dentistry Clinical II1
DENT 6691CProfessional Development IV1
DENT 6692CProfessional Development V1
Total Credits37

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.