Program Director:
Dr. Christine Blass
(205) 934-4178

Length of Program: 1 year

Match Participant: No

Pass Participant: Yes

Certificate Awarded: Yes

Degree Awarded: No

Stipend Available: Yes

Tuition/fees: None

International Students Accepted: Canada Only

Application Deadline: September 1

Program Start Date: July 1 (mandatory orientation 1 week prior to start date)

Application Materials Required:

• Applicants must apply through PASS only. Direct applications through the Dental School are not accepted. Dean's Letter, 2 Letters of Recommendation, Dental School Transcripts.

Application Fee: Pay the $25 postdoctoral application processing fee online.

Acceptance Deposit Fee: A $250 non-refundable deposit is due upon acceptance to the program. Please pay this deposit only when directed to do so by the School of Dentistry. Pay the acceptance deposit fee.

Program Director:
Dr. Christine Blass
(205) 934-4178

Length of Program: 1 year

Match Participant: No

Pass Participant: Yes

Certificate Awarded: Yes, (2) 1 - hospital, 1 - dental school

Degree Awarded: No

Stipend Available: Yes

Tuition/fees: None

International Students Accepted: Canada Only

Application Deadline: September 1

Program Start Date: July 1 (mandatory 1 week prior to start date)

Application Materials Required:

• Applicants must apply through PASS only. Direct applications through the Dental School are not accepted. Dean's Letter, 2 Letters of Recommendation, Dental School Transcripts.

Application Fee: Pay the $25 postdoctoral application processing fee online.

General Practice Residency (GPR) and Advanced Education
in General Dentistry (AEGD) Programs
Co-Sponsored by the University of Alabama School of Dentistry and
The University of Alabama Hospital
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama

The General Practice Residency (GPR) and the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) merged in July of 2000 to form a single program known as the General Dental Residency (GDR). This is a two-track program with a GPR track with four 4 residents and an AEGD track with 2 residents. Both programs share clinical facilities, have the same auxiliary staff, utilize the same attending faculty and share didactic lectures. All 6 GDR residents rotate in OMFS for 6 weeks divided into two three-week rotations; Emergency Medicine for 2 weeks; 2 weeks in Otolaryngology; 2 weeks in Anesthesia and have a 1 week elective rotation in a medical or dental specialty. The 4 GPR track residents rotate in hospital based OMFS for 1 week and the AEGD track residents rotate in Pediatric Dentistry for 1 week. We believe this merger emphasizes the strengths of both programs – comprehensive general dentistry on patients with complex medical histories. At the successful completion of the GDR program each resident will receive either a GPR certificate or an AEGD certificate depending upon the track selected.

Purpose

The General Dental Residency (GDR) Program is a postdoctoral educational program designed to provide essential skills, attitudes, and abilities related to the contemporary practice of advanced general dentistry, with emphasis on total patient care. The program provides the recent graduate the opportunity to augment his/her knowledge of oral disease and his/her diagnostic and therapeutic skills in dentistry. Treatment of oral disease in the medically complex patient and/or hospitalized patient is emphasized. A private practice environment is maintained throughout the program to assist the recent dental school graduate in the transition from academics to “real world dentistry”.

Goals and Objectives

The formal goals and objectives are:

1. Act as primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients. Provide emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive health care; providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner and directing health promotion and disease prevention.
2. Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including those with special needs.
3. Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.
4. Function effectively and efficiently in the hospital and other health care environments and personnel.
5. 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.
6. To utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
7. Understand the health needs of communities and engage in community service.

Specific Program Objectives

1. Operative dentistry: Restore intra and extra coronal defects in primary and permanent teeth, including endodontically treated teeth, with a range of materials and methods.
2. Replacement of teeth: Treat the partially edentulous patient with fixed, removable and/or implant supported prostheses; treat the completely edentulous patient with removable and/or implant supported prostheses.
3. Periodontal therapy: Phase I Periodontal treatment from diagnosis to reevaluation in mild to moderate periodontal disease using non-surgical and surgical methods and evaluating the results of periodontal treatment. Manage advanced periodontal disease and periodontal maintenance.
4. Endodontic therapy: Diagnose and treat pain of pulpal origin by performing non-surgical endodontic therapy in the primary and permanent dentition.
5. Oral surgery: Perform non-surgical and surgical extractions. Function efficiently in an operating room environment.
6. Dental emergencies: Evaluate and treat patients with dental emergencies, including post-operative complications from dental treatment, pain, infection and/or trauma.
7. Pain and anxiety control: Provide control of pain and anxiety in the conscious adult and pediatric dental patient through the use of behavior management techniques and pharmacological techniques (local anesthesia, oral/nitrous oxide anxiolysis).
8. Medical emergencies: Recognize, diagnose and provide initial treatment for medical emergencies that may occur in the dental office.
9. Oral mucosal diseases: Diagnose and manage common oral medicine and oral pathologic conditions.
10. Temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain and occlusal disorders: Diagnose and manage temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain and occlusal disorders.
11. Ethics: Apply the principles of ethical reasoning, ethical decision making and professional responsibility as they pertain to patient care, and practice management.
12. Practice management: Apply the principles of practice management to everyday dental practice.

Residency Program

The GDR Program co-sponsored by the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Dentistry and the UAB Hospital consists of 12 months of advanced dental education in clinical dentistry and is conducted primarily within a hospital environment. An optional second GPR or AEGD year is available on a competitive basis. This latter position is generally limited to one position per year and is dependent upon qualifications.

PG1 (1st Year) Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1: Act as a Primary Health Care Provider at a level more advanced than a GPR/AEGD Level 1 resident.

Provide multidisciplinary comprehensive dental care to a wide variety of patients by pursuing training in advanced dental clinical fields of interest including but not limited to:

• Implant Dentistry
• Prosthodontics

Goal 2: Obtain more advanced didactic training in both medicine and dentistry.

They will be offered graduate level courses in the following areas:

• Surgical Implants in Dentistry
• Postgraduate Oral Pathology
• Advanced Treatment Planning

Goal 3: Complete medical/dental rotations not offered to Level 1 residents.

These may include:

• Postdoctoral Periodontology
• Postdoctoral Endodontics
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Internal Medicine

Program Dates

The program begins July 1st and concludes June 30th. In general, entering residents are required to report approximately the 20th of June for UAB Hospital orientation and help in patient transition (date to be provided after acceptance to the program).

Assignments

1. University Hospital Dental Clinic (GPR/AEGD) | 35 Weeks
   Residents spend approximately 35 weeks at the University Hospital Dental Clinic (UHDC) where the majority of time is spent providing hands-on patient treatment. The 35 weeks are spread out during the entire year to assure continuity of care. During this time residents gain a wide variety of experiences by providing complex dental treatment for both hospitalized and ambulatory patients. The concept of comprehensive care is stressed, with an emphasis on considering the "whole" patient. Opportunities exist for providing comprehensive dental care, including fixed and removable prosthodontics (implant restoration), rotary endodontics, periodontics (implant placement), oral surgery, and advanced esthetic operative dentistry. Residents also gain extensive experience in evaluating hospital patients and providing dental consultations.
2. Oral Surgery (GPR/AEGD) | 6 Weeks
   During the 6-7 week oral surgery rotation, residents perform numerous outpatient oral surgery procedures at the Oral Surgery Clinic located in the School of Dentistry. Routine and complex exodontia, pre-prosthetic surgery, and conscious sedation techniques are emphasized. The three-week rotations are scheduled evenly throughout the year to allow for comprehensive care of restorative patients.
3. Anesthesia (GPR/AEGD) | 2 Weeks
   During this rotation, residents actively participate in the care of surgery patients via assignment to the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Alabama Hospital. Residents receive experience in physical evaluation of the pre-anesthetic patient, starting and maintaining intravenous lines, oral and nasal intubation, monitoring vital signs, maintaining optimum airways, utilizing various equipment/instrumentation for monitoring the anesthetized patient, and patient recovery.
4. Emergency Room (GPR/AEGD) | 2 Weeks
   During this two-week rotation, residents actively participate in the care of patients presenting to University Hospital Emergency Room and Walk-in-Clinic. University Hospital ER serves as a trauma center; thus residents are exposed to a wide variety of emergency medical situations, from sprained ankles to major trauma. The GDR residents are often assigned to an Emergency Medicine physician to maximize their rotation.
5. Pediatric Dentistry (AEGD) | 1 Week
   The AEGD residents spend three weeks at Children's Hospital Dental Clinic and the School of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Clinic. The GPR Residents spend one week at Children's and the SOD Pediatric Clinic. During this time they perform both comprehensive and emergency treatment for pediatric dental inpatients and outpatients. Emphasis is placed upon prevention of oral disease in the child and adolescent, management of dental emergencies, treatment of the phobic or disruptive patient via behavioral management, oral and inhalation sedation, or general anesthesia.
6. Otolaryngology (GPR/AEGD) | 2 Weeks
   This two-week rotation is spent on service with division of Otolaryngology. The GDR resident will be primarily assigned to the head and neck cancer team. They will follow patients undergoing multidisciplinary management for head and neck cancer. Time will be spent in radiation oncology and medical oncology.
7. Hospital Based OMFS (GPR) 1 week
   This one-week rotation is spent on service with Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. During the week, the resident will present for morning rounds and be assigned to OMFS cases in the operating room. Cases could consist of trauma, head and neck cancer, extractions, and any other indicated procedures. During this week residents will function as a PGY1 OMFS resident.

8. Elective Rotation (AEGD/GPR) | 1 Week
   This one-week rotation is completed in the second half of the year. Options include all of the specialty areas of dentistry, hospital departments or medical specialties and subspecialties. The resident is assigned to this area full or part time for the one-week session. The elective must be approved at least one month prior to the scheduled rotation by both the GDR Program Director and a person responsible for the resident’s supervision during the elective. This rotation is usually taken during the last three months of the residency year.

Didactics

Formal postgraduate courses taken with other post-graduate dental students include Physical Diagnosis, Conscious Sedation, and Graduate Implantology I and II. A portion of most Thursday mornings is set aside for resident seminars that range from formal lectures to treatment planning sessions. At these sessions other issues are discussed relating to the clinic practice (scheduling, emergencies, etc.). All GDR residents, including those on rotation, are required to attend these sessions. Space permitting, continuing education courses offered by the School of Dentistry are available for a minimal fee to postgraduate students. Approximately 30 courses are offered each year at UAB.

Research

Although not required, opportunities for research are available for the interested resident. Time is limited, but several motivated residents have successfully participated in a variety of research endeavors. The program director can provide additional information.

Facilities

University Hospital Dental Clinic
The University Hospital Dental Clinic is a 13-chair dental facility located in the UAB Hospital. Each operatory is appropriately equipped. Digital radiography is available throughout the clinic. There are three front-office staff, four dental assistants and one hygienist assigned to the GDR clinic full-time. Inpatient and outpatient needs are readily served by the clinic's convenient location. Convenient parking for patients is available.

University Hospital

The University of Alabama Hospital is a major teaching and service facility with a capacity of over 900 beds and educates 900+ medical/dental residents. This well-respected tertiary care hospital serves patients regionally, nationally, and internationally. It is particularly well known for clinical care and research relating to cardiac surgery, cancer therapy, organ transplantation, and rheumatology. The University Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best health science center hospitals in the United States.

Children's Hospital of Alabama

Children's Hospital is a 190-bed tertiary care facility providing care to an extensive population of pediatric patients from the southeast region. A new and expanded Children's Hospital Dental Clinic was recently opened. A full spectrum of services is provided for medically compromised and healthy pediatric patients.

Call

Residents participate in after-hours call throughout the year. They are on pager call while assigned as the consult resident. They triage patients of record and generally respond via telephone. Residents are required to live within 30 minutes of UAB Hospital in case they are needed for emergency management. The most common emergencies seen in the Emergency Room are stabilization of avulsed and partially avulsed teeth.

Application Process

Selection of the residents is based on the following criteria:

• Class standing and GPA.
• Letters of recommendation.
• Applicant essay.
• Interview

The GDR Admissions Committee is comprised of one full-time faculty, two part-time faculty and a current GDR resident. Applicants must be a graduate of a fully accredited North American Dental school. Alabama state licensure is not required for admission. All application forms must be received by September 1 of every year.

UAB Equal Opportunity

As an institution of higher education and in the spirit of its policies of equal employment opportunity, UAB hereby reaffirms its policy of equal educational opportunity. All applicants for admission will be considered without regard to an applicant’s race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, natural origin, disability unrelated to program performance, disabled veteran status, or Vietnam-era veteran status.

PASS Application

Participation in the PASS application program is mandatory for all applicants. PASS applications should be complete by September 1 of every year. Late applications will not be reviewed. Application materials can be obtained from your dental school or by writing:

PASS

655 K Street N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20001
Telephone: (202) 289-7201

Financial Information

Stipend

Each resident of the General Dental Residency Program receives stipend support as determined yearly by the administration of the University Hospital. The stipend compares favorably with those of other programs. Specific information is available from the program director. UAB provides disability insurance and offers a reduced rate for medical insurance utilizing Viva UAB.

Deposit

Individuals accepted for matriculation in the GDR program will be requested to forward a $250.00 deposit. This deposit will be refunded upon entering the program.

Health Policies

All newly-appointed residents must undergo a hospital sponsored pre-employment physical examination. All newly appointed residents will be TB tested at no cost by Employee Health with in the first month of arrival. All newly-appointed residents are also screened for immunization of hepatitis-B and childhood diseases as part of the physical.

Disclaimer

The contents of this prospectus represent the most current information available at the time of publication. It is possible that changes may be made with respect to this information without prior notice. Thus, the provisions of this prospectus are not to be regarded as an irrevocable contract between the school and the student.

Additional Information

For information concerning application status, or requests for application materials, or additional information about the University Hospital General Practice Residency and Advanced Education in General Dentistry Programs please contact:

Christine Blass, DMD
Assistant Professor and Program Director, Hospital Dentistry
University of Alabama School of Dentistry
B50 Russell Wing
1813 6th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35242
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office: (205) 934-4178