Doctor of Dental Medicine
Competency-Based, Comprehensive Care Pedagogy
Teaching and learning in the DMD program are guided by a comprehensive clinical care model that emphasizes faculty-guided, student-provided, high-quality care of patients. Instruction early in the program is designed to establish foundational knowledge in the basic and behavioral sciences necessary for providing state-of-the-art care. Concurrently, students have early exposure to patient-centered activities through their Service Learning and chairside assisting assignments. This is followed by intensive experiences in preclinical simulations and laboratory techniques required to develop the skills needed for competent patient care. Students who successfully complete these experiences become eligible to provide treatment for patients. As their technical, communication, and patient management skills develop, students are assigned patients having increasingly challenging needs. Students are assigned patients within the context of a mentorship team. Mentorship teams function as small-group dental practices and consist of a group of students led by a faculty mentor. The mentor has been specifically trained to coach members of his or her team in all aspects of managing their mini-practices. The mentorship team approach emphasizes coordination of each aspect of the patient’s oral health care with the patient’s overall dental and physical health. The mentor and the clinical faculty not only take responsibility for teaching this holistic approach but also challenge students to engage in inquisitiveness, critical thinking, and self-evaluation. Upon completion of the program, each predoctoral student will have demonstrated competency in providing oral health care within the scope of general dentistry. Competency refers to an individual with the requisite knowledge, skills, and values to independently and consistently provide quality care to patients for which he/she is responsible.
Required Curriculum
DMD Curriculum: Year 1
During the first year, students take in-depth courses in the basic biomedical and behavioral sciences that are foundational to dental practice. These courses are separate and distinct from the courses taught to medical students and are taught jointly by the faculties of the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine. Also, students begin to take preclinical dental science courses in the first year that introduce dental terminology, the dental specialties, preventive dentistry, oral radiology, and dental assisting techniques, all in preparation for early exposure to clinical dentistry. New for the 2011-2012 academic year is the course SDM GD 510 Comprehensive Preclinical Dentistry, which incorporates learning objectives formerly included in the separate courses SDM PH 510 Introduction to Dental Practice, SDM RS 512 Operative Dentistry I, and SDM RS 513 Preclinical Operative Dentistry I. This revised course also includes scheduled experiences in dental assisting in the school’s clinical areas. The first-year experience is completed by student participation in the APEX clerkship, where students function as interns in dental offices.
View the DMD Curriculum: Year 1 Courses
- SDM GD 510 Comprehensive Preclinical Dentistry
- SDM MB 511 Molecular Genetics
- SDM MD 510 Anatomical Sciences I
- SDM MD 511 Anatomical Sciences II
- SDM MD 512 Biochemistry
- SDM MD 514 Physiology/Endocrinology/Neurophysiology
- SDM MD 515 Microbiology and Immunology
- SDM MD 520 Pathology (General)
- SDM OB 511 Oral Biology I
- SDM OD 510 Oral Diagnosis and Radiology I
- SDM PH 510 Introduction to Dental Practice (reorganized under GD 510)
- SDM PH 512 Professional Ethics
- SDM PH 517 Evidence-Based Dentistry
- SDM PH 610 Applied Professional Experience Clerkship (APEX) I
- SDM RS 510 Dental Anatomy and Occlusion
- SDM RS 512 Operative Dentistry I (reorganized under GD 510)
- SDM RS 513 Preclinical Operative Dentistry I (reorganized under GD 510)
- SDM RS 516 Biomaterials I
DMD Curriculum: Year 2
The second year is characterized by significantly increased instruction in preclinical dental techniques as well as continued instruction in the foundational biomedical and behavioral sciences. As the focus shifts toward the clinical sciences, laboratory simulations foster the development of skills necessary for patient care in operative dentistry, fixed prosthodontics, removable prosthodontics, pediatric dentistry, endodontics, and occlusion. In addition, a problem-based learning course challenges students to discuss the business of dental practice and the psychology and ethics of patient care.
View the DMD Curriculum: Year 2 Courses
- SDM EN 521 Endodontics
- SDM EN 522 Preclinical Endodontics
- SDM MD 530 Pharmacology
- SDM OB 520 Oral Biology II
- SDM OD 522 Oral Diagnosis and Radiology II
- SDM OS 520 General Medicine and Dental Correlations
- SDM OS 521 Pain Control I
- SDM PD 521 Preclinical Pediatric Dentistry-Orthodontics
- SDM PE 520 Periodontology I
- SDM PE 521 Preclinical Periodontology
- SDM PH 514 Preventive Dentistry
- SDM PH 520 Integrated Problems in Practice Management II
- SDM PH 521 Behavioral Sciences
- SDM RS 520 Operative Dentistry II
- SDM RS 521 Preclinical Operative Dentistry
- SDM RS 522 Removable Prosthodontics I
- SDM RS 523 Preclinical Removable Prosthodontics
- SDM RS 524 Fixed Prosthodontics
- SDM RS 525 Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics I
- SDM RS 526 Biomaterials II
- SDM RS 527 Occlusion
- SDM RS 528 Preclinical Occlusion
DMD Curriculum: Year 3
The third year is a combination of coursework and direct patient care. As students transition from the second year, they are assigned patients for comprehensive oral health care. During the year, the student assumes increasingly greater responsibility for patients, treats more complex oral health problems, and has increasing exposure to the specialty disciplines of dentistry. With few exceptions, the student dentist performs all of the necessary oral health care for the assigned patient and therefore assumes the position of general practitioner or family dentist. Students are supported and guided in their development as clinical care providers through the faculty mentoring program.
View the DMD Curriculum: Year 3 Courses
- SDM GD 630 Comprehensive Clinical Dentistry
- SDM OD 531 Oral Medicine
- SDM OR 530 Orthodontics
- SDM OS 524 Physical Diagnosis
- SDM OS 530 Oral Surgery
- SDM OS 532 Pain Control II
- SDM PA 530 Oral Pathology
- SDM PD 530 Pediatric Dentistry
- SDM PE 530 Periodontology II
- SDM PH 530 Health Care Law
- SDM PH 540 Gerontology & Geriatric Dentistry
- SDM RS 530 Operative Dentistry III
- SDM RS 532 Removable Prosthodontics II
- SDM RS 534 Fixed Prosthodontics II
- SDM RS 536 Esthetic Dentistry
- SDM RS 540 Implantology
- SDM RS 544 Treatment Planning and Patient Management I
DMD Curriculum: Year 4
The fourth year is designed so that students can make significant progress in achieving clinical competency through continued care of patients. The year allows students flexibility to pursue their particular interests, including research, elective externships (national and international), and community service activities. Taken together, the third- and fourth-year curriculum provides students the opportunity to achieve excellence in clinical patient care.
View the DMD Curriculum: Year 4 Courses
- SDM PH 544 Integrated Problems in Practice Management IV
- SDM RS 542 Treatment Planning Seminar
- SDM RS 545 Treatment Planning and Patient Management II
- SDM EN 640 Clinical Endodontics
- SDM OD 640 Clinical Oral Diagnosis, Radiology, Patient Recall, and Emergency Dental Care
- SDM OS 640 Clinical Oral Surgery and Hospital Dentistry
- SDM PD 640 Clinical Pediatric Dentistry
- SDM PE 640 Clinical Periodontology II
- SDM PH 644 Extramural Training Program (Externship)
- SDM PH 650 Elective Externships
- SDM RS 640 Clinical Operative Dentistry II
- SDM RS 641 Clinical Fixed Prosthodontics II
- SDM RS 642 Clinical Removable Prosthodontics II
