CAGS in General Dentistry
Required Curriculum
The advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD) program, which begins on July 1 and continues for 12 months to June 30, is an educational program leading to a certificate of advanced graduate study (CAGS). The program offers patient care, didactic and hospital experience at the postdoctoral level and enhances the new graduate’s competence and confidence as a dental practitioner. The purpose of the AEGD program is to prepare the resident to enter a private practice setting. The program is set up to resemble a private practice. The residents treat the patients in a very comprehensive way while interacting with specialists. Therefore the resident is the main coordinator of the patient’s full dental treatment. They coordinate referrals, consultations, and treatment planning. Through expert guidance, the program increases the resident’s management abilities, clinical judgment, and patient care skills. The program benefits from the school’s unique position as the largest postdoctoral training facility in the country. Stipends are offered to a limited number of qualified students.
Boston University has a special commitment to superior patient care programs. One manifestation of this commitment is an excellent and experienced faculty working intensively with residents on a one-to-one basis. The faculty comprises a group of prosthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pedodontists, orthodontists, and general dentists. Oral surgeons are also on site to provide support during rotations and during surgical procedures done on the clinic floor. The establishment of a University-wide employee dental health plan and the opening of a second dental health care facility help ensure an optimum patient load.
The program’s main areas of development are:
- General dentistry
- Resident education
- Patient care
- Community service
Proficiencies and Competencies
The AEGD program is based on a series of proficiencies and competencies. The program uses clinical goals to fulfill the proficiency and competency requirements.
Graduates will be proficient in patient assessment and diagnosis; planning and providing comprehensive multidisciplinary oral health care including the clear communication of treatment plan to patients; obtaining informed consent; restoration of teeth; the replacement of teeth using fixed and removable appliances; periodontal therapy; pulpal therapy; diagnosis and treatment planning of periodontal disease; treatment of medical and dental emergencies; medical risk management; requesting and responding to requests for consultations from physicians and other health care providers; diagnosis, treatment planning, and progress and outcomes of patient treatment. Throughout the program the residents will perform a good number of restorative procedures such as crown and bridge, endodontic treatments, oral surgeries and partial and complete dentures. They will also assist with the surgical placement of implants and perform the restoration of all implants. We provide treatment in all phases of general dentistry. The program enhances these clinical and diagnostic skills by being exposed to the large patient pool available in the program.
Graduates will be competent in the management of pain and anxiety in delivering outpatient care using behavioral and pharmacological modalities beyond local anesthesia (sedation, pain and anxiety control); hard/soft tissue surgery; principles of practice management; the review of relevant scientific literature; evaluating patient total health needs integrating biomedical science concepts with clinical dentistry to provide a diagnosis that takes into consideration the patient’s overall biological and psychosocial needs; self-assessment skills; monitoring effectively and evaluating their own work to improve quality and quantity of performance and supervising and evaluating the work of dental auxiliaries to improve quality and quantity of their performance. The residents will also have the ability to interact with and enjoy an ample ratio of patient coordinators to help them to learn the basic principles of practice management.
Clinical Rotations
Residents will participate in clinical rotations in pediatrics, geriatrics, oral surgery, and orthodontics.
Stipend
Stipends are awarded to most AEGD residents trained in the United States or Canada. International residents are given stipends based on availability. Applicants are notified as early as their first interview whether they qualify for a stipend position. The stipend is approximately $25,000. Tuition is not charged to residents in the AEGD program.
Benefits
Personal days
Residents will be given a maximum of eight personal days. These may be used for board exams, interviews, religious holidays, etc. There are no sick days. If a resident is out due to illness, personal days will be deducted.
Holidays
There are 12 University-recognized holidays during which the school is closed.
Winter Intersession
Between the first and second semesters there is an approximately two-week vacation for residents. This usually begins mid-December and lasts until the first week of January.
Instruments
All supplies and materials are provided for residents during their year in the Dental Health Center. It is recommended that residents purchase an intraoral camera for case documentation.
Clinic Schedule
Residents are scheduled in the clinic five days a week for a total of 40 hours. Residents are currently required to work four days from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and one day from 11 a.m.–7 p.m. This schedule is subject to change. Classes are held either before clinic from 8 a.m.–9 a.m. or after clinic from 5:30 p.m.–7 p.m.
Application Process Guidelines
Applicants will be reviewed by the director and the chairman and they will decide whether the candidate will be selected for interview.
The applicant, if selected for interview, will meet with the program director and the chairman of the department for interview.
The qualifications that the program is looking for include the following:
- High GPA
- High class standing
- Four letters of recommendation including a letter from the dean of your dental school and three letters from clinical faculty
- Clinical grades
- Past clinical experience
- Board scores are encouraged but not required
Curriculum
First Semester:
Preclinical Restorative Seminar
- SDM OR 760 Orthodontics for the General Practitioner (.5 cr)
- SDM OS 761 Medical Concerns of the Dental Patient (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
- SDM PE 764 Current Concepts in Periodontology (1 cr)
- SDM EN 820 Endodontics and Pulpal Therapy for the General Practitioner (.5 cr)
- SDM PR 809 Prosthodontic Seminar and Literature Review (1 cr)
- SDM PR 813 Literature Review in General Dentistry (1 cr)
- SDM PR 828 Esthetic Dentistry (1 cr)
- SDM PR 905 General Dentistry Clinic (15 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
Second Semester:
- SDM OS 828 Anxiety and Pain Control (1 cr)
- SDM OS 824 Advanced Physical Diagnosis (1 cr)
- SDM OS 829 Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen Sedation (.5 cr)
- SDM PA 801 Oral Pathology (2 cr)
- SDM PD 760 Pediatric Dentistry for the General Practitioner (.5 cr)
- SDM PE 827 Applied Dental Pharmacology (1 cr)
- SDM PE 830 Clinical Applications of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology (1 cr)
- SDM PH 763 Bioethics and Law (1 cr)
- SDM PR 780 Geriatrics and Gerontology Seminar (1 cr)
- SDM PR 810 Case Presentation and Patient Care Conference (1 cr)
- SDM PR 840 Practice Management for the General Practitioner (1 cr)
- SDM PR 852 Implantology Topics for the General Practitioner (2 cr)
