PhD in Oral Biology

A PhD in Oral Biology is offered by the Division of Oral Biology in the Department of Periodontology and Oral Biology at Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine. The program in oral biology recruits students with backgrounds in the life and basic sciences that are interested in additional advanced training in dental and medical sciences. The aim of this program is to educate students in modern scientific approaches to oral biology and oral disease.

The program is designed for the student whose primary goal is to pursue a career in oral biology research. The oral cavity is unique regarding its microbiology, connective tissue structures, and host responses. Moreover, oral diseases present unsolved scientific challenges and novel biological phenomena. The importance of understanding the oral biology of diseases whose incidence and severity increase with age is clearly understood within the context of current demographic trends. Applications are handled by the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at the School of Medicine. The PhD program requires a minimum of five years of study. Click here to access information about this program on the School of Medicine’s website. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Philip Trackman, trackman@bu.edu, or Dr. Frank Oppenheim, fropp@bu.edu, at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.

Students are scheduled in the clinic or in preclinical exercises five days a week for a total of 40 hours. During the first semester of the first year, emphasis is placed on the preclinical exercises and biomedical science classes. Students are in preclinical exercises 9 a.m.–5 p.m every day. Classes are held either before clinic 8 a.m.–9 a.m. or after clinic 5:30 p.m.–7 p.m.

Starting the second semester of the first year, the actual clinic hours increase and students are scheduled in the clinic 9 a.m.–5 p.m five days a week. Classes are held either before clinic 8 a.m.–9 a.m. or after clinic 5:30 p.m.–7 p.m.

Curriculum

Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study

Year 1

• SDM PR 750 Preclinical Restorative (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM OP 803 Seminar: Operative Dentistry (1 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM OP 807 Preclinical Technique (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM OP 912 Clinical Operative Dentistry I (6 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM OS 761 Medical Concerns of the Dental Patient (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM OS 828 Anxiety and Pain Control (1 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM OS 831 Head and Neck Anatomy (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PA 801 Oral Pathology (2 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM PE 764 Current Concepts in Periodontology (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PE 827 Applied Dental Pharmacology (1 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM PE 830 Applications of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology (1 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM PH 763 Bioethics and Law (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PR 761 Occlusion (2 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PR 809 Prosthodontics Seminar and Literature Review (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PR 810 Case Presentation and Patient Care Conference (1 cr, 2nd sem.)
• SDM PR 813 Literature Review in General Dentistry (1 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM PR 825 Postdoctoral Biomaterials (4 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM PR 828 Esthetic Dentistry (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM PR 844 Implantology Literature Review (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM PR 845 Implantology Topics (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)
• SDM EN 820 Endodontics and Pulpal Therapy for the General Practitioner (1 cr, 1st sem.)
• SDM PH 803 Biostatistics (2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.)

Year 2

• SDM OP 913 Clinical Operative Dentistry II (20 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.)

At the discretion of the program director and/or department chair, research students may participate in clinical activities during their research years.

CAGS in Periodontology/PhD in Oral Biology

A limited number of candidates are accepted into a program that combines the requirements for a CAGS in Periodontology with the requirements for a PhD in Oral Biology. The combined program requires a minimum of seven years to complete. The didactic curriculum for this combined program is individualized but comprises all essential elements of both programs (see CAGS in Periodontology and PhD in Oral Biology).

The clinical requirements for the CAGS in Periodontology and the research requirements for the PhD must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of the department’s faculty. The research project is conducted with faculty in the Division of Oral Biology. (see general requirements for PhD and see course listings for oral biology).

Limited tuition and stipend awards are available to PhD candidates.