Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SDM PE 993: Research: Periodontology
  Approved research in periodontology.
• SDM PH 512: Professional Ethics Development
  Professional Ethics Development is designed to explore the personal and professional values of the dental student and the dental health professional. The course provides a historical and conceptual framework of dentistry, and presents the profession's code of ethics as well as explores some current ethical and legal issues affecting professional practice. The purpose of the course is to assist students in the transition from undergraduate school to professional school and ultimately into knowledgeable, skilled, and caring professionals. Students discuss the school's code of conduct and identify common values of the class, participate in case-based discussions and writing assignments to raise awareness about the personal and professional values involved in dental school and dental practice.
• SDM PH 512A: Professional Ethics Development
  Professional Ethics Development is designed to explore the personal and professional values of the dental student and the dental health professional. The course provides a historical and conceptual framework of dentistry, and presents the profession's code of ethics as well as explores some current ethical and legal issues affecting professional practice. The purpose of the course is to assist students in the transition from undergraduate school to professional school and ultimately into knowledgeable, skilled, and caring professionals. Students discuss the school's code of conduct and identify common values of the class, participate in case-based discussions and writing assignments to raise awareness about the personal and professional values involved in dental school and dental practice.
• SDM PH 514: Preventive Dentistry
  This course will introduce students to the principles and practice of preventive dentistry, as applied to the care of an individual patient as well as the broader community population. It will also introduce the student to the basic principles and methods of epidemiology and demonstrate their application to dentistry. Completion of this course will enable students to read, critique and meaningfully extract information from scientific literature and be able to interpret it to lay individuals including their patients.
• SDM PH 517: Evidence-Based Dentistry
  The lecture component of this course is an introduction to assessing and evaluating published scientific and dental literature. Students learn to examine the general concepts in experimental design, scientific methodology, and the appropriateness of basic statistical methods used to evaluate the conclusions of studies. In the seminar component of the course, students meet in small groups led by faculty members who serve as facilitators. Published scientific evidence is used to help develop sound reasoning and critical thinking skills in students. Students analyze scientific literature and learn about general patterns of clinical judgment, critical thinking, decision-making, and application of scientific evidence into everyday practice.
• SDM PH 520: Integrated Problems in Practice Management II
  This case-based-learning course is comprised of faculty led small-group seminar sessions. Topics covered in the course include the profession's code of ethics and principles of conduct, as well as aspirational codes. Issues of diversity and cultural competency in professional practice are discussed. A model of ethical decision-making for the dentist is presented and cases involving ethical issues are discussed in small-group based seminars. Students rely on dialogue with preceptors of their APEX clerkship as a resource for addressing the cases presented in small, interactive faculty- facilitated seminar groups.
• SDM PH 521: Behavioral Science
  This course identifies the behavioral framework for the effective delivery of health care. Discussions include behavioral modification models with respect to doctor and patient communication as well as behavioral aspects of managing patient pain, fear, phobia and anxiety. The course provides students with knowledge to also assist them in their personal and professional behavioral management as they transition from student to health care provider by utilizing examples of healthcare professional conduct from the media, as well as drivers of health behavior. Other topics discussed are the behavioral approaches for rendering care to special needs populations such as individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and geriatrics.
• SDM PH 521A: Behavioral Science
  This course identifies the behavioral framework for the effective delivery of health care. Discussions include behavioral modification models with respect to doctor and patient communication as well as behavioral aspects of managing patient pain, fear, phobia and anxiety. The course provides students with knowledge to also assist them in their personal and professional behavioral management as they transition from student to health care provider by utilizing examples of healthcare professional conduct from the media, as well as drivers of health behavior. Other topics discussed are the behavioral approaches for rendering care to special needs populations such as individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and geriatrics.
• SDM PH 524A: Preventive Dentistry
  This course will introduce students to the principles and practice of preventive dentistry, as applied to the care of an individual patient as well as the broader community population. It will also introduce the student to the basic principles and methods of epidemiology and demonstrate their application to dentistry. Completion of this course will enable students to read, critique and meaningfully extract information from scientific literature and be able to interpret it to lay individuals including their patients.
• SDM PH 530: Healthcare Law
  This course continues to build the student's understanding and consideration of ethical issues in dental practice and introduces related legal principles. Through lecture and case discussion, the student will focus on ethical problem-solving in more complex patient-based cases and introduces legal concepts affecting the practice of dentistry including licensure, contract and tort law, patient abandonment, malpractice, informed consent and refusal, mandatory reporting laws, patient confidentiality and prudent behavior, diversity and discrimination laws.
• SDM PH 530A: Healthcare Law
  This course continues to build the student's understanding and consideration of ethical issues in dental practice and introduces related legal principles. Through lecture and case discussion, the student will focus on ethical problem-solving in more complex patient-based cases and introduces legal concepts affecting the practice of dentistry including licensure, contract and tort law, patient abandonment, malpractice, informed consent and refusal, mandatory reporting laws, patient confidentiality and prudent behavior, diversity and discrimination laws.
• SDM PH 541: Gerontology & Geriatric Dentistry
  This course integrates biomedical, clinical, and behavioral science principles into the evaluation and treatment planning of older adults and adults with special needs. PH 541 builds on didactic and clinical information acquired in their prior dental school curriculum. The students' didactic knowledge and understanding of special populations is assessed through a web-based examination platform. Evaluation of the students' clinical competence is based on attendance, participation, and an online assessment of an older adult patient or adult patient with special needs. This course focuses on patient-centered ways to promote, improve, maintain, and modify oral health care. This course also provides opportunities for critical thinking and foundational knowledge regarding inter-professional care and referrals, the social and behavioral implications of aging, polypharmacy, and management of oral health and quality of life for medically compromised older adults and adults living with special needs.
• SDM PH 541A: Gerontology & Geriatric Dentistry
  This course integrates biomedical, clinical, and behavioral science principles into the evaluation and treatment planning of older adults and adults with special needs. PH 541 builds on didactic and clinical information acquired in their prior dental school curriculum. The students' didactic knowledge and understanding of special populations is assessed through a web-based examination platform. Evaluation of the students' clinical competence is based on attendance, participation, and an online assessment of an older adult patient or adult patient with special needs. This course focuses on patient-centered ways to promote, improve, maintain, and modify oral health care. This course also provides opportunities for critical thinking and foundational knowledge regarding inter-professional care and referrals, the social and behavioral implications of aging, polypharmacy, and management of oral health and quality of life for medically compromised older adults and adults living with special needs.
• SDM PH 544: Integrated Problems in Practice Management IV
  This course provides information necessary for a new graduate to obtain a position as an oral health-care provider. Topics discussed include jurisprudence, issues surrounding employment law pertinent to the new graduate, risk management (disability and liability insurance coverage and products), how third party reimbursement works, various provider compensation models, personal finance (retirement and student loan repayment), interview techniques, and employment contract assessment and negotiations
• SDM PH 544A: Integrated Problems in Practice Management IV
  This course provides information necessary for a new graduate to obtain a position as an oral health-care provider. Topics discussed include jurisprudence, issues surrounding employment law pertinent to the new graduate, risk management (disability and liability insurance coverage and products), how third party reimbursement works, various provider compensation models, personal finance (retirement and student loan repayment), interview techniques, and employment contract assessment and negotiations
• SDM PH 610: Applied Professional Experience (APEX)
  At the end of their first year, students participate in an 8-week internship at GSDM-approved private practices or community health centers. Through a combination of written assignments, seminars and experiential learning, students learn about practice management, patient communication, social determinants of health and oral health inequities. Students also explore the roles of the dental and health care team and the U.S. dental care delivery system, as well as perform a series of observational and hands-on activities that reinforce their knowledge and application of the production and evaluation of intraoral radiographs, patient evaluation, caries risk assessment, patient centered counseling and preventive dentistry.
• SDM PH 644: Externship
  Students are assigned to community-based clinics such, as community health centers and hospital-based dental clinics, for 10-week rotations. These rotations provide opportunities for the continued growth of students' clinical, treatment planning, diagnosis, critical thinking, patient and time management skills. This course also provides the students with experience in treating diverse patient populations. During Externship, students also develop and implement a community outreach project that addresses a public health problem experienced by the community served by their Externship site.
• SDM PH 660: International Externship Exchange Program
  This is a school-sponsored global initiative available to students in the final year of the 4-year dental program. This two-week elective externship consists of clinical rotations in various areas of dental medicine at one or more schools/universities of dentistry/stomatology in China, Thailand, Japan,England, India, and South Korea. Currently, participating schools include: Air Force Military Medical University School of Stomatology in Xian, China; Shanghai Jiaotong University College of Stomatology in Shanghai, China; Peking University School of Stomatology in Beijing, China; Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand; Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo, Japan; the University of Manchester Division, of Dentistry in Manchester, England; Manipal University College of Dental Sciences in Manipal, India,Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences in New Delhi, India; and Seoul National University School of Dentistry in Seoul, South Korea. These are world-leading sites with advanced teaching facilities, well qualified English speaking faculty, and diverse patients. GSDM students will be exposed to these institutions' recognized strength in clinical services, with outstanding clinicians, state-of-the- art facilities, and comprehensive approach to all aspects of Dental Medicine. Selection of GSDM students is competitive and requires formal application to the GSDM Office of Global and Population Health.
• SDM PH 763: Bioethics and Law
  Introduces models of applied ethics used within the field of dentistry. With lectures, case studies, and class discussion, students engage in identification and analysis of ethical dilemmas. Topics include professional responsibility and ethical principles, the doctor-patient relationship, the dentist and the community, and ethical conduct in science. 1st sem.
• SDM PH 803: Biostatistics
  Designed for master's and doctoral students. Introduces the concepts and techniques of biostatistics used in dental research and referred to in dental literature. Emphasizes the fundamentals of statistical logic and presents the basic principles of experimental design, statistical inference, and probability. Examples from current basic sciences research, survey research, and clinical trials augment the presentation of statistical theory. 1st and 2nd sem.