Technical Standards
The dental school’s technical standards refer to non-didactic criteria that are necessary to participate in the educational program. In developing these criteria, the dental school and its faculty and administration affirm the following expectations of our students:
GSDM intends for its graduates to become competent and compassionate and ethical dentists who are capable of meeting all requirements for licensure. To participate in all required aspects of the dental education program, to successfully achieve the DMD degree, and to meet state licensing requirements, a student must possess certain minimum physical, cognitive and emotional abilities. That an individual student may intend to practice only a narrow aspect of clinical dentistry, or to pursue a non-clinical career, does not alter the requirement that all dental students must complete and demonstrate competency in the entire curriculum. The GSDM educational experience is grounded in curricular and experiential offerings that enable graduates to safely and effectively function in a variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. It is essential for a dentist to develop basic intellectual abilities, technical skills as well as ethical and professional attitudes and behaviors.
The dental school has an ethical and professional responsibility for the safety of patients with whom dental students interact with throughout their dental school education and also with whom, as graduates, they will come in contact. Therefore, patient safety and well-being are major determinants for establishing requirements involving the physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities of candidates for admission, promotion, and graduation. The essential abilities and characteristics described here are referred to as technical standards. They are described below in several broad categories including observation, communication, motor function/sensory, social and behavioral skills, professional and ethical standards, and conceptual-integrative and quantitative abilities.