PROGRAM GOALS & OBJECTIVES

  1. The Program is currently accredited by the American Dental Association and continues to meet all American Dental Association standards and competency requirements for Advanced Dental Education in Prosthodontics.

  2. The Program enrolls all residents in a Master of Science Program and requires each of them to complete a research project.

  3. Development of resident laboratory skills is emphasized throughout the program.

  4. A state-of-the-art dental laboratory has been planned for the residents and will be built in the near future.

  5. The residents are updated in the latest prosthodontic technology and materials.

  6. The Program supports a variety of resident rotations to enhance training in treating geriatric, oncology, and special patients at Bering Clinic, M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital, and Student Teaching at UTDB.

  7. A state-of-the-art clinic will be designed and built for the residents that will allow training in fourhanded dentistry and infection control.

  8. The Program emphasizes multidisciplinary treatment and treatment planning, including wear and orthognathic surgery cases.

  9. The Program capacity is 12 residents and will maintain that level for the foreseeable future.

  10. All residents are encouraged to meet the requirements of the American Board of Prosthodontics.

  11. Residents are encouraged to make outside presentations of their research.

  12. Residents are tested both clinically and academically to evaluate their knowledge and clinical skills.

 

RESEARCH PROJECT
All residents are required to complete a research project during this program. Residents are expected to defend their thesis and pursue a Master of Science degree in addition to a certificate in prosthodontics. Because of the limited time that the residents have to complete the program and the demands - both clinical and academic - placed on them throughout the time spent here, they must be very aggressive in pursuing a research project. Ideally, a topic should be selected by the end of September of the freshman year. The methods and materials should be approved by the end of the freshman year. The experimental and writing phases of the project are particularly demanding exercises and compete with other phases of the residency until the thesis defense is accomplished. If the experiment is also finished during the freshman year, the writing phase can be accomplished during the second year of the residency. Defense of the thesis must be accomplished by January of the senior year. The University of Texas does not fund these research projects. Residents must arrange for their research funding though grants or personal funds.

 

ROTATIONS AT OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Mentored rotations at several local outreach programs are available to qualified residents who are current in satisfying their program requirements as follows:
  1. Bering Clinic: HIV Positive and other communicable disease patients and special patients. Stipend opportunity.
  2. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: Oncology and maxillofacial prosthetic patients. Senior residents only.
  3. Student teaching at The University of Texas - Houston Dental Branch: undergraduate dental school teaching opportunity in both pre-clinical and clinical prosthodontics. Senior residents only.