Curriculum
The majority of the resident's time is spent providing patient care, with eighty-five percent of the resident's clinic time spent with scheduled, comprehensive care patients and 15 percent spent providing emergency care. 'Limited care patients' are also treated if the resident will obtain considerable educational value from the procedures provided. The residency program also has a didactic compenent, which includes lectures and seminars on relevant topics.
The clinical program is balanced with the integration of the basic and behavioral sciences, interaction and communication with laboratory technicians and other health care providers. This portion of training will provide the resident the opportunity and experience to take responsibility for the comprehensive care of varied and complex patients. The clinical disciplines represented in the program are:
- Endodontics
- Periodontics
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Restorative dentistry (operative, fixed and removable prosthodontics)
- Pediatric dentistry
- Orthodontics
- Placement and restoration of dental implants (special emphasis)
Although an objective of the postdoctoral program is to encourage independent judgment in practice, clinical faculty are scheduled and present in the clinic at all times for consultation, supervision and active teaching as required. The resident's "family of patients" is monitored periodically for quality assessment, continuity of care and verification of the resident's varied clinical experiences.
The second part of the training is the didactic program, which is held during lunchtime and includes a series of scheduled and structured seminars and lectures devoted to pertinent topics in the basic, diagnostic and clinical sciences related to the comprehensive practice of dentistry at advanced levels of training.
Each dental resident must complete cases requiring multiple disciplines in dentistry. The resident must document the cases with photographs, diagnostic casts and radiographs. Case presentations to faculty and residents are completed on complex cases during the training year. The monthly Resident Treatment Planning Conference and quarterly Multidisciplinary Care Conference consist of resident presentations and seminar discussions of complex cases.
Formal lectures, seminars and literature reviews are conducted by various dental faculty and specialty departments. The residents will be required to attend and actively participate in all scheduled seminars, consultant visits, lectures and other special meetings. Residents will also be required to attend any evening, weekend or lunchtime educational sessions deemed necessary by the program director.
Professional Societies
Regular attendance at professional society meetings is required. Participation in local society activities, such as the Northeast District Dental Association and the Jacksonville Dental Society is considered part of the curriculum. Participation in local dental study clubs is optional but encouraged. In addition, attendance at one state level meeting, such as the Florida Academy of General Dentistry or the Florida National Dental Congress, is usually completed with the entire class. Attendance at these meetings and participation in these programs and activities shall be at no expense to the University of Florida.
Residents are encouraged to obtain membership in the American Dental Association (ADA). Residents qualify as student members of the ADA and are afforded all benefits of the association. Resident dues are $30.00 per year, payable to the American Dental Association. No charge membership in the local component society is usually available.
Residents are encouraged to obtain membership in the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). Members can receive 250 hours of credit toward fellowship in the academy for the education received during their residency training if they are a member during the training year. Resident dues are $32.00 per year, payable to the Academy of General Dentistry.