Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program

Program Director: Dr. Marc Henschel

Educational Program

The one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program provides clinical training, lectures, and seminars to ensure that residents gain knowledge and skills to act as primary oral health care providers practicing within the scope of general dental care.

The AEGD curriculum is composed of four courses: the Resident Clinical Experience Course, the Resident Lecture Series, the Resident Seminar Series, and the Cohen Conference Oral Medicine Seminar Series. The combination of clinical and didactic coursework provides the foundation for expanding residents’ knowledge and skills in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.

AEGD residents will complete clinical care rotations at Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Center, Penn Dental Medicine at PHMC Cedar, and Penn Dental Medicine including all Specialty Clinics. At these facilities, utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, they will treat patients with varying socio-economic, medical, and psychosocial complexities. AEGD residents will be expected to diagnose, treatment plan, and complete all aspects of comprehensive dental care required by their assigned patients within the scope of general dentistry. Specifically, residents will complete operative dentistry, restoration of the edentulous space, periodontal therapy, endodontic therapy, oral surgery, evaluation and treatment of dental emergencies, and pain and anxiety control utilizing behavioral and/or pharmacological techniques. As part of comprehensive dental care for their patients, residents will participate in the delivery of specialty care with faculty and residents at Penn Dental Medicine.

Goals and Objectives

This one-year AEGD program is designed to provide the framework for motivated dental school graduates to receive advanced dental education training in comprehensive dental care to meet the needs of medically complex, vulnerable, and underserved populations. The AEGD program has four specific goals:

Act as a primary care provider for the oral health of their patients with a range of medically complex and specialized health care needs. Residents will provide emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care and direct health promotion and disease prevention with patients as appropriate to their needs.

• Objective 1.1: Residents will successfully treat a range of patients with complex multidisciplinary care needs, including restorative, endodontics, removable prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics, implants, oral surgery, sedation dentistry and periodontics. Residents will also participate in implant planning, surgery, and restoration.
• Objective 1.2: Residents will successfully treat a range of patients with medically complex and special health care needs.
• Objective 1.3: Residents will ensure that their patients receive health promotion and disease prevention as appropriate to their needs.

Function effectively within an interdisciplinary health care team, collaborating with health care providers to deliver oral health care.

• Objective 2.1: Residents will successfully work with physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and behavioral health specialists to coordinate patient-centered care at PDM as well as affiliated community health centers.

Use principles of evidence-based care and apply scientific knowledge, professional ethics, and cultural humility/cultural competence to provide patient-centered care as coordinated by the general dentist.

• Objective 3.1: Residents will critically evaluate dental and medical literature and apply evidence-based care in clinical activities.
• Objective 3.2: Residents will demonstrate the highest standards of professional ethics and cultural humility/competence in clinical activities.

Engage with their community in a culturally relevant, sensitive manner in service activities.

• Objective 4.1: Residents will work with health center staff and community members to plan, develop, and implement service activities that are appropriate and relevant to community needs.

Admissions Requirements & Procedures »

The Penn Dental Medicine Advanced Education Program in General Dentistry is partially supported via Health Resources and Services Administration award D88HP54921

At its August 10, 2023 meeting, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) granted the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program (12 months) the accreditation classification of “accreditation without reporting requirements”. Applicants must have completed a dental degree (DDS or DMD) from a CODA accredited dental school and must be United States citizens or hold United States Lawful Permanent Resident status. Applicants with advanced dental training and/or clinical practice experience beyond a dental degree will also be considered.