Special Care Dentistry

Applying to Advanced General Dentistry Programs – GPR and AEGD

Thank you for using our website for information about postdoctoral educational opportunities that feature working with special needs patients. 

Advanced General Dentistry training programs represent exciting opportunities for dental school graduates to expand their knowledge and skills in areas beyond those in dental school.  Residents in these programs learn advanced dental techniques, how to interface with medical professionals, and how to work with patient populations who have complex needs.  Upon finishing these programs, they are able to plan and carry out treatment for a wide variety of patients using a host of interesting treatment modalities.  This is particularly important because, with advancing knowledge in medicine, dental professionals are finding that their communities and practices are increasingly filled with people with complex histories requiring complex treatment.  Preparing yourself for this new world is a wise move.  SCD is pleased to be able to assist you in preparing your application for advanced general dentistry training.

Advanced General Dentistry residencies – GPR and AEGD:

One of the finest ways to learn to work with a wide variety of patients while simultaneously refining your dental skills is to participate in a postdoctoral general dentistry program.  The programs fall into two categories, General Practice Residency (GPR) and Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD).  These programs share many elements in common.  Both the GPR and AEGD are usually one year in length, although some have an optional or mandatory second year.  All of them provide advanced experiences in dental procedures beyond that of dental school, such as oral health risk assessment, esthetics, implants, advanced endo, and complex prosthetic reconstructions.  Historically, the GPR programs have always been based in a hospital environment while AEGDs have mostly been based in dental school or other non-hospital environments.  After that, the distinctions can quickly blur.  Some GPRs are very AEGD-like and many AEGDs function like GPRs.  Depending upon the program, you will be able to experience rotations in the hospital emergency room, dental emergency clinics, anesthesia departments, medical services, get a lot of pediatric experience, and more extensive training in practice management.

Are you eligible?

No matter what your academic performance is, you should still consider a postdoctoral educational program in general dentistry.  Program Directors evaluate applicants based on a number of criteria, and grades/class standing are only two of them.  Successful applicants may be selected by other activities such as research, community service, or student government activities.  Your personal interview can very positively affect the outcome of the selection process.  Unfortunately some dental school graduates miss the great opportunity to have this year of advanced education because they fear they might not be accepted to a program.  Do not make this mistake; if you are interested, apply!  Your chances may be much better than you imagine.

Note:  Most programs require passing the National Boards parts I and II, and graduation from accredited US or Canadian dental schools because of their Federal GME funding.  Applicants who obtained their dental degrees elsewhere may be best served investigating the 2-year equivalency programs now being offered by many schools around the nation.

Selecting a program:

GPR and AEGDs are available throughout the United States and Canada.  The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has a wonderful website at http://www.adea.org/ where you can follow links to learn about the various programs.  They have a search engine at http://www.adea.org/EPS/searchform.asp that can help you locate programs based on location, type, and other factors that may be critical to your decision process.  Another helpful search engine is http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search_advanced_us.asp from the American Dental Association’s website found at http://www.ada.org/.  From either resource you can garner a wealth of information about each program, contact information, requirements, deadlines, and links to their individual websites.  

Many programs do maintain their unique websites where information about the programs’ goals and resources can be found.  In addition to the search engines above, the websites can be found online by searching for “General Practice Dental Residency” or “Advanced General Dentistry Programs”.  It will take some time to visit the information on each program you are interested in, but the time will be well-spent.

Another resource to gain a rapid overview of the different programs and what they offer is the American Dental Student Association’s (ASDA) Guide to Postdoctoral Programs.  It is published every two years.  This booklet allows you to quickly thumb through brief overviews of each program and determine if they are of interest to you.  The publication is often available at your dental school, or copies may be purchased via this website:  http://www.asdanet.org/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=2

One of the opportunities you have in selecting an AEGD or GPR program is to realize that the diversity of experiences available is exciting and wide.  All programs must meet minimal educational Accreditation Standards set forth by the American Dental Association (ADA) Commission on Dental Accreditation. After that, they vary based on the resources each program enjoys and the directors’ interests.  As a result, some programs have rich experiences in implants while others teach you to treat end-stage liver disease patients.  Some have a lot of pediatric dental experiences, while others offer incredible geriatric dentistry opportunities.  Some programs are small (1-2 residents) while others can be quite large (10+).  Some provide a vast amount of emergency dentistry, medicine and trauma training which require interaction with the Emergency Room during on-call obligations, while others have virtually no on-call requirements.  Many programs also offer experiences treating special needs patients and socially, economically or medically disadvantaged people.  By doing some research, you should find several programs that offer the kinds of experiences you desire most.  We encourage you to make this effort and apply to them.  Do not forget to ask respected faculty and community dentists what their recommendations are - many of them have completed similar programs and will be happy to steer you to programs that fit your interests.

The application process

Most programs use the American Dental Education Association’s Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) to process application materials.  This allows applicants to prepare a single copy of most application materials, after which PASS will copy and distribute them to the programs the applicant is interested in.  The advantage for the program is that they receive materials in a uniform way, which makes reviewing and evaluating the materials easier. The advantage to the applicant is they only need to assemble one set of materials. The web site for the PASS program is at http://www.adea.org/PASS/default.htm.

Once you have identified some programs that interest you, visit their websites and contact them for additional information.  If time and budgets allow, arrange to visit the program for a day or two.  This way you will get a better idea of the facilities, faculty, and breadth of experiences offered.

In the application process, we suggest you start early to collect your letters of recommendation, complete your application and gather any supplementary material to avoid program deadline delays.  Remember that the programs will need information about your National Boards, your GPA/Class standings, and general academic abilities as part of your application materials.  Your Curriculum Vitae/Resume will tell about your educational progress, research, extracurricular activities, community service and other concrete things that you have participated in.

Letters of recommendation are very important because they tell about you as a person.  The individuals who write your letters should know you well and be willing to write a strong letter.  Nothing ruins an application faster than a neutral or negative letter of recommendation.  Letters should include:

A statement about your character.

How the writer has been able to get to know you.

What drives you to be a superb dentist and human being? 

What plans and dreams you have for your career? 

What makes you different, special and of interest as an individual and professional? 

These less tangible bits of information can bring your application to life and separate you from the pack, so you should encourage your writers to add them.  Rehashing what is already submitted in other areas of the application gives less benefit.

The last critical component of your application is your personal essay.  This is your opportunity to tell the programs you are applying to about your reasons for wanting additional training, what unique qualities you have to offer, and what areas you feel most need improvement.  If you have a special circumstance in your past that is a pivotal reason you are pursuing a particular aspect of dentistry, tell what it was and why it meant so much to you.  Because the same essay will be sent to all of your programs via PASS, it is best to keep the focus on the global information, and not discuss information that only applies to one program.  Finally, put time and effort into the essay.  Have it proofread for errors and content, think carefully about what you want to include, and make it your best effort.  In a competitive environment where many people’s grades and recommendation letters are superb, it often is the essay that will distinguish an application.

The following websites are links to some additional resources that can assist you in your application:  (Thank you to Dr. Sheila Koh for assembling this list)

American Academy of Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American Academy of Periodontology
American Association of Endodontists
American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
American Association of Orthodontists
American College of Prosthodontists
American Association of Public Health Dentistry
       

During the interview:

Before arriving, we suggest you formulate several questions based upon what you cannot find in the materials available to you.  Coming prepared with questions demonstrates interest and opens dialogue. 

Come on time or preferably early. Give yourself plenty of time to fly/drive and arrive on site before your allotted time.  You can always read a book or look around the area while you wait.  Should unforeseeable delays happen, be sure to have a cell phone and let the program know your predicament so they will see the situation is out of your control. 

Importantly, remember that the interview is a two-way process.  The program director is evaluating each applicant to see if they would be an inquisitive and productive individual.  Conversely, you as the applicant need to determine if the residency will meet your goals and objectives.  You need to ask questions about issues that are important to you such as:

            What are the educational goals, objectives, competencies?

What type of patient procedures does this program perform or not perform?

            What is the patient demographic breakdown (rural/urban/focal/comprehensive)?

            Where are the clinics?  What type of experiences are provided at each site?

What are the work hours?  After-hour obligations?  Call rotations?

            What are the benefits and salary ranges? 

What is the local community’s cost of living and housing availability?

What does the program perceive as its strengths and weaknesses?

Are there any upcoming changes to the program that will heavily impact the educational experience?

Acceptance to a Program

Many programs, but not all, participate in the National Matching Service (NMS).  Their website is http://www.natmatch.com/dentres/index.htm.  The intent of this service is to allow applicants and programs to send in a complete list of their respective choices they find acceptable, and then have the computer system match the applicants and programs that both want each other.  The advantage of this system is that both applicants and residency programs can rank their top choices from highest to lowest priority, and have a computer system impartially “match” the two groups.  You will not know which program you have been accepted into until the Match list is distributed, but on that day it is an exciting time to find out!  The uniform acceptance date also prevents programs and applicants from needing to make commitments before they are ready to prioritize all their choices. It is also important to know that a Match assignments are binding and cannot be broken by either the applicant or the residency program without extenuating circumstances

Several tips:

If you participate in the Match, you MUST attend the program you are matched to.  Therefore it is wise to list only programs you want to attend.  Similarly, if you are applying to programs that are not in the Match, you must accept your Match-assigned program if you go through the process to completion.  (The good news is that you may withdraw from the Match prior to the deadline without penalty if a non-Match program makes a desirable offer.)

You should list programs in your ideal order, even if you have little confidence of getting into your top choice program(s).  The system is set up to favor the applicant, and so you will not be assigned a lower-priority program until your favorites have completely filled (or you do not appear on their list at all).  Should your initial application be unsuccessful (i.e., you fail to get matched to a program), remember that there is often the opportunity to obtain a position after the Match by reviewing the list of programs with open positions listed in the Match documentation and posted after the Match results.

Note that if a non-Match program makes an offer prior to the Match date, you will need to make the choice of accepting the offer and withdrawing from the Match, or declining the offer and going through the Match.  Unfortunately, there is no good way to play both systems simultaneously.

Summary:

SCD strongly encourages you to seek additional postdoctoral training, whether via specialty or advanced general dentistry training (GPR or AEGD).  The extra year or two is a great investment in your future which will bring you more experience, wider breadth of training, and amazingly higher confidence.  You will be able to comfortably treat a much wider variety of patients, which will be enjoyable and professionally exciting.  People with special needs and other individuals with complex situations require the kind of expertise you can learn in these programs, and the more dentists trained to care for this group of delightful patients, the better their quality of life will be.  We salute you for taking these first steps toward that goal!