Dental Residency Program

History, Objective, Accreditation, Dates, Hours

The Dayton VA Dental Service offered a General Practice Residency (GPR) Program from 1967-2012. In 2013 the residency transitioned to an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program.  The Dental Service at the Dayton VA Medical Center has graduated 169 dental residents in the last 53 years (See Resident History 1967- 2023 below). he program is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Objective is to provide for the resident an advanced education and experience in all phases of dentistry with emphasis on the geriatric and medically compromised patient.

The program is eligible for four one-year residents each year. Residents spend approximately 80% of their time in the program treating the oral health needs of ambulatory patients. While in the dental clinic, the resident will rotate through Oral Surgery, Examination Room, Expanded Function Dental Assistant Clinic and Periodontics as well as General Dentistry.

The normal working hours are 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM. The AEGD Program is a one-year residency which starts early July and finishes early July.

Facility, Location, Hospital

The Dayton VA Medical Center consists of a general medical, surgical, and psychiatric hospital with 120 beds located in a hospital building dedicated in 1992, a nursing home care unit with 265 beds, and a domiciliary with 115 beds, all combined under one management. It is located on a beautifully landscaped 382 acre tract at the western edge of Dayton.

There are approximately 1900 full time equivalent employees at the Medical Center. Our medical staff includes 71 physicians and 8 staff dentists, in addition to physicians and dentist consultants.

Dental Clinic

The Dental Service provides comprehensive dental treatment to eligible Veterans in the main clinic located in the Patient Tower.

The modern dental clinic in the patient tower has: twelve general treatment chairs, plus two examination chairs, three hygiene chairs, two oral surgical suites, digital radiographic capability including Panoramic, Cone Beam CT Scan, centralized sterilization, conference room, and a large fully equipped  dental laboratory.

Residents Manual

The Residents Manual contains a complete description of the program.

Certificate

A certificate of training will be awarded to the resident upon completion of all clinical and educational requirements of their Dental AEGD Residency.

On Call

Dental residents will be scheduled for on call duty for seven days, once every four weeks. While on call duty, the resident does not have to be physically located at the hospital but is required to be available within 30 minutes of the hospital, carry his/her beeper, and have telephone access. If the resident has to be off during his on call duty, he/she is responsible for notifying the hospital of the name and phone number of the resident covering for him/her.

Salary

The salary of a non career general practice resident is established by the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office. First year residents currently receive approximately $58,800 annually, plus health insurance benefit.

PASS Program

We participate in the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) Program.

Physical Examination

New residents entering the AEGD Program must pass a Physical Examination to insure the resident is capable of carrying out his/her responsibilities. This may be performed at the nearest VA, and then reviewed by the employee health physician at the Dayton VA. A Questionnaire is given that includes Immunization history. Evidence of Hepatitis B vaccine is required by the State of Ohio in order to receive a one-year limited Residents License to practice at the VA. Universal Precautions are followed for dental treatment.

Professional Liability Coverage

Department of Veterans Affairs employees are covered while on station by the Federal Government, which is self-insured. Residents are also covered by the government while providing treatment at formal off-site rotations.

Leave

Residents will accrue 13 calendar days of annual leave and 6 days of sick leave per year. The leave year begins July 1 and ends June 30.

Rotations

1. Anesthesia – 5 days
2. Emergency Room – 2 days
3. Internal Medicine – 2 days
4. Pathology Service Dayton VA Medical Center
5. Oral Pathology/Forensics-1 week didactic course at Wright-Patterson AFB
6. IV Conscious Sedation/ Pharmacology - 1 week course at Wright-Patterson AFB OMFS Department

Dental Patients

Approximately 90% are ambulatory care outpatients and many of them are Medically Compromised in some way. They will generally come under one of the following treatment categories:

1. Outpatient Class I-V
   Generally, Service-Connected Veterans eligible for dental because of some particular disability or qualifying factor
2. Outpatient Class VI
   Referral from Physician to improve specified medical condition
3. Emergency Treatment
   Walk-in problems that need extraction(s) and Consults on hospital patients from physicians. Residents are routinely involved in dental emergencies and consultations.
4. Dental Inpatients
   Dental Inpatients are Patients admitted to the hospital by Dental Service in order to be treated by and under the supervision of the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, usually in the OR. These include trauma (such as fractures), Cancer, Osteoradionecrosis (with use of Hyperbaric Oxygen), Orthognathic Surgery, and Extractions. Eligibility for Service Connected Outpatients is determined and approval given by Staff Dentists prior to resident examination or treatment.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Under the direct or general supervision of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, the resident will perform a broad range of clinical and surgical procedures including, but not necessarily limited to, exodontia, alveoplasty, preprosthetic surgery, implant dentistry and biopsy. When appropriate, clinical procedures may be performed under the direct supervision of the Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon utilizing intravenous and/or inhalation sedation techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the evaluation of the patient's physical status and the appropriate treatment of the compromised patient.

Periodontics

The patient population presents with a great need for periodontal treatment. Residents will be under the supervision of a Board Certified staff periodontist. Residents will spend one day per week working with the periodontist. Emphasis is placed on surgical procedures to facilitate the restorative treatment plan.

Prosthetic Dentistry

The dental residents will have ample opportunity to perform in the area of Prosthetic Dentistry. They are encouraged to try different techniques in the construction of complete and partial dentures. The residents will be provided plenty of opportunity to do crown and bridge prostheses, and will be under the direct supervision of full time staff dentists. Residents will be involved in all areas of Implants.

Clinical Rotation and Requirements

In general, there are no requirements as to the number of procedures to be performed; thus the attention is to detail, precision, and perfection of the various techniques. Quality, not quantity, is stressed. Take your time and do a good job and speed will come through repetition. However, as dental professionals, the Residents are expected to stay busy and contribute a reasonable amount to the productivity of the Dental Service.

Educational Requirements

In-Service Training

During the course of the residency year, the resident is required to attend all In-service Training Programs and to present a one hour In-service lecture as part of his/her training. The date and topic of the lecture will be selected in conjunction with input from the Program Director. Residents also will present in-service training to all auxiliary dental personnel throughout the year as well as present to the Greater Dayton Area in the Dayton VA Dental Symposium held in October.

Journal Club

The resident is required to attend all meetings of the Dental Journal Club. The Club normally meets every other Wednesday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM unless otherwise directed. Each resident will be required to present and discuss classic or current articles in the dental literature in order to familiarize himself/herself with relevant dental issues, as well as learning to be comfortable and properly present articles to peers.

Case Review

Twice a month, (alternating with Journal Club), residents will bring current cases to a gathering with attending staff for treatment planning and discussion.

Implant Boards

Once a month, residents will attend and present potential patients to attending staff for treatment planning and discussion.

Case Presentation

The resident will be required to present interesting cases for review and evaluation by the dental staff during his/her residency year. This will provide the resident an opportunity to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan for a variety of patients and experience in presenting and defending his/her treatment plan.

Table Clinic

Residents are required to research, develop, and present a Table Clinic on a topic of general dental interest. The presentation will be made twice - once during the Thomas P. Hinman Meeting in Atlanta Georgia in March and also at the early May evening dinner meeting of the Dayton Dental Society. These meetings will provide the resident the opportunity to teach and interact with his/her peers.

Consultants

The Dayton VA Residency Program is enhanced by the quality of its consultants. The lectures cover most of the disciplines of dentistry. Attendance at these lectures is mandatory and is a first priority; it is the personal responsibility of each resident to be in attendance and on time
 

CODA

The Commission on Dental Accreditation

The program in Advanced Education in General Dentistry is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (and has been granted the accreditation status of Approval Without Reporting Requirements.) The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-2678. The Commission’s web address is: https://coda.ada.org/ *.

The Commission on Dental Accreditation has accredited the postdoctoral program in Advanced Education in General Dentistry. However, this education area is not one of the American Dental Association’s recognized dental specialty areas. Therefore, dentists graduating from this program cannot announce that they are specialists, as recognized by the American Dental Association.

Opportunity to File Complaints

The Commission on Dental Accreditation will review complaints that relate to a program’s compliance with the accreditation standards. The Commission is interested in the sustained quality and continued improvement of dental education programs but does not intervene on behalf of individuals or act as a court of appeal for treatment received by patients or individuals in matters of admission, appointment, promotion, or dismissal of faculty, staff, or students.

The Commission will consider only written, signed complaints; oral and unsigned complaints will not be considered. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at:  

The Commission on Dental Accreditation
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
 

Contact Us

If you have questions, contact the AEGD Program Director by email or phone .

Application for Residency Training

It is our hope that if you apply and are selected for the residency program, you will find it a truly rewarding experience. Our goal has been to make ours one of the finest programs in the nation. However, we can only provide an environment for learning, the value received is only as great as the effort invested.

You may download an application for residency training from the U.S. Government's official web portal.

Directions from Columbus:

I-70 west to 675; 675 west to 35 west; 35 west past Gettysburg to Liscum; turn right on Liscum and the dental clinic is on the second floor of the Patient Tower, Building #330. For GPS directions please use 4100 West 3rd Street, Dayton, Ohio 45428.