Dental General Practice Residency

Our residency program participates in the American Dental Education Association's Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS).

The PASS application deadline is November 1st of the current year, for the following July 1st entry date.

Application requirements:

• Apply through Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS).
• Will graduate from an ADA accredited dental school prior to the July 1st entry date.
• Must be eligible for a U.S. state dental license at the time of entry into the residency program
• Be a U.S. citizen.

Please do not send any supplemental material(s) to the program. The program residency director will contact you if any further materials are needed.

Include 3 Professional Evaluation Forms in your PASS application. Each PEF must be submitted by members of the clinical faculty at your dental school. We prefer the faculty be from different disciplines of dentistry (i.e. restorative - this includes operative, removable, implant dentistry and crown & bridge), endodontics, periodontics, and/or oral surgery.

Applicants are granted an interview based on academic achievement, your personal essay, and Professional Evaluations (PEF). If your application is considered, you will be contacted for an interview. Selected applicants will be invited to interview from late August to late October.

MATCH PROGRAM
Our General Practice Residency program participates in the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program administered by National Matching Services.

Matriculation Requirements:

• Graduate of a dental school (earned a DDS or DMD) accredited by the American Dental Association.
• Must have passed Part I and Part II of the National Dental Board Examination OR the INDBE.
• Must be eligible for a state dental license in the United States.

This General Practice Residency program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted the accreditation status of Approval. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the American Dental Association and the United States Department of Education.

This residency provides the training that Dentists need to treat patients with medical, physical or psychiatric disabilities. The residency offers advanced comprehensive clinical dentistry. The residency begins on the pay period prior to July 1st and ends the following year on the pay period prior to June 30th. The program consists of advanced clinical dentistry including treatment planning, preventative, periodontal, operative, fixed and removable prosthodontics, digital dentistry, endodontics, surgical placement and restoration of implants and general oral surgery procedures. Didactic courses include physical examination, treatment planning, oral pathology, endodontics, prosthodontics (removable, fixed and implant dentistry), periodontics, oral surgery, practice management, and oral facial pain. The residents conduct literature reviews and case discussions throughout the year.

The dental attendings and consultants are available at all times. We have 4 FT dentists, 1 PT dentist, 2 FT oral surgeon,s 1 PT periodontist, 1 PT endodontist . During the residency program, each resident will be scheduled an attending dentist rotating through the week.  We also have 1 FT lab technicians on staff.

Salary is $65,464  per year (2024-2025).
Health benefits and life insurance are available.
Malpractice liability coverage is provided for you.

The clinic offers a wide range of supplies and the latest techniques in dentistry. Assistants are assigned to residents throughout the year to provide experience in four-handed dentistry. There is an extensive, part-time to full-time staff in all the dental specialties which allow residents to tackle new and difficult treatment procedures such as implant placement/restoration, microscope assisted endodontics, digital dentistry,  dealing with medically compromised patients, diagnosis, and continuation of simple to complex cases in all dental disciplines.

Rotations:

While on the Anesthesiology rotation, the residents learn the indications and contraindications for use of general anesthesia; learn to evaluate a patient's ability to undergo general or regional anesthesia; learn to start and maintain IVs, monitor vital signs, and maintain an airway; gain a greater understanding of pharmacology and physiology; and acquire an understanding of the general methodology of general anesthesia and the implications of the use of general anesthesia. The residents actively participate in all phases of anesthesia.

The General Practice Residents are assigned to Medicine after successfully completing a physical evaluation course. The residents gain experience using the techniques of physical evaluation; gain experience recognizing the presence of selected organic disease, which may affect the management of oral and dental problems; gain awareness of the influence of systemic disease on oral health; and observe the diagnosis and management of systemic disease.

In addition to the attending supplied curriculum, some of the academics/courses will be obtained through distance learning. Distance learning means education that uses one or more of the technologies listed below to deliver instruction to residents who are separated from the instructor. The technologies may include:

1. the internet;
2. two-way transmission through video teleconferencing (V-Tel); and/or
3. audio conferencing.

Processes are in place to protect student privacy.

The General Practice Residency in Dentistry at the VA Medical Center, Lebanon, Pennsylvania consists of seminars and clinical assignments to various disciplines of dentistry and medicine. The purpose of the residency program is to expand your knowledge of oral and systemic relationships in health and disease states, to broaden your clinical experience, and to develop your proficiency in providing dental care for ambulatory and hospitalized patients.

The program goals and objectives:

1.  Resident to act as primary care provider for patients providing patient focused multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care, emergency treatment, disease prevention and maintenance.  In doing so the resident will diagnose and treatment plan patients in a responsible and compassionate manner without compromise to ethic or morals.  Treatment modalities to be used will encompass all dental disciplines and will encourage using advanced treatment modalities, all leading to improving the residents’ competency and confidence.
2. Using sound clinical judgment, plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
3. Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.
4. Function effectively and efficiently in the hospital setting as a member of the health care team working with dental and medical specialists, and general practitioners.  This also includes developing the resident’s familiarity with hospital administration, organization, protocol, and interrelationships between various hospital departments.
5. Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care.  This includes using critical thinking, evidence or outcomes-based clinical decision-making and technology based information retrieval systems.
6. Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
7. Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community service.

The program's goals and objectives are intended to enable you to:

1. Function as a member of a multi-disciplinary health team required in providing dental care for outpatients and inpatients, and be able to communicate with other health professionals.
2. Evaluate, treatment plan, and manage patients with medical, physical, and psychiatric conditions.
3. Control pain and anxiety in the conscious patient through the use of behavior management, oral sedation, and nitrous oxide analgesia.
4. Understand the use and interrelationships of the pharmacologic agents commonly used in medical and dental practice.
5. Demonstrate improved clinical ability and judgment in Operative Dentistry, Preventive Dentistry, Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics, Implant Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Periodontics, Endodontics, Oral Pathology, and treatment planning for comprehensive patient care.
6. Evaluate and treat the majority of dental emergencies.
7. Manage medical emergencies that may arise in the dental office.
8. Demonstrate proficiency in patient evaluation, including taking a medical history, examination of the head and neck, and interpretation of laboratory test results, and correlating those findings with the dental treatment plan and dental treatment.
9. Demonstrate operating room protocol, procedures, and documentation.
10. Critically evaluate professional literature.
11. Demonstrate community service skills through the treatment of our nation's homeless veterans

James C. Cox DMD (James.Cox6@va.gov)
Dental General Practice Residency Program Director
Veterans Affairs Medical Center
1700 South Lincoln Avenue
Lebanon, PA 17042

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
This agency is an equal opportunity employer. Actions to fill the residency positions will not be based on discriminating factors, which are prohibited by law. Applicants are assured of equal consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual preference, national origin, politics, physical or mental disability, marital status, age, membership in an employee organization, or any other non-merit reason.