Dental - General Practice Residency

Our residency program participates in the Applicants | Register (natmatch.com) (PASS).

The PASS application deadline is October 15. Selected applicants will be invited to interview in early December.

Application requirements:

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

Materials to send directly to program director:

1. VA Application 10-2850D
2. Copy of Proof of US Citizenship (birth certificate or passport)
3. One 2x2 Photograph

Your application will remain incomplete until all of these items have been e-mailed to the program director (rachael.conaboy@va.gov).

The letters of recommendation to include in your PASS application must be submitted by at least two members of the clinical faculty at your dental school. We prefer the faculty be from three different disciplines of dentistry (i.e. restorative - this includes operative, removable, implant dentistry and crown & bridge), endodontics, periodontics, and/or oral surgery. You will need to include 5 total Personal Potential Index (PPI) Evaluations in your PASS application.

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

Matriculation Requirements:

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

The Michael J. Crescenz VA Dental Residency is a unique opportunity to care for our nation’s veterans in a multidisciplinary setting.  Residents have the privilege to care for patients having medical, psychological, and dental complexities alongside a wide array of medical specialists all of whom practice at the same site.

This General Practice Residency program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) 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. This twelve-month residency begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th. The program consists of advanced clinical dentistry including treatment planning, preventive, periodontal, operative, fixed and removable prosthodontics, endodontics, restoration of implants and 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 Pathology. The residents conduct literature reviews and case presentations throughout the year.

The dental attendings and consultants are available at all times. Currently, we employee three part time general dentists, two full time general dentists, two oral surgeons, two prosthodontists, one periodontist and three hygienists. We have an endodontist in recruitment. Our team includes ten assistants, one laboratory technician, one administrative officer and one program support assistant.

• Competitive salary determined by OAA each year
• Health benefits and life insurance are available
• Annual leave is generous and federal holidays are observed
• Professional liability is assumed by the Corp. Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center
• Up to $1000 reimbursement for national/regional dental conferences

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, medically complex patients, diagnosis and treatment planning, and continuation of simple to complex cases in all dental disciplines.  

Program Goals and Objectives:

In summary, the program goals are:

1.  Evaluate, diagnosis, manage and treat ambulatory, non-ambulatory and medically compromised patients using a multidisciplinary oral health care approach geared towards the practice of general dentistry
2.  To function effectively within the hospital and other health care environments.
3.  To continually strive to expand dental knowledge base by critically reviewing literature thereby improving clinical skills.
4. To evaluate and treat most dental emergencies.
5.  To appreciate the importance of providing dental resources to the community (i.e. community service).

The residency program is divided into dental rotations as well as medical specialty rotations including Medicine (primary care), Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Oral Pathology at Temple University Hospital and Phlebotomy.  The balance of the twelve-month program is spent in different dental rotations where the residents provide comprehensive restorative (including implant dentistry), Preventive, Periodontic, Endodontic, Fixed and Removable Prosthodontic, and Oral Diagnostic services.

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 one week of Medicine and one week of Emergency 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.