How does an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program differ from a General Practice Residency (GPR) program?  An AEGD program is usually based in a clinic not affiliated with a hospital.  It tends to focus on advanced clinical dental training in all areas of general dentistry while providing the training to treat medically complicated cases appropriate to a private practice setting.  Generally, off service rotations involve experiences in alternative clinical settings.  A GPR program is usually affiliated with a hospital.  It tends to focus more on comprehensive management of medically complicated cases in dentistry.  Generally there are off-service rotations to other departments in the hospital.

Will I get paid for participating in the program?  Most AEGD programs do provide a stipend during the program.  The current stipend for the University of Michigan Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency is $35,000 per year.

Will I receive any benefits (health insurance, etc.) while enrolled in the program?  Residents do not receive a benefit package with the stipend.  However, residents are eligible for GradCare, a managed care plan available to University of Michigan graduate students.  Consult http://www.benefits.umich.edu/ for more information.

Can my educational loans from dental school be deferred?  Many educational loans from dental school are eligible for deferment during the continuation of (related) education such as an AEGD program.  It is the applicant's responsibility to confirm this with the specific loans institution(s).The resident is responsible to submit the appropriate forms to the specific loan institution, as the program does not do this.  The program will provide documentation to verify training status if required, such as letters of support or signatures.

Will I have to provide after-hours emergency care?  Each resident is responsible for providing comprehensive care to his/her patients in the clinic.  The residents participate in a rotating schedule to be available to provide after-hours dental consultation to patients of record.  An electronic pager is provided to the resident for this service and the resident is expected to remain within paging radius during this rotation.  The rotation is generally a week in length.  Any after-hours emergency dental care that is required is referred to the University of Michigan Hospital Dental Service.

What rotations out of the clinic are required during the program?  The rotations out of the AEGD are clinical rotations to several community health care centers.  Community dental health service is one of the program's priorities.  Each resident will rotate to two community health centers during the program.  The resident has four two-week rotations dispersed throughout the program year.  The resident provides comprehensive care to pediatric patients, migrant populations, as well the financially indigent.

How much time will I be in the clinic treating patients?  Residents spend approximately 80% - 85 % of their time in direct patient care during the program.

What advanced dental procedures or techniques are offered during the program?  There are a variety of advanced dental techniques available to the resident.  A primary focus of the AEGD program is the application of advanced technology for dental treatment.  Residents receive a course in chair-side CAD/CAM ceramic dentistry with the CEREC 3D system early in the program.  There are 8 CEREC 3 systems available for use in the AEGD Clinic.  There is also an InLab System available in the AEGD Laboratory that provides zirconium and aluminum oxide based ceramic restorations.  Residents have the opportunity to utilize a variety of all-ceramic systems during the program.  CAD/CAM digital dentistry is a significant focus of the program.  Instruction is provided in the use of a digital impression system (Lava COS) for 3D registration of the dentition.  The Lava COS is available for resident use to fabricate a variety of esthetic restorations.  A soft tissue surgical laser course is provided that trains residents in the clinical use of soft tissue lasers.  The AEGD program has three soft tissue lasers that residents will use during patient treatment after completing the course.   A number of other esthetic technology is available for use in the clinic such as Zoom Bleaching, digital photography, and a chair side microscope.

Is there adequate dental assistant support for each resident?  The AEGD program has 7 dental assistants as part of the support staff.  They will work with residents on a daily basis during the program.  In addition, there are three part-time hygienists that manage the program recall appointments to free the residents from doing the recall appointments.

Do I need my own dental license?  Do I need my own DEA number?  Residents are working under the direct supervision of program attending faculty and do not need their own dental license or a DEA number.  However, residents must have graduated from dental school and passed Part II of the National Board Exam.  This makes them eligible to apply for licensure.

How much lab work do I need to do?  As part of comprehensive patient care, residents are responsible for completing the necessary laboratory preparatory work prior to sending out cases for fabrication.  This includes diagnostic impressions and casts, jaw relations with accurate mountings, diagnostic wax-ups, surveyed casts with partial denture designs, and any other preparatory work appropriate to the individual case.  The AEGD program has its own dental laboratory with CAD/CAM ceramic capability; however, it is not able to keep up with the significant demand of the program so many additional local dental laboratories are used as well.

As a foreign graduate, am I qualified for an application?  Qualified Internationally trained dentists (ITDs) are welcome to apply for the program. Please review the program admission criteria and instructions.  Graduates from international dental schools may have diverse dental education and clinical backgrounds.  To transition to the accreditation requirements of the AEGD program, an introductory didactic and preclinical experience is required for all international graduates.  This period of the program may have some limited clinical experiences until the introductory exercises have been satisfactorily completed.  Those residents unable to complete this aspect of the program may not be provided the opportunity to engage in the expanded clinical experiences of the AEGD program.  As the ITD resident demonstrates competency in the various disciplines, expanded patient care experiences are assigned.  Tuition is required for graduates of non-accredited dental schools; all North American dental schools are accredited.

Are implants a part of the program?  The AEGD program has integrated implant treatment as a significant aspect of the restorative area of curriculum and clinical experience.  Primary focus is placed on the diagnosis, treatment planning, and restorative procedures for implant treatment.  Surgical placement of implants is not a primary focus of the program although residents have the opportunity to do so on a case-by-case basis.