Structure of the Program

Click a clinic to learn more information about each rotation

“On-Call” Duty

The GPR  training program includes participation in after-hours on-call to the community through the University of Washington Medical Center Emergency Department (ED).  On-Call shifts are  from 5 PM -8AM and are classified as “home-call” because residents respond to the ED  from home (rather than being required to stay “in-house” while on call). The after-hours on-call service provides residents the opportunity to treat a wide range of emergencies from dentoalveolar and maxillofacial trauma, to severe odontalgias and infections. Some additional on-call experience may be available to interested residents during their OMS rotation at Harborview Medical Center. On-Call schedule  is pre-assigned and all residents receive their on-call schedule for the entire year at the beginning of the program year. Call is assigned in 7 day blocks (Monday – Sun) with some exceptions based on Holidays. Call is assigned in resident pairs, alternating first call (primary responder) and second call (back-up call).

Didactics

Residents meet for approximately 4 to 6 hours per week for formal didactic conferences, as well as many informal sessions at each site. The didactic series covers a wide variety of topics including internal medicine, physiology, anatomy, physical diagnosis, moderate parenteral sedation and medical emergencies, Systematic review-evidence based dentistry, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, pharmacology, dental implants, basic and innovative dental procedures, literature review and practice management. We encourage residents to request presentations on topics of interest. Each resident is asked to present two lectures during the year on a dental or medical topic, one topic is assigned and the other is of their choice. Each resident will also present several cases per year as part of our Grand Rounds and clinical cases teaching exercises.

Residents are welcome to register for the continuing dental education courses at reduced fees sponsored by the Division of Continuing Dental Education as time permits within the residency program.

University of Washington Medical Center and University of Washington School of Dentistry

4.5 month rotation in General Dentistry During these rotations, the resident is involved with the medical work-up, management and comprehensive dental care of a wide variety of compromised patients. Consultations are provided to all medical services in the hospital with emphasis in critical care areas. Typical experiences include: Cardiothoracic surgery patients, head and neck cancer patients, bone marrow transplantation patients, pre-and post- organ transplantation patients, coagulopathies, immunocompromised patients, a wide variety of patients with common and unusual systemic diseases, developmental and acquired neurological disabilities, phobic patients, and geriatric patients. Significant experience is gained in techniques of intravenous moderate sedation and restorative dental care of patients in the operating room under general anesthesia. The general and hospital dentistry rotation is distributed between the Hospital Dentistry clinic in the School of Dentistry where outpatient dentistry is performed, and the UW Medical Center where inpatient and emergency dentistry is performed. Residents on the UW rotation will spend significant time at both sites.

VA Puget Sound

3 month rotation in general dentistry. The population treated within the VA hospital setting has significant dental needs as well as an array of debilitating physical, psychological and medical conditions that complicate their dental treatment. The spectrum of dental care ranges from unscheduled emergency procedures to comprehensive evaluation and treatment of eligible inpatient and outpatient veterans which include treatments from simple restorations to complex full mouth rehabilitation including implant restorations. Special emphasis is placed on providing treatment to patients with dental conditions that complicate or exacerbate their medical conditions. Large numbers of patients are admitted on a monthly basis with complex medical problems that need concurrent dental care. It is a rewarding and stimulating practice environment. In addition to the UW GPR residents, there are also rotating residents from endodontics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery and the VA general practice residency.

The Center for Pediatric Dentistry

6-7 week pediatric rotation at The Center for Pediatric Dentistry; one of the nations’ largest and most comprehensive centers for pediatric dentistry. The objectives of this rotation are: Train dentists to competently and confidently diagnose and treat infant and toddlers, foster a collaborative relationship between medicine and dentistry, provide hands-on experience in basic infant and toddler health and development issues, provide education in the administrative aspects of oral health care for infants and toddlers, such as Medicaid/Medicare and private insurance billing, collaborate with and educate medical caregivers in the importance of oral health in relation to the child’s overall health, design and implement a model that integrates an oral health visit with the regular health maintenance visits, certify as ABCD providers after they meet the requirements of Early Childhood Oral Health Program.

Anesthesia VA Puget Sound, Department of Anesthesia

4 week rotation in techniques of General Anesthesia. Residents render inhalation and parenteral anesthesia both under direct and limited supervision. This rotation introduces the techniques of anesthetic care, with emphasis on gaining competency in patient assessment, venipuncture technique, patient monitoring, pharmacology of anesthetic medications, managing emergent situations, post-anesthetic recovery, and emphasis on airway management and maintenance. State-of-the-art computerized simulation programs are a feature of this rotation.

Harborview Medical Center (HMC)

6-7 week rotation in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery.  GPR Residents essentially function as OMS interns under the direction of the OMS Chief Residents and participate in ward management of oral surgery patients, selected orthognatic reconstruction cases, treatment of emergent and non-emergent head and neck trauma, and assume the primary responsibility for the Oral surgery outpatient clinic. Principles of dentoalveolar surgery including flap technique, sectioning of teeth, surgical extractions, removal of impacted third molars, and biopsies of hard and soft tissue pathology are emphasized during this rotation. Significant operating room experience is available as well.

Special Care Dentistry through the DECOD Program (R2’s)

The UW GPR Program, in conjunction with the UW Dental Education in Care of People with Disabilities (DECOD) Program, is offering a 2^nd year GPR Program with emphasis in Special Care Dentistry. This program consists of a 12-month clinical experience in special care dentistry at the UW DECOD Clinic, providing dental care to adults with developmental and acquired disabilities. The program also includes experiences with children at the UW Center for Pediatric Dentistry, hospital dentistry at the UW Medical Center, geriatric dentistry through UW affiliated site(s), and completion of a Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Fellowship through the UW Center for Human Development and Disability.

Upon completion of the 12 month program, trainee’s will receive a certificate of completion of a GPR 2^nd year with special emphasis  in Special Care Dentistry . The LEND Program also offers a certificate of completion at the end of the training program.

The UW 2^nd Year GPR DECOD Program in Special Care Dentistry is designed to meet the Special Care Dentistry Association’s (SCDA) fellowship criteria for a residency program with extraordinary emphasis in special care dentistry. Learn more about building your portfolio for SCDA Fellowship and the process for recognition by the American Board of Special Care Dentistry as a Diplomate in Special Care Dentistry.