Program Overview

Program Overview

The School of Dental Medicine Predoctoral DMD program accomplishes its goals through academic work in four themes and two threads, which are woven throughout the four years of the program. The program includes a variety of educational formats to deliver the curricula, including problem-based learning sessions, team-based learning, interprofessional education courses and experiential learning, independent study, seminars, extensive hands-on preclinical simulation education and dental procedural skills development, use of digital dental technologies, experiential learning opportunities, traditional lectures, laboratories, standardized patient experiences, and patient-based comprehensive care.

Themes

• Health and Well-Being: This theme contains all curriculaboth didactic and clinicalthat apply to health and the normal structure and functioning of the body and of the oral complex.
• Disease Processes: The Disease Processes theme includes content related to general and oral diseases and oral and overall health.
• Restoration of Health: This theme contains content related to therapies necessary for treatment of medical disease and dental disease.
• Maintenance of Health: The Maintenance of Health theme focuses on a curriculum which explores strategies for preserving health through general and oral health therapies, patient education, disease risk assessment and risk reduction, and disease prevention.

Threads

• Inquiry: This thread that runs throughout the four-year program supports student growth in skills and application of clinical decision-making.
• Leadership: This thread contains curriculum for the development of students as ethical professionals and caring practitioners who are stewards of oral health of the individual patient, the community, and society.

Years

Year 1

This year includes curriculum describing normal healthy functioning and disease processes. Basic science content is taught in the context of clinical cases.

Year 2

This year continues with an integrated approach to curricula in health and disease involving all of the clinical dental disciplines as well as oral-systemic health, with an emphasis on the development of dental clinical skills.

Year 3

Students gain clinical experience in the Comprehensive Care Clinics and take clinically-focused didactic courses to advance levels of knowledge and clinical experience.

Year 4

Students continue to gain clinical experience in the Comprehensive Care Clinics, complete patient-based clinical competencies and finish didactic courses which may include enrichment courses.

Program Requirements

First Year Courses

• DSPR 136: Cariology
• DSPR 139: Neoplasia and Genetics
• HEWB 121: Foundations of Life Science
• HEWB 130: Oral Histology
• HWDP 131: Heart and Lungs in Health and Disease
• LDRS 101: Collaborative Practice I A
• LDRS 111: Epidemiology for Public Health and Clinical Practice
• MAHE 145: ACE: Outreach Preventive Dentistry
• LDRS 113: Personal Finance
• REHE 151: Dental Anatomy
• REHE 153: Dental Anatomy Laboratory

Second Year Courses

• COMP 205: Clinical Observation and Assisting II
• HWDP 232: Renal and Hematologic Systems in Health and Disease
• HWDP 243: Endocrine and Reproductive Systems in Health and Disease
• HWDP 245: Musculoskeletal System in Health and Disease
• HWDP 246: Neuroscience in Health and Disease
• MAHE 241: Preventive Periodontics
• REHE 257: Prosthodontic Technology
• REHE 267: Prosthodontic Technology Lab
• REHE 259: Basic Procedures in Fixed Prosthodontics II
• REHE 269: Basic Procedure Fixed Prosthodontics II Lab
• REHE 262: Basic Procedures in Restorative Dentistry II
• REHE 272: Basic Procedures in Restorative Dentistry II Lab
• REHE 264: Endodontics
• REHE 274: Endodontics Lab
• REMA 261: Preclinical Orthodontics

Third Year Courses

• COMP 341: Patient Care I
• COMP 372: Patient Care Experience I
• COMP 386: Quality Assurance I
• DSPR 333: Management of Medical Emergencies
• DSRE 335: Clinical Pharmacology
• DSRE 395: Introduction to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• DSRE 396: Temporomandibular Disorders and Occlusion
• HEWB 349: Dentofacial Morphology
• REHE 358: Dental Materials II
• REMA 327: Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy Intensive

Fourth Year Courses

• COMP 358: Clinical Oral Surgery I
• COMP 441: Patient Care IV
• COMP 476: Patient Care Experience IV
• REHE 413: Advanced Implant Dentistry I
• REHE 482: Orthodontics
• COMP 422: Clinical Periodontics
• COMP 427: Oral Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
• COMP 428: Oral Diagnosis and Radiology
• COMP 448: Endodontics
• COMP 451: Patient Care V
• COMP 458: Clinical Oral Surgery II
• COMP 478: Pediatric Dentistry
• COMP 480: Clinical Geriatric Dentistry
• COMP 482: Clinical Orthodontics
• COMP 486: Patient Care Experience V
• COMP 498: Quality Assurance II
• LDRS 416: Practice Management
• REHE 400: Regional Board Preparation
• REHE 455: General Anesthesia, Oral Surgery
• REHE 488: Case Presentations I

Sample Plan of Study

The plan of study is outlined in a grid format, detailing the courses for each term of the four-year program.

Dual Degree Options

• Dental Medicine, DMD/Public Health, MPH