Clinical & Didactics

The dental residents' day typically starts at 7:45am with a meeting, seminar, lecture, case presentation, or literature review. Patients are then scheduled from 8:45am to 12:15pm and 1:00pm to 5:00pm. This does not include the times dental residents are scheduled out for medical rotations or other assignments. Typically, patients are scheduled for 45-60 minute appointments with some exceptions. On average a resident will see approximately 1,950 patient visits each program year. That includes walk-in daytime emergencies that are equally shared by all residents. Additional lectures may also be scheduled at other times of the day according to attending schedules.

Clinical

All phases of general dentistry are provided to patients. Approximately 35% of patients treated are medically compromised.

Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare operates special care facilities such as:

Regional Dialysis Unit
Regional Cancer Radiation Treatment Center
Involuntary Psychiatric Unit
Long Term Care Facility (St. Luke's Home)
Mohawk Valley Heart Institute
Diabetes Education
Developmentally Disabled patients
Wheelchair patients
Approximately 8% of patients treated at the St. Luke's Campus
Patients treated range from infancy to geriatric population.

Didactics

Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office

An interactive presentation including videos, informal discussion, self-assessment, review of departmental policies and procedures, and review of emergency medication and equipment available in the department.

Regulatory Compliance Seminar

A seminar series addressing Bloodborne Pathogens, Hazard Communication and Medical Waste Disposal as it applies to dental practice.

Hospital Organization and Protocol Lecture series

A lecture/video series to provide the dental resident with an understanding of hospital organization, protocol and functions.

Journal Club

A monthly meeting during which the residents will select current articles of interest for critical review and discussion. The selected articles to be discussed will be made known to all participants one week prior to the meeting.

Operating Room Protocol

A lecture/video series to provide the dental resident with an understanding of operating room protocol in preparation for treating dental patients in the Operating Room.

Risk Management in Dentistry

This seminar covers medical-legal aspects of dental practice utilizing a multiphase approach including formal and informal discussion, guest speakers and literature review.

Special Care Patient Seminar

Topics covering dental treatment of medically compromised patients in the dental office will be selected for this literature review series. Each resident will be responsible for presenting several of the selected topics in an organized manner.

Dental Trauma Series

A literature review series designed to provide the dental residents with a scientific basis for treatment of dental trauma patients.

Implantology

Over 40 hours of implant lectures are presented throughout the program year. Residents will gain a better understanding of the surgical and prosthetic aspects of various dental implant systems.

Through a Grant from Zimmer the training program receives implants and restorative parts for one case per resident with a maximum of 2 implants and restorative components to complete each implant case. The resident is required to document each case with 35 mm slides or high-resolution digital images from diagnosis and treatment planning through surgery and prosthetic restoration. The patients will be selected by attendings participating in this training aspect. The participating attending will then schedule the patient for implant placement in their private office. The prosthetic component will be completed in the residency program clinical facility under the supervision of an assigned participating attending.

The implant training is directed by Dr. Brian Jackson. Dr. Jackson is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry (ABOI/ID) and an Associate Fellow in the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID). He has presented oral implantology lectures to various groups including the 2002 Annual Global Conference for the AAID in Los Angeles, CA. The topic presented by Dr. Jackson was "Occlusal Considerations for Implant Supported Prosthesis". He has published in the October 2003 issue of the Journal of Oral Implantology on "Occlusal Principles and Clinical Applications for Endosseous Implants." Dr. Jackson currently serves as Vice President of the Northeast District of the AAID.

Case Presentation and Treatment Planning

All comprehensive care patients must be treatment planned prior to initiating any complex treatment procedures. Residents will meet on a regularly scheduled basis to present their cases for discussion and review.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

All dental residents will be required to be certified in Basic Life Support (BLS) and are strongly encouraged to take Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training (ACLS).

Auxiliary Staff Development

Each resident will present a topic of interest to the dental auxiliaries.

Pain and Anxiety Control Lecture and Literature Review

Articles on various topics in pain and anxiety control will be selected for discussion.

Operating Room Scrub Orientation

All dental residents will receive scrubbing, gowning and gloving orientation through the Department of Surgery coordinator in preparation for assignments to the Operating Room.

Medical Risk Assessment Lecture Series

A lecture, seminar, demonstration and/or video series covering medical history taking, including major organ systems, physical examination and interpretation of clinical laboratory studies and data.

General Dentistry Lectures

Lectures including Preventive, Restorative, Endodontics, Periodontics, Prosthodontics,
Orthodontics, and Oral Surgery are given during the program year