The University Of New Mexico Division Of Dental Services in Albuquerque provides an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency as part of its mission to increase accessibility to comprehensive dental care for New Mexico’s underserved and medically complex patients. It also strives to serve as an educational model in clinical diagnosis, treatment, research and resources in caring for these populations.
The division developed a one-year postdoctoral Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency in July 2004. The program graduated its first residents in June 2005.
The residency program has many unique features. Most patient care takes place away from the medical center, at the Camino De Salud Residency Clinic, which has the look and feel of a private dental practice. The residency clinic also houses the Dental Ambulatory Surgery Center, where sedation dentistry is practiced. Residents experience aspects of hospital dentistry through inpatient hospital consultations, coverage of the emergency room and treating dental patients in the operating room.
The AEGD Program provides the best possible environment for dental graduates to further their education through providing advanced comprehensive oral health care to medically compromised and special needs populations. And, they gain this experience while living in a beautiful Southwestern setting.
The deadline to apply to the new Postgraduate Year 2 Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency is December 30. 2023. The program, which has two open spots, is designed to refine and enhance residents’ clinical skills to improve general dentistry.
Both our Postgraduate Year 1 and Year 2 residencies begin July 1. Students who have completed their first year of postgraduate General Practice Residency or the AEGD program are eligible to apply [PDF].
The Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency Program at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is looking for applicants who have integrity and good interpersonal skills – someone who is a team player, assumes responsibility and is reliable.
We evaluate applicant essays, externships or extracurricular experiences in general (or specialty) dentistry, letters of evaluation, general extracurricular experiences, public health experience or other work experience, GPR/AEGD/other specialty advanced program completions, publications, presentations and research.
All applicants must hold a DDS, DMD or equivalent degree from an accredited U.S. or Canadian dental school prior to admission to the program.
Prospective candidates may download an application from the ADEA PASS Application and Match Registration site. PASS provides a standardized format, relieving applicants of the need to complete multiple applications.
Material must be submitted by January 5, 2023. Late applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The AEGD program is open to graduates of American Dental Association accredited DDS or DMD programs in the U.S. or equivalent programs in Canada. Applicants must have passed Part I of the National Dental Board Examination and must pass Part II of the National Dental Board Examination prior to beginning the AEGD residency.
For the 2023-2024 application cycle, the UNM School of Medicine AEGD residency program participates in PASS and the Match. The program also does not require applicants to take the Advanced Dental Admission Test (ADAT).
The Professional Evaluation Form (PEF) is available in the ADEA PASS application.
The Professional Evaluation Form (PEF) is the mandatory letter of recommendation. It does not limit evaluators to a specific topic as special or unique applicant experiences can be highlighted. The AEGD program at UNM requires three (3) letters of professional evaluation. ADEA PASS will process the PEFs per designation.
The Institution Evaluation Form (IEF, also called the dean’s letter) is an evaluation of the applicant completed by the dean of the dental school attended. The completed IEF is then sent to every program a candidate applies to. Included in the IEF are NBDE scores or results, a narrative statement and GPA and class rank (if applicable). This evaluation is required for every applicant.
The Admissions Committee reviews applications and conducts interviews. We do not mandate a specific minimum grade point average or board score. However, a personal interview at UNM is required prior to admission.
UNM policies are followed with regard to resident selection. The Division of Dental Services considers all applicants for admission to its AEGD program without regard for ethnicity, creed, religion, handicap, national origin, gender or age.
Residency training rests on specific objectives and competencies at the Department of Dental Medicine at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. These objectives are used to meet the program’s goals. Proficiencies and competencies are tools that measure the resident’s success in meeting the objectives. Proficiency is a higher level of achievement than competency. Consequently, a resident can move from competency to proficiency in the course of the year.
These goals are assessed quarterly through multiple evaluations (both of and by the residents) and through an end-of-the-year questionnaire administered to the residents. Periodic surveys of recent graduates will also be used to supplement the data collected. These data are reviewed by the program director and faculty and if needed, appropriate action is taken to improve the resident experience.
This program intends for each individual to become competent or even proficient in each of the goals. It's expected that your clinical and didactic experiences will enable you to attain a level of skill and complexity far beyond that achieved in dental school.
UNM’s Advanced Education In General Dentistry residency program provides a one-year experience in general dentistry in outpatient clinics, the operating room and a hospital setting.
The program provides an opportunity and the structure to achieve these competencies, but it's the resident's responsibility to gather the documentation that these skills have been attained. Full- or part-time faculty members will complete most of this documentation on standard forms.
At the conclusion of the one-year program, each resident should have fulfilled a set of expected competencies [PDF].
The curriculum at the Department of Dental Medicine at The University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque includes required didactic and clinical core elements as well as elective assignments. Residents attend seminars as well as local continuing education programs offered by organized dentistry throughout the academic year.
We have created a 10-week Special Care Dentistry curriculum, which covers developmental disabilities, geriatrics, sedation and anesthesia, as well as hospital-based dentistry. Lectures, seminars, presentations, hands-on activities and other didactic coursework are part of this curriculum.
Residents will learn to treat patients with developmental disabilities and qualify to use the New Mexico Department of Health "Special Needs Code" for higher reimbursement through clinic rotations, sedation clinic, operating room rotations, seminars and self-study modules. The seminar will cover specific developmental disabilities, management of maladaptive behaviors, use of restraints and positioning devices, use of sedation, treatment planning, prevention and legal issues.
Residents will study the principles of geriatric dentistry and learn about the demographics and social trends of the aging population, clinical issues and treatment approaches for geriatric patients and pharmacological issues affecting dental therapy, while gaining an understanding of dementia in older people.
Will review pediatric emergencies, management of oral infections, recognition of abuse, behavior management, pediatric restorative techniques, recognition of dental malocclusion and space maintenance.
Residents will have clinical and didactic experience using nitrous oxide sedation, oral sedation and parenteral sedation techniques. The clinical experience will also involve treating patients under general anesthesia on an outpatient basis.
As part of the sedation curriculum, residents will receive training and certification in both Basic Life support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support during the residency year.
In addition to treating patients in an operating room setting, residents will learn formal operating room protocols, as well as the required gowning and gloving techniques.
Identify the critical steps for commonly used techniques in prosthodontics, understand procedures based on selected dental articles, share experiences and compare the clinical merits of various techniques.
The main goal is to allow residents to explore various topics in clinical dentistry in a problem-oriented manner, using Case Presentation, Journal Club, General Practice Presentation and Medical/Dental Interrelationships.
Critically evaluate the dental and medical literature, perform literature searches, use the computer in literature search, word processing and data management and lead small groups. This is CERP-certified for continuing education credit. Community dentists are invited to attend.
Use interdepartmental consultations to plan patient treatment, prepare well-organized case reports, speak before groups and understand the behavioral aspects of clinical dentistry.
The resident will learn to evaluate, diagnose and treat occlusal problems and how to evaluate the temporomandibular joint. This course combines seminars and clinical evaluation of patients.
To recognize and treat endodontic emergencies, diagnose endodontic problems and master filling techniques for single and multirooted teeth. To become familiar with rotary endodontic techniques.
The objectives are met through both clinical and didactic interaction. Seminars cover various issues in oral surgery, particularly the physical evaluation of a patient for surgery. This is followed by clinical patient treatment. Dental alveolar surgery skills will be taught, including surgical extractions, removal of impacted teeth and pre-prosthetic surgery. Additional seminars concerning surgical techniques are also provided.
This seminar will teach the resident to understand the differential diagnosis for orofacial pain. Neuropathic pain, headache disorders, muscle pain, disorders of the TMJ and oromotor disorders are examined. The pharmacology of pain management is discussed.
To teach residents about personal finances, types of insurance coverage a dentist should consider and dealing with debt. The series will also deal with the in and outs of practice acquisition, as well as types of practice arrangements.
The objectives are met through both clinical and didactic interaction. Residents will learn how periodontal status affects fixed and removable prosthetic design, understand indications and contraindications for periodontal flaps, learn basic flap design and management, understand the use of different types of bone grafts, understand guided tissue regeneration and understand how resorbable and nonresorbable barriers work.
In addition to the formal Patient Care Conferences, faculty meets once a month with residents in a group setting to conduct treatment planning sessions.
In addition to invited speakers on professionalism, the program uses the online curriculum developed by the American College of Dentists, residents will examine real-life situations to apply the principles of ethical reasoning, ethical decision-making and professional responsibility as they pertain to the academic environment, research, patient care and practice management.
This seminar teaches residents diagnostic and management techniques for various oral pathologies, oral mucosal lesions, and the management of patients undergoing head and neck radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.