Home • Students • Prospective • Postdoc • Pediatric • Curriculum

Clinical Experience

Residents will be scheduled to provide pediatric dental care on approximately six half-days per week. The clinical experience will be extensive in the primary, mixed, and young permanent dentitions to include: preventive care, advanced restorative techniques, pediatric oral pathology, space maintenance and guidance of eruption, interceptive orthodontics, and oral surgical procedures.

Comprehensive dental and behavioral management of medically, physically, and mentally compromised patients are experienced in serving the hospital-based population. Examples include compromising conditions of an acute or chronic nature such as hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, oncology patients, cardiovascular disorders, transplant patients, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, and mental retardation. Outpatient and Inpatient treatment of pediatric dental problems using general anesthesia and proper hospital protocol approximately 3 half-days per week.

Craniofacial Anomalies
In addition to the experience in the pediatric hospital dental clinic, the residents will attend pediatric grand rounds and the craniofacial anomalies team and the cleft palate, cleft lip team conferences.

Rotations

The residents will complete a one month anesthesia rotation with the anesthesia service of the University Hospital. This rotation will provide experience in the entire general anesthesia process including pre-operative evaluation and post operative appraisal and follow-up.

The residents will complete a 2 week rotation in Pediatric Medicine. This rotation will provide experience in medical histories, physical exams, selection of lab tests, and the implications of childhood diseases.

The residents will complete a two week rotation in the pediatric emergency room. This rotation provides experience with hospital policies and procedures and provides information on the physician perspective on emergencies particularly dental.

Teaching experience

The residents will serve as clinical instructors in the Predoctoral Pediatric Dental Clinic during the second year of the program on a one-half day per week basis.

Research

The residents initiate and complete a research paper including data collection and analysis. This paper will be presented or published in a scientific arena.

The didactic portion of the curriculum will be presented in lecture/seminar form. There will not be formal courses however frequently a series of seminars will be presented on a topic area such as pulp therapy, growth and development or preventive dentistry.

Biomedical Sciences

The biomedical science core curriculum is designed to present a broad foundation in the biomedical sciences upon which various pediatric dental subjects and training are based. The biomedical science core is developed around the Commission on Dental Accreditation standards. Didactic instruction occurs in regularly scheduled seminars during both academic years of the program.

Clinical Science Core

Behavior Management
Managing the child's behavior in the dental office is presented in a series of seminars. Physical, phychological and social development are discussed to identify age appropriate behavior. Non-Pharmacologic and phamacologic techniques of management are discussed including appropriate informed consent. Children with special needs as well as treatment under general anesthesia are discussed.

Craniofacial Growth and Development
The orthodontic faculty present a series of seminars covering mechanisms of craniofacial growth, development of the jaws and dentition, and clinical alteration of the growing face.

Prevention
Didactic seminars in the area of prevention include infant oral health, oral hygiene instruction, nutrition and diet analysis, fluoride therapy, sealants and preventive resin restorations, and periodontal disease in children and adolescents.

Pulp Therapy/Restorative Dentistry
Didactic seminars are presented on pulpal history/pathology, direct/indirect pulp caps, pulpotomy/pulpectomy, the amalgam and composite restorations, and the stainless steel crown restoration.

Orthodontics
Didactic seminars are presented on development, eruption, and morphology of teeth, space management, interceptive orthodontics and cephalometrics, oral habits, and minor tooth movement.

Other Topics
Didactic seminars are also presented on topics such as traumatic injuries, and radiology, examination, diagnosis, treatment planning, soft tissue diseases, and emergencies in the dental office.

Copyright © 2003 The University of Mississippi Medical Center. All Rights Reserved.

This page last modified on October 26, 2007