What is a paediatric dental general practice residency?
Who offers the program and is it accredited?
Where does the program take place and where do the
patients that I will see come from?
Will I be able to do any rotations in other medical
disciplines and how long will they be?
Are there any formal teaching opportunities, learning
objectives and course requirements?
What is the length of the program, will I be paid and are
there any benefits?
How many residents are accepted per year?
What are the admission requirements and how do I apply?
A General Practice Residency (GPR) is an additional year of training upon
graduation from an accredited undergraduate Dentistry program. GPRs may be hospital and/or university based .
A paediatric dental GPR is an additional
year of training at a children's hospital that offers new dentists an opportunity to enhance and advance their clinical skills and training in the
area of paediatric dentistry. Currently, there are
only five accredited GPR program’s focused on paediatric dentistry in
The program is offered by the IWK Health Centre Dental Department
(IWK) in conjunction with the Division of Paediatric Dentistry, Department of
Dental Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry,
This one year program is a fully accredited by the Commission of
Dental Accreditation of Canada.
The program is run at the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie
University Faculty of Dentistry,
This program has a heavy clinical emphasis at the IWK Health
Centre where the residents receive comprehensive training in the
multidisciplinary management of all aspects of paediatric care required by
children in hospital settings. Residents
work with children of all ages who are medically compromised (cancer, cardiac,
nephrology) and those patients with neurological deficits such as an
intellectual disability (developmental delays, autistic spectrum disorder) or
neuromuscular impairments (spastic quadriplegia). Residents see many children
with genetic disorders and multisystem involvement and cases involving
interesting oral pathology. Residents participate in the Cleft Lip and
Palate/Craniofacial clinic and attend team meetings weekly.
Dental residents become competent in effectively managing the
fearful child, as well as providing treatment with sedation or in the operating
room. By the end of the year residents will have completed upwards of 30 - 50
cases in the operating room depending upon their proficiency.
Dental residents gain in-depth clinical skill in the management of
paediatric dental emergencies while on-call with a certified dental assistant.
An attending Paediatric dentist is always on call with the resident and
available to provide supervision if required. There are many traumas, acute
dentoalveolar infections and other emergencies seen at our hospital that
provide residents invaluable experience, extensive knowledge and clinical
skills in all aspects of management of these emergency patients.
As the program is affiliated with the Division of Paediatric
Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry,
This program is
an invaluable opportunity for the new graduate dentist to have extensive and
comprehensive training in the management of children and their families.
Residents complete this program with the skills and confidence required in a general
practice that treats families with children. Graduates of this program will have training and demonstrated competence
that will allow them to apply with confidence for hospital privileges at
regional health centres or community based surgical suites. Many of our residents are accepted in
a specialty program as a result of their advanced training; including pursuing the specialty of Paediatric
Dentistry through a formal training program.
Rotations are an invaluable part of the residency program. They allow residents not only to enhance their clinical skills but to see procedures that patients that they will see in clinic have done to help with the child's care. This will help residents understand procedures done by other services within the hospital and to gain an appreciation of the complexities of care and team approach for children within a tertiary care environment. Current rotations include:
Paediatric Anaesthesia - 3 weeks
Residents will have one-on-one training with paediatric anaesthestists providing airway management, intubations and IV management. This rotation will enhance the clinical skills required during sedation of paediatric dental patients in the clinic.
Are there any formal teaching opportunities, learning objectives and course requirements?
Residents receive a 3 day orientation to the program. For those residents who have not taken a didactic nitrous oxide inhalation sedation course they will receive this. Residents will be required to take the paediatric advanced life support course (PALS). Journal clubs will review relevant topics in Paediatric Dentistry through review of current literature. Case presentations will also be done by the Residents on a formal basis during the year
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program the resident
will:
As part of the course requirement for hospital/clinical
Paediatric Dentistry and Medicine, students will complete a case report for
publication in a peer-reviewed dental/medical publication. This case report can
be from one of the cases that they have presented. Residents also complete an educational
project as part of their teaching assignments.
The program is one year in duration and begins mid-June. Residents are paid a competitive stipend. There are 3 weeks of paid holidays, 1 week during the hospital summer closure, 1 week during hospital Christmas/New Years closure and 1 week to be agreed upon with the Program Director in respect of rotations and clinic schedules. The cost of the PALS course is paid for by the Department. There are no housing accommodations available through the IWK. Residents are required to pay their student license fees, Nova Scotia Dental Association fees and CDSPI malpractice insurance.
How many Residents are accepted per year?There
are currently two positions available per year.
The admission requirements are outlined in the admissions calendar,
Faculty of Dentistry,
Residents will require
a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or equivalent from a CDAC accredited or
reciprocal accredited institution. A
minimum “B” average in undergraduate and professional coursework will be
required. Students will have displayed
an interest and aptitude in paediatric dentistry in their undergraduate
curriculum as displayed by their marks in second and third year paediatric
dentistry and in the case of a graduate dentist fourth year paediatric
dentistry. Candidates will be required to submit reference letters regarding
their character and suitability for the residency program.
Candidates
must satisfy the requirements of the Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia for
student licensure for registration. Graduates of all Canadian and American
dental schools are eligible to apply. Canadian citizenship is an advantage.
Foreign dentists, other than
Application
A complete application consists of:
1.
Application
fee - $70.00 (Cdn).
2.
Official
academic transcripts for the first three years of dentistry, if applying prior
to the end of the completion of an accredited undergraduate dental program or
complete transcripts if an applicant has competed their dental program. These
must be sent directly from the applicant’s university.
3.
Two
letters of recommendation, sent directly by the referees.
4.
Results
of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) if your first language is
not English. A minimum TOEFL score of
600 or a computer TOEFL score of 250 is required. Where TOEFL is not available, the following
tests will be accepted. MELAB (minimum
score 90); and IELTS (minimum score 7).
5.
Curriculum
Vitae (current)
6.
Completed
Application form - Application forms can be downloaded electronically from:
http://www.registrar.dal.ca/forms/dentresidencyapp.pdf
Dalhousie University participates with all programs in Canada in a common notification date for acceptance. Applicants will be informed of their acceptance on November 30th of the application year.
Optional Application Material
The following are not prerequisites for a
successful application, but are considered helpful.
1.
Results
of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores, if you have not graduated from
a
2.
The
abstract from a thesis and/or copies of papers published or in preparation.
Deadline for Submission of Application Material
The deadline for receipt of completed applications (including all supporting materials) is September 30. However, due to the limited number of spaces available, it is in the applicant’s best interest to submit a completed application well in advance of these dates.
Where to send Application Material
1.
Send your completed
application forms and supporting materials along with the application fee to:
Registrar's Office
B3H 4R2
It is recommended that a hard copy or
electronic copy of the application and supporting materials be forward to;
Dr. Ross D. Anderson,
Chief of Dentistry
IWK Health Centre
B3K 6R8
Or electronically at:
Please
forward any inquires regarding this program to:
Mailing Address:
Dr. Ross D.
Anderson,
Chief of
Dentistry
IWK Health
Centre
B3K
6R8
Telephone: (902) 470-8678
Fax: (902) 470-8835
Email: