The General Practice (Dentistry) Residency Program at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center demonstrates that dentistry is truly an important part of primary care medicine.

Fully approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, it illustrates that successful treatment of diseases of the oral cavity impacts directly on the status of other body systems.  The program gives the new graduate a greater insight into the complex mechanisms of the human body through opportunities to work with professional colleagues and to experience and discuss the interrelationships of medicine and dentistry. The residency is housed in a teaching hospital, which has a strong commitment to medical and dental education.

Residents receive a broad experience in all of the specialty areas-from pediatric to geriatric dentistry-that will enable them to treat most patients who present to their offices. The General Practice Residency Program provides residents with hands-on training in the newly renovated Dental Office, which is equipped with seven operatories. Approximately 150 patients visit the Dental Office at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center each week.


The faculty, comprised of dental practitioners from the Central New York dental community, teach and supervise residents. Attendings precept during all operating hours. The Residency Program Director, who oversees the program, is responsible to the Director of Medical Education at St. Joseph's Hospital. The program also employs a clinical coordinator and a full  staff.

Program Goals and Objectives

The philosophy of the General Practice Residency Program is to prepare residents for the general practice of dentistry in which they care for the patient's total needs in an efficient and effective manner as part of the patient's "primary care team." The training enables residents to provide their patients with comprehensive care including:

• organic and behavioral aspects of disease prevention
• dental health maintenance
• early disease prevention
• crisis care
• chronic care
• rehabilitation

Residents are given experience in the treatment of medically compromised patients and exposure to the field of hospital dentistry, including operating room and emergency procedures. Residents will gain self-confidence, improve their diagnostic skill, increase speed of treatment and sharpen their all-around clinical abilities through exposure to techniques and modalities that may not have been completely addressed in predoctoral programs.

The purpose of exposure to each discipline is not to present a definite course in a special area. It is intended to give residents increased insight into the diagnosis and treatment of each area in order that they can place the disciplines into their proper perspective of comprehensive care as part of the primary care team.   Residents will gain sufficient knowledge and experience in order that they can comfortably fulfill the role of a member of the dental profession and participate in all of the activities related to the delivery of total patient care, whether in private practice or as a member of a hospital medical staff.

The Curriculum
The Dental Office is sub-divided into the various ADA recognized discipline areas.  In addition, there are sections on dentistry for special patients under general anesthesia and diagnostic sciences. Hours of formal lectures will be presented from the varied disciplines in the Dental Office. Literature Reviews are held on a regular basis. Sometime during the year, each resident will present a formal treatment plan before the dental staff. The plan must include slides, radiographs, study casts, etc.  Because it is impossible to detail all phases of dentistry, only basic materials and philosophies will be presented formally.   The bulk of educational instruction and guidance will be at chairside. 

Each resident will spend

• two weeks in anesthesiology
• one week in the emergency department
• two weeks in Family Practice/Physical Diagnosis

In addition to the dental didactic and clinical hours, assignments will be made to various other services in the hospital to help broaden medical knowledge.  A rotational on-call for evenings and weekends has been established for the Dental Office and the hospital's emergency department. Residents take call at home via a pager.  Patients are accepted for total dental care, from diagnosis and treatment planning through final restorative procedures.

Benefits
We offer a benefit package second to none, including

• A very attractive salary in a low cost of living area
• Two weeks of paid, annual vacation

For more information about St. Joseph's Hospital General Practice Residency Program call (315) 448-5536 or email Dr. Mayne (richard.mayne@sjhsyr.org). St. Joseph's participates in both PASS and the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program

ADEA
This program is participating in American Dental Education Association - Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS)