About the Program

This postgraduate program trains residents to treat medically compromised patients in ambulatory and non-ambulatory settings. Students accepted into our General Practice Residency Program will find many similarities between our hospital-based program and those at other schools: Committed faculty and staff, solid teamwork, a good patient pool, with one very distinctive difference: we’re located inside the Meharry School of Dentistry. The intimate setting lends itself to more thorough resident training and individualized patient care.

Our General Practice Residency Program is comprised of 80% clinic and 20% didactic in a private, office-like setting where comprehensive dentistry is delivered. Residents receive training in a multidisciplinary setting that includes rotations in Internal Medicine, Anesthesia, Oral Surgery, and the Veterans Hospital Dental Clinic.

General Practice Residency Educational Philosophy

Overall Goals and Objectives

Eligibility & Requirements

The residency coordinator for the General Practice Residency Program at Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry currently manages the application process here. The Division of Graduate Programs participates in Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (“The Match”).

Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program
The Division of Graduate Programs at Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry uses the National Matching Services Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program for notification of program acceptance. Applicants must submit an applicant agreement to National Matching Services and obtain a registration number.

The deadline for registering with the Matching Program is October 1st of each year.

Each applicant and each program must submit a rank order list to the National Matching Services. Those rank order lists will be compiled and applicants and programs will be matched.

Required Application Materials
Submit the following directly to Residency Coordinator Office-GPR Program:

• Application for admission with recent passport-size photograph attached
• Dental school transcript and ranking
• Copy of National Board Scores Part I and II
• Three (3) letters of recommendation, one of which should be from the Dean of the Dental School from which you graduated
• Copy of most current BLS Card and/or ACLS Card
• Personal Statement, not more than two typewritten pages, describing relevant past experience, career goals, and reasons for applying to a Postdoctoral Program
• Resume’ or C.V.
• Supplemental Application – Campus Safety Questions

Application material must be received by October 15th of each year.

Rotation Curriculum

Internal Medicine: One month
Using the training gained in physical assessment, residents are expected to work up selected inpatients while on this service. Experience is gained in laboratory medicine and physical examination as well as medical risk assessment.

Anesthesia: Up to one month
Residents are assigned to the Department of Anesthesia to learn the principles and techniques of general anesthesia. Residents learn preoperative evaluation, IVs, intubation, maintenance of patients on anesthetic gases, and monitoring of vital signs. Emphasis is placed on the pharmacologic and physiologic basis for sedation and general anesthesia.

Oral Surgery: One- to two-month rotation, and on-going experience throughout the year
All residents take overnight calls in conjunction with the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residents. Residents are also required to accompany Oral Surgeons and Oral Surgery Residents to the operating room as the assistant surgeon. Residents perform surgical and non-surgical extractions, wound suturing, oral biopsies and other procedures, as dictated by the case.

Implant Dentistry
The curriculum in implant dentistry is composed primarily of didactic and some clinical components. Instruction is provided in diagnosis and treatment planning, implant selection, placement and postoperative care, restoration, and maintenance procedures. Placement of implants is done in the OMFS clinic with their attendings and residents. Residents are expected to develop treatment plans for implants early in the year so as to complete a simple case by the end of the year.

Training in Dental Specialties
The program includes didactic and advanced clinical training in all of the various dental specialties using modern dental technology such as intra-oral cameras, rotary endodontics, and CEREC direct restorations. The resident will experience essential training in:

• Diagnostic Sciences
• Preventative Dentistry
• Periodontics
• Endodontics
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Orthodontics
• Prosthodontics
• Geriatric Dentistry
• Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• Implantology
• Latest in Cosmetic Dentistry
• Medical Rotations
• Operating Room (OR) Procedures at Nashville General Hospital
• Emergency Care
• Didactics

Residents are required to participate in seminar sessions and journal club meetings. Residents are also required to perform case presentations. Seminar topics include specific topics within all dental specialties and are tailored according to the interests of the group of residents. Attending faculty are available during clinic sessions for opportunities to provide individualized educational experience.

Facilities
The General Practice Residency Clinic is located within Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. Three hospital facilities are involved as affiliates in the GPR program. They are the Department of Veterans Affairs in Nashville and in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as well as Nashville General Hospital. Each resident has the opportunity to rotate through these facilities.