DMD Program

First Professional Degree (D.M.D.) Program 

In the current first professional or D.M.D. curriculum, the basic sciences are presented in the traditional manner during the first two years. In an attempt to bridge the gap between preclinical courses and actual clinical experience, a program referred to as the PCD (Preclinical/Clinical Dentistry) Program has evolved. In this phase of the curriculum, teams of instructors are responsible for teaching each of the preclinical technique courses.

The clinical sciences are presented through a series of courses offered by the clinical dentistry departments throughout the four-year curriculum. Students are introduced to clinical practice on a limited basis during the first year through clinical sessions concerned with screening for oral diseases, preventive techniques, and prophylaxis. A multidisciplinary patient management core course is offered during the second year, enabling the student to gain skills in data collection and analysis, diagnosis, treatment planning, and therapeutic modalities through lecture presentations and patient care.

The third and fourth years are devoted in large measure to the rendering of dental care for patients who present to the school clinics for diagnosis and treatment. This takes place in a variety of clinics within the school, as well as in extramural rotations. With the exception of special clinical assignments, a major portion of the clinical experience in the fourth year is based on the philosophy of comprehensive patient care. A comprehensive care patient is defined as one whose appropriate management involves more than one discipline in terms of diagnosis, treatment planning, and treatment.

Also presented in the third and fourth years are programs in physical diagnosis and medicine and in life support (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The program in physical diagnosis and medicine is designed to provide the student with the ability to acquire an adequate medical history from, and to perform a relatively complete physical examination of, patients under his or her care. The didactic segment and a portion of the clinical segment of the program are presented in the latter part of the second year; the remainder of the clinical segment is presented in the third and fourth years.

Finally, fourth-year students are given the opportunity to observe delivery of dental health care by means of a series of visits to the offices of practicing dentists in the state.