Pediatrics Program

Program Strengths

• Strong didactic and clinical foundation in pediatric dentistry with emphasis on pediatric medicine, hospital dentistry, interceptive orthodontics and conscious sedation.
• Demographically diverse patient population
• Large patient population
• Modern clinical facilities
• One month externships in different States
• Close professional relationship with the medical staff
• University affiliations
• Extensive training in the use of pharmacological/no pharmacological modalities of treatments
• Training with specialists in all disciplines of dentistry, including but not limited to orthodontics, special patient, oral surgery, periodontics , endodontics and dental anesthesia

Program Type

This is a hospital-based training program which upon successful completion of all requirements, the resident is awarded a Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry and meets the advanced education eligibility requirements of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

Program History and Description

The program was founded in 1994 in southwest Brooklyn and is fully accredited by the ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation. In 2003 and 2005, the Department of Dental Medicine expanded its pediatric dental training sites to include Providence, RI and Anchorage, AK respectively. In 2008 the Hawaii site was added. These sites have been CODA approved as clinical training sites for the LMC Pediatric Dental residency training program. Additionally, in 2010 sites in Arizona and Massachusetts were started and those sites will have a CODA Site Visit in the spring of 2011. This innovative program is a hybrid blend of a strong distance learning didactic curriculum with extensive clinical experiences. Distance based didactic learning is achieved through a state of the art Video Teleconference System that connects residents and faculty from a primary site of Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY with residents and faculty from Providence, RI; Anchorage, AK; the State of Hawaii; Tucson, Arizona and Holyoke, Massachusetts. Lectures are provided from all sites. The program places a large emphasis on pediatric sedation, pediatric general anesthesia and pediatric medicine. Graduates of the program are trained to be an integral part of the medical team and the hospital environment. Additional experiences are provided in hospital dentistry, sedation, interceptive orthodontics and special patient care, speech pathology, ethics and advocacy. The Department of Dental Medicine is part of the outpatient departments of a federally qualified health center (FQHC) within a Hospital recognized as a level 1 trauma center in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, NY; St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care Pediatric Dental Center in Providence, RI; the Alaska Native Medical Center/Hospital in Anchorage, AK; the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Care Health Center, in Oahu, the West Hawaii Community Health Center in Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii, El Rio Community Health Center, in Tucson, AZ and the Holyoke, Health Center, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The dental clinics are mainly within FQHC’s and the majority of the medical rotations are conducted in affiliated Hospitals.

Program Length and Number of Positions

This is a 24-month program beginning July 1 of each year, though a mandatory Hospital Orientation is the last two weeks of the preceding June. Twenty-four new positions are offered each year among six training sites. Available first-year resident positions at in each region vary in number. Annually, the program offers:

• five positions at Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
• four positions at the St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care, Providence, R.I.
• three positions at Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage, AK
• four positions in Hawaii with training at WCCHC and WHCHC,
• four positions at El Rio Community Health Center, Tucson AZ
• four positions at Holyoke Health Center, Holyoke and Chicopee, MA.

Application

The application deadline is August 2nd of the year preceding matriculation. The program application MUST be submitted through PASS and all materials MUST be obtained through them. Lutheran also participates in MATCH. Additional correspondence may be obtained through Dr. Silvia Perez-Spiess, Director of Pediatric Dentistry: sperez@lmcmc.com

Curriculum

This specialty program revolves around both the well child and children who are medically compromised, developmentally disabled, or victims of trauma. The curriculum emphasizes pediatric medicine and dentistry, the behavioral and pharmacological management of children, oral biology for the pediatric dentist, and general anesthesia. Graduates are well prepared to be contributing members of the health care team in a hospital environment or community setting. First-year residents study most of the core curriculum. In addition, the program offers course work in oral biology, genetics and craniofacial biology, including the opportunity at most sites to attend monthly craniofacial conferences. First-year residents are assigned multiple rotations including, pediatric medicine for the well-child care, general anesthesia, emergency medicine, phlebotomy and on-call services. During the second year, the focus of the curriculum is on the sick child. Second-year residents are assigned with pediatric specialists to work in areas such as endocrinology, neurology, pulmonology, nephrology, and cardiology. Residents rotate through nearby community health centers and Head Start programs to extend direct patient care to underserved children in the community. Brooklyn-based residents rotate to New York University College of Dentistry to teach undergraduate dental students. Second-year residents at St. Joseph teach undergraduate dental students at Tufts University in Boston. During the first year, a distance learning curriculum of structured lectures and learning activities occur weekly via live video teleconference. There are multidisciplinary seminars with General Dental, Endodontics and Dental Anesthesia Residents, as well as specialty-focused seminars. Biomedical courses include: oral biology, pediatric anesthesia, physical diagnosis, behavioral management, pediatric dentistry series, orthodontics, craniofacial development and research methods and materials. Clinical rotations to enhance the didactic curriculum include: pediatric medicine, anesthesia, emergency medicine, craniofacial, operating room, sedation and orthodontics. In the second year, the residents rotate through the medical subspecialties, including but not limited to hematology, neurology, endocrinology, cardiology and immune-compromised specialized care. Second-year residents also have the opportunity to spend a month at one of the other training sites. Residents complete a clinical research project, which is presented at the AAPD Annual Session and the Lutheran Medical Center Research Fair, leading to a publishable paper. The research symposiums throughout the first and second year guide the residents through their research. In addition, the residents have a teaching rotation. During the last few months of the training, the residents visit a number of private pediatric dental offices to gain experience in practice management and practice administration. Pediatric dental residents present cases and discuss treatment plans and options, via live video teleconference to residents stationed in extramural sites, including upstate New York, New York City, Arizona, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Rhode Island and Trinidad among others.

Competency and Proficiency Statements

Download the Pediatrics Competency and Proficiency Statement

Program Stipend and Tuition

First-year stipend is $54,303 plus fringe benefits. Second-year stipend is $58,137 plus fringe benefits. There is an additional stipend of $2,000 per year for the chief residents at each site. Fringe benefits include medical and dental insurance, prescription plan, $150.00 for books for PGYI, $1,000.00 for PGYII for course registration, nine holidays, four weeks paid vacation and paid sick days (accrued at 1 day per month) for a total of 12 days per year.

Facilities

• Lutheran Medical Center, Department of Dental Medicine and the Lutheran Family Health Center Network
• St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care
• Alaska Native Medical Center
• Waianae Coast Comprehensive Care Health Center (WCCHC)
• West Hawaii Community Health Center (WHCHC)
• El Rio Community Health Center
• Holyoke Health Center

Admission Requirements

• D.D.S. or D.M.D. from an ADA-accredited American or Canadian dental school
• Must be eligible for license in the States for which applying.
• Dental and pre-professional education transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation preferably from pediatric dentists/professors that know the applicant well.
• All candidates must be proficient in the English language
• PASS application, MATCH number
• Recent 2×2 photograph
• Personal interview