Academic Programs

POST DOCTORAL CERTIFICATE IN
PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

The program of advanced education in Pediatric Dentistry is designed to prepare specialists to cope with the oral health problems of children and adolescents.
 

The course of study runs for two (2) years beginning July 1st through June 30th, and may lead to a postdoctoral certificate and/or a master^'s degree, depending on whether the candidate fulfills the corresponding requirements.  Instruction and clinical practice are conducted at the School of Dental Medicine, Pediatric University Hospital and the San Juan Municipal Hospital.  Formal courses of instruction are provided in related subjects by means of seminars, lectures, discussions, and practical exercises.

Required clinical experiences include advanced pediatric dentistry clinic, special health care needs clinic, physical diagnosis and interceptive orthodontics.   Residents spend one month at the pediatric anesthesia and pediatric emergency wards and participate in the meeting and clinics of the cleft-palate team at the Pediatric University Hospital and School of Dental Medicine.   Extramural experiences include working with Head Start Program to provide dental homes quality for the pre-school children enrolled in each center, San Gabriel school of multi-disabled children, especially the blind, with a dental clinic on the premises to improve oral health care and extramural arrangements at Cidra Clinic (COSSMA) to provide residents with the opportunity to acquire an appreciation for the wholeness of the patients as a dental concept, together with an understanding of the community of which the patient is part. Experiences in the operating room and conscious sedation are also required.

Students enrolled in the program are required to participate full-time and may not work in private practice during the residency period.  Admission to the program is open to qualified graduates of dental schools accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and, under special circumstances, to graduates of foreign dental schools who intend to return to their countries of origin as teachers and/or researchers.

The structure and content of the Pediatric Dentistry program follows the guidelines for advanced education programs established by the Council on Dental Education and the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.  The program is subject to review by these groups so that graduates may receive the corresponding privileges.

The postgraduate program in Pediatric Dentistry is guided by three fundamental responsibilities of the University, which are: (a) the expansion of knowledge through research, (b) the dissemination of such knowledge through teaching, and (c) the application of resources to the solution of social problems and needs.

Patients are selected to provide students with a variety of clinical experiences in the areas of interceptive orthodontics, growth and development, syndromes, developmental defects and genetic abnormalities, as well as social and behavior management problems.

The outstanding strengths of the program are:

·    The availability and variety of a pool of medically compromised children with denta^l problems.

·     The availability and extensive use of medical consultation during treatment of these children

·     The comprehensive treatment of malocclusion through orthodontic therapy.

The varied backgrounds of the program's full-time, clinical sciences and basic sciences faculty make it possible for the dentist seeking advanced Pediatric Dentistry training to obtain a broad based education.

POSTDOCTORAL CERTIFICATE IN PEDIATRIC
DENTISTRY                    
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS: 43 TRIMESTER C.H. +
6 SEMESTER C.H.

Electives:

Requirements to fulfill master's degree:

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