Goals in Individual Curriculum Areas

Patient Assessment and Diagnosis

Goal: To broaden the resident's experience and abilities in interpretation of findings from the history, physical examination, and other diagnostic tests.

Objectives:

1. Distinguish normal from abnormal anatomic and functional findings.
2. Recognize the presence of systemic disease and the need to modify dental treatment.
3. Recognize the oral manifestations of systemic disorders.
4. Recognize and evaluate chronic pain disorders.
5. Establish a differential diagnosis and recognize what additional tests are necessary to establish a definitive diagnosis.
6. Order and interpret additional tests needed to establish a definitive diagnosis

Planning and providing comprehensive multidisciplinary oral health care

Goal: To understand the role other health care professionals have in comprehensive care of the resident's patient and to be able to serve as the patient's primary oral health care provider.

Objectives:

1. Plan and phase dental treatment in a systematic fashion.
2. Provide all dental treatment needed for a specific patient at the level of a general dentist.
3. Recognize when a consultation with a dental specialist is needed and communicate with them to develop a proper treatment protocol.

Obtaining informed consent

Goal: To give the resident the understanding of the importance and necessity of obtaining proper informed consent.

Objectives:

1. Document proper informed consent in the patients record.
2. Understand the various components that go into a proper and complete informed consent.
3. Obtain informed consent for special needs patients.

Promoting oral and systemic health and disease prevention

Goal: To apply findings of biological sciences research to the prevention of oral disease and use current evidenced based research to educate patients on the relationship between oral health and system health.

Objectives:

1. The resident will work independently and with a hygienist to manage oral hygiene problems and educate patients on the role of oral health and systemic health.
2. The resident will manage patients with physical and mental disabilities complicating routine preventive measures.
3. The resident will manage pre and post radiation and organ transplant patients.
4. The resident will apply or supervise the application of fluorides, occlusal sealants, space maintainers, and mouthguards where appropriate among patients of all ages.
5. The resident will prescribe specific preventive strategies in patients with xerostomia and salivary gland dysfunction.

Sedation, pain and anxiety control

Goal: To evaluate and manage the apprehensive patient utilizing both behavioral and pharmacologic techniques.

Objectives:

1. The resident will utilize behavioral and pharmacologic means to reduce pain and control anxiety, including the appropriate us of nitrous oxide, oral sedative agents, IV sedative agents, and treatment using general anesthesia.
2. The resident will comply with the state mandated didactic requirements for conscious sedation, and will have the opportunity to comply with the state mandated clinical requirements to obtain light parenteral sedation permit in Indiana if desired.

Restoration of teeth

Goal: To increase the residents experience in restorative dentistry as an integral part of comprehensive health care for inpatients and outpatients.

Objectives:

1. The resident will be exposed to a large number of patients requiring restorative procedures, and gain significant experience placing amalgam and composite materials.
2. The resident will be able to appropriately treatment plan restorative procedures based on the patient's dental, medical, behavioral, and financial needs.
3. The resident will provide care for patients using esthetic dentistry material and techniques.

Replacement of teeth using fixed and removable appliances

Goal: To gain clinical experience in the design and placement of fixed and removable temporary, anterior, posterior, dentures, and implants all emphasizing function, esthetics, and durability.

Objectives:

1. Residents are able to treatment plan fixed and removable restorative procedures utilizing preliminary casts.
2. Residents are able to fabricate esthetic and durable temporary fixed and removable appliances.
3. Residents are able to prepare, take impressions, write laboratory instructions, and cement permanent crowns and bridges.
4. Residents are able to take impressions, bite registrations, prepare laboratory instructions, deliver and adjust removable prostheses.
5. Residents will recognize and obtain necessary consultations and treatment for patients requiring preprosthetic surgery to optimize function of removable prosthesis.
6. Residents are able to treatment plan and manage implant restorations.

Periodontal therapy

Goal: To expand on the principles and practice of periodontics and to enhance the resident's clinical skills in treating periodontal diseases

Objectives:

1. The resident will be able to recognize and develop acceptable treatment plans to treat periodontal diseases.
2. The residents will perform therapeutic periodontics procedures such as scaling, root planning and curettage.
3. The resident will receive instruction and experience in surgical periodontal techniques.

Pulpal therapy

Goal: To expand on and apply the current theories and practice of endodontics including pulp testing, pain control, single and multiple root therapy infection control, instrumentation, and closure with durable temporary restoration of the coronal portion of the tooth.

Objectives:

1. The resident will endodontically treat and seal single and multiple rooted teeth using a variety of techniques (rotary, hand filing, warm gutta percha, lateral condensation, etc.).
2. The resident will perform pulpectomies and pulpotomies as part of emergency management of teeth with irreversible pulpitis.
3. The resident will manage traumatic injuries to the detoalveolar complex.

Hard and soft tissue surgery

Goal: To gain expertise in simple exodontia and enhance clinical skills in more advanced oral surgical procedures.

Objectives:

1. The resident will perform routine and surgical exodontia.
2. The resident will manage post operative complications.
3. The resident will stabilize traumatized teeth.
4. The resident will stabilize alveolar fractures.
5. The resident will treat oral infections.
6. The resident will perform soft tissue biopsies when appropriate.

Treatment of dental and medical emergencies

Goals: To gain knowledge and experience in the management of dental emergencies and to enable the resident to recognize and appropriately respond to medical emergencies in the dental office.

Objectives:

1. The resident is assigned on-call to manage after hours dental emergency patients.
2. Each resident will be able to assess and treat dental emergencies utilizing the techniques of pulpectomy, extraction, incision and drainage, stabilization of traumatized teeth, and suturing of intraoral lacerations as needed.
3. Each resident will be able to prescribe appropriate medications for dental emergencies.
4. The resident will be certified in Basic Life Support and receive training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support
5. The resident will monitor vital signs when indicated and be able to recognize and respond to deviations in normal vital signs.
6. The resident will participate in evaluation and management of patients being treated for medical emergencies in the ER.
7. The resident will gain experience in appropriately maintaining an airway during OR procedures.

Medical risk assessment

Goal: To enable the resident to recognize the presence of systemic disease, modify dental treatment as necessary, recognize the need for consultation with other health care providers and respond to requests from other health care providers.

Objectives:

1. Take, record, and interpret a complete medical history.
2. Understand the indications for and interpretations of laboratory studies and other techniques used in the diagnosis of systemic diseases.
3. Interpret the physical evaluation performed by a physician with an understanding of the process, terms and techniques employed.
4. Write an appropriate medical consultation when indicated requesting detailed and relevant information.
5. Respond to consults from other health care professionals in an appropriate manner.
6. Conduct a physical examination of a patient's general appearance, skin, head and neck, thorax and lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, heart, blood pressure and pulse, and neurological and mental status.