Comprehensive Dentistry Residency

Director: CDR Joseph D. Molinaro

The Naval Postgraduate Dental School has been offering postgraduate courses in general dentistry since 1923. These courses have evolved into a 2-year residency program in comprehensive dentistry. This CODA-accredited program is designed primarily for dental officers with 1 to 8 years of clinical experience who desire to learn comprehensive treatment planning for complex cases, develop a high degree of proficiency in all aspects of dental practice, and prepare themselves to become future teachers and mentors. The curriculum also includes courses to educate dental officers in contingency roles, military leadership, and personnel management. During the second year, the graduate is expected to challenge the written portion of the American Board of General Dentistry and, if successful, the oral and treatment planning section the following year.

• NPDS - Comprehensive Dentistry
  • Location:
    • Building: 1 Floor: 2
  • Bldg is WRNMMC's "Tower."
  • Phone:
    • Main: (301) 295-0145
    • DSN: 295-0145
    • Specialty Leader : (847) 688-3331
    • Fax: (301) 295-0505
  • Hours of Operation:
    • Monday thru Friday 7:15 AM to 4:30 PM

• Visitor Center

The program unites basic and dental sciences in a formal schedule. Courses in the biological sciences are designed to update the dental officer’s knowledge in these areas, and the student is then expected to correlate the subject matter with clinical practice. The program provides time for study, research, and clinical practice. During the year, the dental officer is required to engage in a research project.

SECOND-YEAR PROGRAM

The second-year curriculum complements the first-year program and expands the clinical experience to 80 percent of contact hours. Board-certified specialists from each Naval Postgraduate Dental School (NPDS) clinical department are designated as consultants to augment the comprehensive dentistry staff. Each consultant has assignments in the Comprehensive Dentistry Clinic to observe and mentor residents during patient treatment.

The didactic portion of the second-year course consists of regularly scheduled seminars for literature review, clinical pathology, and treatment planning. Periodically, special lecturers and outside consultants are scheduled. In both the clinical and didactic portions of the course, NPDS staff members from each discipline are responsible for articulating the treatment philosophies of their various specialties and coordinating these philosophies with the concept of comprehensive dentistry.

Second-Year Curriculum