About the Program

Program Highlights

• Didactic and research training in the Department of Community Dentistry, providing clinical care to underserved populations, on the SMILEmobiles, and in community-based clinics.

• Field experience in Oral Disease Prevention Programs – Fluoride varnish, grant-funded dental home programs, and others related to public health.
• Multidisciplinary collaborations in smoking cessation, research, and grant writing, with opportunities to work with URMC's Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Center for Community Health & Prevention, and the Department of Public Health Sciences.

Program Goals

This program enables dentists to:

1. Practice in the field of dental public health.
2. Obtain direct experience in the core content areas of Dental Public Health- administration, research methods, oral health promotion, disease prevention, and oral health service delivery systems.
3. Design, conduct, and lead dental public health and population-based research projects.
4. Acquire skills and experience in providing clinical care in public health settings.
5. Be prepared to pursue certification by the American Board of Dental Public Health and achieve diplomate status.

Program Outcomes

Upon completing the program, residents will:

1. Be prepared to plan, implement, and operate dental public health programs.
2. Be skilled in the methods of scientific inquiry and research, emphasizing oral health epidemiology and population-based efforts to prevent oral diseases and promote oral health.
3. Have a solid understanding of the process through which health policies are developed and regulated.
4. Possess the technical skills necessary to assume a variety of clinical, community, academic, and leadership roles in the dental public health field. Opportunities include settings such as academia, public health departments, non-governmental organizations and global health programs, health policy, advocacy and healthcare administration, and federally qualified health centers.

Graduates of the 2-year DPH/MPH program may also be eligible for licensure in multiple states practicing as a licensed dentist integrating preventive, community-focused, and population health approaches into clinical care.

Accreditation

The Dental Public Health Residency Program is accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) with the status of "approval without reporting requirements."

The combined 2-year MPH degree/DPH Residency program is made possible through a collaboration with the Department of Public Health Sciences (PHS). PHS provides a CEPH-accredited MPH curriculum that has a depth of required courses, breadth of elective courses, access to practical experiences, and a comprehensive Integrative Learning Experience (ILE).

Stipend

A stipend and resident benefits are available for dentists who have earned their DDS or DMD degree from a CODA-accredited dental school in the U.S. or Canada. Foreign-trained dentists who have completed a CODA-accredited 2-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry program in the U.S. are also eligible to receive a stipend.

Tuition Rates and Fees

Please visit our Tuition and Fees page for more information.