Education

Commission Grants Full Accreditation Renewal to Eastman Institute with No Reporting Requirements

Apr. 2, 2019

Eastman Institute for Oral Health has gained accreditation renewal without reporting requirements in all of its residency programs, indicating the programs achieve or exceed the basic requirements for accreditation.  

Residency program in General DentistryAfter a thorough site visit earlier this year, the Commission on Dental Accreditation, the sole agency to accredit post–secondary level dental education programs and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, granted approval in Eastman’s one-and two year Advanced Education in General Dentistry programs, General Practice Residency, Orofacial Pain, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics and Prosthodontics programs. The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program’s accreditation renewal without reporting requirements occurred in 2016.

resident in surgeryThe purpose of the site visit evaluation is to obtain in-depth information concerning all administrative and educational aspects of the program. In addition, the site visit permits a team of Commission-appointed peers to assess a program's compliance with the accreditation standards and with its own stated goals and objectives. The site visit verifies and supplements the information contained in the comprehensive self-study document completed by the institution. Information provided in the self-study is confirmed, documentation is reviewed, interviews are conducted and the program is observed by the visiting committee.

Dr. Eli Eliav“Our faculty and staff work very hard year round to provide outstanding training for our residents,” said Eli Eliav, DMD, PhD, professor and director, Eastman Institute for Oral Health. “CODA’s approval without reporting requirements confirms the team’s efforts to provide exceptional post-doctoral education in all of our programs.”

Graduation from an accredited program is almost always stipulated by state law and is an eligibility requirement for government funding, licensure and/or certification examinations. Accreditation assures program participants that the approval was given by an independent, reliable and credible organization with the U.S. Department of Education’s approval.

Dr. Jack CatonProfessor Jack Caton, DDS, MS, EIOH associate director for Education and chair of its Periodontics residency program, previously served as a commissioner with CODA and is currently a consultant who participates in site visits at schools outside of New York.

“I have never been to a school where all the programs passed without deficiencies,” said Dr. Caton. “Not only am I very proud of this CODA report, but we have a fabulous group of both seasoned and young program directors who have tremendous support from their chairs and Dr. Eliav.”

CODA formally evaluates accredited programs every seven years, and programs in oral and maxillofacial surgery are conducted every five years. Its mission is to serve the oral health care needs of the public through developing and administering standards that foster continuous quality improvement of educational programs.