Dentistry and Oral Maxillofacial Residency

General Dentistry

The General Practice in Dentistry Residency (GPR) certificate is a one-year program that includes training in pediatric dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery and restorative dentistry. The program provides clinical, didactic and hospital experience at the postdoctoral level. The instruction and experience will prepare residents to meet the oral health needs for a broad range of patients.

The GPR Program is designed to provide experience in various phases of inpatient and ambulatory dental care. Each dental resident rotates through Anesthesia, Oral Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry, Perio, Endo, Operative Dentistry and Emergency Medicine. To complement the rotation schedules, residents are assigned "comprehensive-care" patients throughout the year for whom the resident will be responsible from the treatment planning and comprehensive care

In addition to clinical experience, residents will be exposed to a variety of subjects through didactic sessions including, but not limited to: GPR rounds, Oral Surgery chart and ward rounds, treatment planning sessions, journal club meetings, grand rounds and appearances by various guest speakers throughout the year.

The GPR program strives to create an environment which enables residents to develop their clinical and intellectual skills. The program admits ten residents per year. 

Eligibility

  • Graduation from an accredited American Dental Association or Canadian Dental Association dental school, and an expressed desire on the part of the applicant to complete a one-year general practice residency.
  • Must apply through PASS
  • Must be in the Match
  • Must have good grades in dental school
  • Must have three letters of recommendation from dental school faculty that describe the student in good standing
  • Must have passed part I of the National Boards and if part II has been taken, must have passed it
  • Must participate in a personal interview with the director, staff members and residents

Learn more about the goals and objectives of the General Practice Residency Program at Denver Health.

For further information concerning this program please contact:

Arielle Grub
Dental Residency Coordinator
Phone: 303-602-3504
Email: Arielle.Grub@dhha.org

Pediatric Dental Residency

The Pediatric Dental Residency is a two-year program providing clinical, didactic and hospital experience at the postdoctoral level. The instruction and experience prepares residents to meet the oral health needs of pediatric patients.

The Pediatric Dental Residency is designed to provide clinical experience in orthodontics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, restorative dentistry, and endodontics. In addition to clinical experience, residents will be exposed to a variety of subjects through didactic sessions including, but not limited to: biomedical sciences, behavior guidance, craniofacial growth and development, oral facial injury and emergency care, oral diagnosis, oral pathology, and oral medicine, prevention and health promotion, practice management, special health care needs patients, hospital dentistry, pulp therapy, and advocacy.

The Pediatric Dental Residency program strives to create an environment that enables residents to develop their clinical and intellectual skills. The program admits four residents per year.

Eligibility

  • Graduation from an accredited American Dental Association or Canadian Dental Association dental school, and an expressed desire on the part of the applicant to complete a two-year pediatric dental residency.
  • Must apply through PASS.
  • Must be in the Match. The application process including the Match program may be modified for the initial year of the program (2022).
  • Must have good grades in dental school.
  • Must have three letters of recommendation from dental school faculty that describe the student in good standing.
  • Must have passed part I of the National Boards and if part II has been taken, must have passed.
  • Must participate in a personal interview with the director, staff members and residents.”

Learn more about the goals and objectives of the Pediatric Dental Residency at Denver Health

For further information concerning this program please contact:

Arielle Grub
Dental Residency Coordinator
Phone: 303–602-3504
Email: Arielle.Grub@dhha.org

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency

Welcome to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program at Denver Health Medical Center. Thank you for taking the time to explore information on our Web pages. I hope you find this information to be a helpful introduction to our residency program, which offers training in the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery. 

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program at Denver Health is a four-year program that leads to the oral and maxillofacial surgery certificate. Two applicants are selected for the program each year.

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program is fully accredited and complies with the requirements as prescribed by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. 

The primary goal of the advanced Training Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Denver Health is to produce an oral maxillofacial surgeon who will be qualified to take and pass the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) Board Examinations and who will be competently trained in practicing this area of surgery. Competency will be demonstrated by meeting the resident objectives of the following clinical areas: oral and maxillofacial surgery, anesthesia, medicine, cardiology, pediatric medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, neurosurgery, surgical intensive care, otolaryngology, and plastic surgery. Residents will demonstrate annual Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Training Examination (OMSITE) improvement from their first to their chief year. Resident experience will culminate in submission of an original transcript in the chief year. 

Through didactic preparation, clinical experience, and hospital training, we are dedicated to developing ethical, state-of-the-art oral and maxillofacial surgeons with a strong sense of community service, who are committed to life-long learning, the pursuit of clinical excellence, and are able to interact with other health care provider to provide excellent patient care.  

Mark Glasgow

Program Director, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program

Resources

Eligibility 

  • Graduation from an accredited American Dental Association or Canadian Dental Association dental school, and an expressed desire on the part of the applicant to complete the requirements of eligibility for Certification by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
  • Must apply through PASS
  • Must be in the Match
  • Must have good grades in dental school
  • Must have three letters of recommendation from dental school faculty that describe the student in good standing
  • Must have passed part I of the National Boards and if part II has been taken, must have passed it
  • Must participate in a personal interview with the director, staff members and residents
  • If there is anything additional that is needed residency coordinator will be in contact with you

For further information concerning this program please contact:

Darlene Macias
OMFS Residency Coordinator
darlene.macias@dhha.org
303.602.8241

Pediatric Dental Internship

Internship Length and Number of Positions:

This is a 12-month program commencing on or about July 1st of each year. Four new positions will be offered each year.

Internship Application:

The Denver Health Pediatric Dentistry Intern Application is used and can be obtained by contacting the Pediatric Dentistry Program Director, Dr. Jeffrey Young, at Jeffrey.young@dhha.org; or the Residency Coordinator, Arielle Grub, at arielle.grub@dhha.org. Applications must be received by February 11th* to be considered for acceptance to start the Internship on or before July 1st.

Four interns are selected each year through direct application to the Denver Health Pediatric Dentistry Residency Coordinator.

*The application process may be modified to accommodate the shortened timeframe during which candidates have an opportunity to apply to the program.

Internship Description

The Pediatric Dentistry Internship at Denver Health Medical Center is a one-year program that provides focused clinical training in pediatric dentistry and dental care for patients with special healthcare needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in limited clinical experience for dental students across the country. Denver Health offers a well-rounded experience for those who are searching for additional hands-on training.

The Internship Program is NOT accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association.

Curriculum

The curriculum is divided into two areas: clinical and didactic.

Clinical Curriculum:

The clinical curriculum includes providing both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care for infants and children through adolescence, including those with special health care needs.

Interns will have the opportunity to see normal, healthy children as well as those that present with complexities related to age, medical condition, extent of oral disease and behavior.

Denver Health provides comprehensive oral healthcare that encompasses prevention; diagnosis and treatment planning; restorations including stainless steel crowns, zirconia crowns, composites; pulp therapy; extractions; and space maintenance.

Clinical experiences are provided in a variety of settings including:

  • Webb primary pediatric dental clinic

  • Community Health Centers

  • Medical Dental Integration in Pediatric Medicine Clinic

  • Operating Room

  • Emergency and Trauma Call

  • Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic

Advanced clinical training is provided in:

  • Sedation

  • Orthodontics

  • Endodontics

  • Periodontics

Guidelines and policies of the AAPD are reviewed and incorporated into discussions regarding patient care in the clinic.

Didactic Curriculum:

Evidence-based dentistry is also presented as part of the didactic curriculum. The program’s standard for providing oral health care requires faculty and residents to use critical thinking in both didactic and clinical experiences. Critical thinking when evaluating patient oral and medical conditions and health history will advance learner ability to consistently provide evidence-based treatment.

Interns will be exposed to a variety of subjects through didactic sessions including treatment planning seminars, literature review and lectures.

The lecture series provides in-depth coverage of multiple topics including:

  • Diagnosis and treatment planning

  • Restorations in the primary dentition

  • Pulp therapy

  • Treatment of toothaches and trauma in children

  • Infant oral health

  • Space maintenance

  • Treating pregnant mothers

  • Medical emergencies in the dental clinic

  • Protective stabilization

  • Nitrous oxide/Oxygen administration

  • Nonpharmacological behavior guidance

  • Advanced behavior guidance

  • Oral pathology

  • Special healthcare needs

  • Advocacy

 

Internship Facilities

Denver Health Medical Center is a not-for-profit, teaching, and academic hospital accredited by The Joint Commission. The Wellington Webb Primary Care Building is accessible for special health care needs patients. Patients currently receive care in the primary pediatric and adult clinics, the dental clinic, and other specialty clinics located within the Webb Building.

Denver Community Health Services (DCHS) is one of the oldest and largest community health center networks in the country. DCHS dental target population is all patients in the city and county of Denver.

The Webb Clinic at Denver Health is dedicated to care for pediatric and special health care needs patients. The Webb Pediatric Dental Clinic has 13 treatment rooms and 4 sedation dedicated treatment rooms.  With a fully established pediatric dental program in July 2023, this location will allow for care of more than 6,400 additional pediatric patients providing 11,600 visits in 2022 and an additional 1,600 pediatric patients and 2,900 visits in 2023. Pediatric focused hygienists would allow preventive dental care for 3,850 patients with 7,700 visits per year.

In addition, there are two facilities on campus that have fully equipped operating rooms with pre- and post-op care units.  These are utilized to provide treatment for dental patients under general anesthesia.

With a fully established pediatric dental program and pediatric dental specialty residency, admitting our first class of four dental residents in July 2022 leading to a second-year residency class in 2023 of eight total residents, this location for pediatric dental services will allow for care of more than 6,400 additional pediatric patients providing 11,600 visits in 2022 and an additional 1,600 pediatric patients and 2,900 visits in 2023. Pediatric focused hygienists would allow preventive dental care for 3,850 patients with 7,700 visits per year.

The potential is to schedule 1,248 patients in the OR with assigned block time and additional providers with the residency resulting in improved OR access and prioritization.

A new Outpatient Medical Center (OMC) opened in 2021 and is utilized by the Denver Health CODA accredited OMFS and GPR programs, as well as staff dentists, to provide patient care for adults, including those patients with special health care needs.

Denver Health maintains a Complex Care (Tier 4) team that supports about 500 children with the highest level of special medical needs, primarily in their medical home. The Complex Care clinic does comprehensive multidisciplinary visits once a week, in which five children usually attend, and often more as a consultation visit. Overall, about 20% of the pediatric population at Denver Health has some level of special needs, primarily in the area of developmental challenges. Denver Health also has a 25 bed Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); a 20-bed pediatric ward; an 8-10 bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU); and a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center.

Internship Admission Requirements

  • Graduation from a CODA-accredited dental school
  • Denver Health Pediatric Dentistry Internship application including transcripts and CV, three professional evaluation forms including at least one institutional evaluation
  • A personal interview if invited
  • An expressed desire on the part of the applicant to complete a one-year Internship Program in Pediatric Dentistry.

In addition, applicants must be eligible to apply and obtain a Colorado Dental License (Colorado accepts both WREB and CDCA examinations) by July 1st.

Internship Strengths

The Denver Health Pediatric Dentistry Intern Program is oriented to enhance clinical skills and knowledge in the provision of comprehensive dental care to children. This is best evidenced through the didactic and clinical schedules, which have been developed by a collaborative pediatric dental faculty group at Denver Health with robust backgrounds, skills, and experiences in dentistry.

Denver Health Medical Center’s dental programs treat a growing, unique population of more than 25,000 patients.

The pediatric dental clinic is based in the Webb Center for Primary Care where pediatric and special needs patients receive a variety of primary and specialized healthcare. The dental clinic is co-located with the primary care pediatric clinic and has established an effective medical-dental integration process. Resources and consultants for pediatric health care are available at Denver Health as well as Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. Denver Health is a Level 1 Trauma Center providing training and experience in management and treatment of injuries to oral-facial structures.

Denver Health CODA accredited Oral Surgery, General Practice, and Pediatric Dentistry Advanced Education Programs work closely with Pediatric Dentistry Internship Program.

Internship Accreditation

The Pediatric Dentistry Internship is sponsored by Denver Health Medical Center. It is NOT accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.

Program Faculty

  • Jeffrey Young, DDS, Program Director, Pediatric Dentistry*
  • Heather Jenkins, DDS, Pediatric Dentistry*
  • Scott Hamilton, DDS, Pediatric Dentistry*
  • Kojo Danso, Pediatric Dentistry
  • Laurence Colletti, DDS, Orthodontics (part-time)
  • Ricky Harrell, DMD, Orthodontics** (part-time)
  • Sean Whalen, DDS, MS, Pediatric Dentistry* (part-time)
  • Mark Glasgow, DDS, Program Director, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery**
  • Mark Berman, DDS, MD, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery**
  • Tyler DeAnda D.M.D., Interim Program Director, GPR
  • Robert Chavez, DDS, MS, Endodontics**
  • Brain Gurinsky, DDS, MS, Periodontics**

*Board Certified, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry

**Board Certified in Specialty

For further information concerning this program please contact:

Arielle Grub
Dental Residency Coordinator
Phone: 303–602-3504
Email: Arielle.Grub@dhha.org