Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is a busy, tertiary care teaching hospital that emphasizes quality patient care, education, and research. It services the tri-state region of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. CCHMC has consistently ranked highly on the U.S. News and World Report Best Children’s Hospital Honor Roll for the past 10 years. 

The pediatric dental residency program began in 1959 and was first accredited in 1967 by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). There is a long tradition of providing excellent oral health care to both well children and those with special health care needs. Outpatient care is primarily delivered in a state-of-the-art hospital dental clinic, completed in 2019. As a major safety net clinic, the Division of Pediatric Dentistry serves as the dental home for some of the most vulnerable children and adolescents. Annually, our clinicians manage over 37,000 clinic visits, complete 1,700 operating room cases, and provide significant after-hours emergency care.

The educational philosophy is centered on case-based learning using the best evidence available and is designed to train clinicians to be well-rounded, thoughtful, and highly skilled pediatric dentists. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on management and coordination of care for patients with special healthcare needs. Residents care for patients in a group practice environment that encourages teamwork. The clinical program is supported by an expansive didactic curriculum intended to promote critical thinking and an evidence-based treatment philosophy. At least six full-time, board certified pediatric dentists serve as faculty. Residents provide direct patient care in interceptive and comprehensive orthodontics with a board certified, full-time orthodontist and management of dental traumatology including regenerative endodontics with a board certified endodontist.

The first year focuses on the concept of comprehensive clinical care for the well and special health care needs patient and includes extensive experience with traditional behavior management, treatment planning, and care in the operating room. First-year residents provide after-hours care in the Emergency Department, managing orofacial trauma and infections of odontogenic origin. Throughout the first year, residents rotate through several services within the hospital and operating room, including Pediatric Medicine and Anesthesia.

The second year is designed to increase responsibility and challenge. Each resident serves two rotations as chief resident in charge of patient care provided in the operating room and in-house consults. Advanced clinical experiences, such as rotations as in the hematology and oncology clinic, the foster care clinic, the emergency department, and as an active member of the Craniofacial Anomalies Team allow residents to utilize their new skills to treat and advocate for these unique populations. Distinct to this program, second year residents rotate through a satellite clinic in Fairfield, Ohio to simulate a true private practice experience. In this setting, residents are responsible for managing a multi-chair clinic with a complement of dental auxiliaries. Additionally, second year residents obtain robust experience with sedation via different routes of administration, including oral, intravenous, and intranasal modalities. Intravenous sedation is provided five days a week by physician anesthesiologists in a general anesthesia suite within the clinic. The average graduate completes approximately 110 operating room cases, 30 oral/nasal sedation cases, and 110 IV sedation cases amongst a robust complement of clinical procedures.

The CCHMC Advanced Education in Pediatric Dentistry program has a proud history of graduating residents well-prepared to obtain board certification through the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and pursue a variety of career paths, including private practice and academics.

Interviews include a social event the evening before the formal interview. 

November 2-3, 2025

November 9-10, 2025

2025-2026 Resident Stipends:

PGY-1: $68,046

PGY-2: $70,279

PGY-3 (if previously completed a GPR): $73,212