Rochester General Hospital

     It is with great pleasure that I introduce to our prospective candidates of academic years 2026-2027 a new Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency training program at Rochester General Hospital.  We have full initial approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).  After their site visit in November 2021, they were pleased with our application, tour of our state-of-the-art facilities, volume, and breadth of procedures.  They felt strongly that a program in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at our institution met all their requirements with confidence.  

     The Mission of our new program will be to foster an environment of learning and cohesiveness as a team for our entering class.  The Vision will be to create and nurture young women and men to become exemplary surgeons in their chosen surgical specialty of Oral & Facial Surgery. 

     Our facilities are located in the scenic Finger Lake Region of New York State, Rochester is known as the cultural capital of Upstate New York and is recognized as one of the most vibrant cities for the arts, and music with its international jazz festival.  Because of our beautiful four seasons, outdoor adventures are in abundance, from world renowned golfing (#10 best in the nation), biking, hiking, fishing, and snow sports. 

     Our program will be welcoming two categorical and two non-categorical residents.  The program will be rich in didactic and clinical experiences, with the opportunity toward research and publishing which is highly encouraged during your four years of training.  Our faculty are all Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons by the ABOMS and each come from varied training backgrounds which will afford our new residents the broadest scope of training, with the culmination of Board Certification after residency.  

     I as your new Program Director I look forward to your growth alongside our exciting new program.  You will have the honor of being our third graduating class to guide and shape a Great Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program that I have no doubt in my mind will be the most competitive and sought-after training site for enthusiastic young surgeons in the future.  

Curriculum:

-Specific Rotations and Weeks per rotation

PGY-1- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (10 months)

             Internal Medicine (2 months)

PGY-2- General Surgery and ICU (4 months)

             Head and Neck, and Plastic Surgery (2 months)

             Anesthesiology at University of Buffalo total= (5 months); 16 weeks of Adult, and 4 weeks of Pediatric 

PGY-3- OMFS On Service (10 months)

             Elective Rotations or Research (2 months)

PGY-4- OMFS On Service (6 months)

            OMFS Chief, On Service (6months)

     My lines of communication are always open, so feel free to reach out with any questions for me or about our program.  We all look forward to meeting You. 

Dr. Thomas E Helfst 

 Program Director, Rochester General Hospital/Riedman Health Center 

https://education.rochesterregional.org/why-rochester/