Texas A&M College of Dentistry

The college offers a postgraduate (certificate) training in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (OMFR). The program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and has been granted the initial accreditation. Eligibility for admission includes US and Canadian graduates from institutions accredited by their respective Commissions on Dental Accreditation or foreign graduates who are deemed to possess an equivalent educational background as determined by the institution and program. GRE is not required for this certificate program. The educational mission of the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology advanced education program is to graduate comprehensively trained students who will become proficient radiologists, competent teachers who are familiar with foundational research training and study assessment, and strong contributors to the profession.

Educational Goals

To prepare our students to be proficient OMR practitioners, it is expected that they will:

• Understand and appropriately apply imaging principles and clinical findings to select an imaging study most appropriate for each diagnostic task;
• Understand and appropriately apply the principles of image production, disease pathophysiology, and clinical patient management to proficiently interpret imaging studies of the oral and maxillofacial region;
• Critically appraise and assess the current OMFR literature;
• Organize and present effective and intriguing didactic, seminar, clinical, and laboratory teaching experiences, for students/practitioners, in the principles applicable to OMFR; and
• Collaborate in original scholarly projects.

The educational objectives of the advanced education program in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology are objective and measurable. The level of skill with which a student masters these objectives defines whether the student is competent or proficient. No student will be awarded a certificate of completion of the program until they have been found by the faculty to be competent in all areas of the specialty. While proficiency is traditionally considered to be the level of skill acquired through advanced training, it is the opinion of our faculty that while our graduates may appear proficient in comparison to dental graduates, true proficiency comes only with considerable experience and can only be attained in practice where experience increases diagnostic ability and productivity.

Educational Objectives

To achieve these goals, all students will:

• Acquire knowledge in radiation physics, radiation biology, radiation risk and protection, and radiologic quality assurance, and research methodology;
• Actively participate in the college's Imaging Center by interpreting advanced radiographic imaging studies on at least 100 patients, as well as planning imaging protocols and acquisitions;
• Gain experience in head and neck interpretation using multidetector computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and ultrasound, and nuclear medicine modalities in a hospital-based medical radiology clinical service;
• Participate in head and neck tumor boards;
• Acquire expertise in head and neck anatomy with an understanding of oral medicine, oral diagnosis, oral pathology, and oral histology;
• Comprehensively follow cases from clinical and radiographic presentation through direct interaction with referring clinical departments;
• Participate in teaching dental students in the undergraduate Radiology Clinic and present seminars and cases to faculty and other students;
• Participate and present cases in OMFR case conferences;
• Participate in OMFR literature reviews; and
• Conduct original scholarly project suitable for presentation at national/international meeting.

Each student will complete a standardized curriculum. The following is a listing, description, and length of required didactic and clinical courses available at the institution. The courses are intended to provide the student with sufficient foundational knowledge that when appropriately applied will allow the student to achieve the goals and objectives of the program.

Additional rotations are required. In addition to participating in the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Clinical Service at the dental school, each student will spend a minimum of three months in the Medical Radiology Clinical Service at Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC), which is immediately adjacent to the college. This rotation will provide the student with a hands-on knowledge of the workings of a modern, sophisticated, hospital-based radiology service in a level-1 trauma center in a major metropolitan city. The student will gain valuable experience in protocol selection, management, and interpretation of cases utilizing advanced diagnostic imaging services (e.g., CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, and ultrasonography). Students will also participate in Head and Neck Tumor Board (BUMC), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Grand Rounds, Orthognathic Surgery Conference, OMFR Case Conference, and OMFR Literature Review/Journal Club.

During their training, students will be under the supervision of graduate faculty, most with board certification in their various disciplines. The duties of students are supplied on the semester schedule enclosed. It is the departmental philosophy that learning is an active and often independent endeavor and the responsibility for learning and advancement lies jointly with the student and graduate faculty.

All applicants must answer the conduct questions found at the link below:

https://forms.office.com/r/aV3gLs1Y6i