University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine/UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside GME

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine General Practice Dental Residency Program is designed to provide training that extends beyond the level of pre-doctoral education in oral health care, utilizing applied basic and behavioral sciences. Education in this program is based on the concept that oral health is an integral and interactive part of total health. The program is designed to expand the scope and depth of the residents’ knowledge and skills, enabling them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups. The goals of this program are derived from the Commission on Dental Accreditation’s (CODA) Standards for the advanced education program in General Practice Residency.

Our program offers a unique opportunity, allowing you to choose from four residency locations with a single application. Applicants can choose to be considered for one location, several locations, or all locations. Applicants will be able to indicate their location preferences in a subsequent correspondence after completing the application. Each location will have three residents.

1.      Pittsburgh – in partnership with UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside

2.      Titusville – in partnership with Titusville Area Hospital

3.      Johnstown –TBD

4.      Bradford – TBD

The programs offer clinical and didactic training across a range of dental specialties, including endodontics, periodontics, implant dentistry, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral pathology/oral medicine, and patients with complex medical histories. Instruction is also provided in ancillary topics pertinent to dental practice, such as patient evaluation and physical examination, emergency medical care, treatment of traumatic dental injuries, inpatient care, hospital organization, and a multitude of other medical and dental subjects. 

Journal Club, treatment planning conferences, resident portfolios, and off-site local and national dental meetings are also part of the program content. Research is encouraged and supported but is not a formal part of the program.

All locations have hospital-based rotations in Internal and Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Oral Surgery.

Specific to the GPR Program in partnership with UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, the program will prepare each resident to:

·         Triage and treat a variety of emergency dental conditions

·         Direct and promote disease prevention activities

·         Manage the delivery of oral health care to patients with special needs

·         Provide referral-based consultative evaluations and treatments of patients admitted within the UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside hospital system

o   Surgical (Cardiothoracic, Orthopedic, etc.) clearance

o   Transplant clearance

o   Medical service and ICU/Trauma patients

o   Treating head and neck oncology patients

·         Apply concepts of patient management, practice management, and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment

·         Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams

·         Apply scientific principles to learning and oral healthcare, including critical thinking, evidence-based clinical decision making, and the use of technology-based information retrieval systems

·         Utilize the values of professional ethics, life-long learning, patient-centered care and adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in a professional practice

Specific to the GPR Program at the Regional Training Centers, individual location programs will prepare each resident to:

·         Plan and provide multidisciplinary, comprehensive oral health care specific to rural patients

·         Triage and treat a variety of emergency dental conditions

·         Direct and promote disease prevention activities

·         Manage the delivery of oral health care to patients with complex histories

·         Apply concepts of patient management, practice management, and quality improvements that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment

·         Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams

·         Apply scientific principles to learning and oral healthcare, including critical thinking, evidence-based clinical decision making, and the use of technology-based information retrieval systems

·         Utilize the values of professional ethics, life-long learning, patient-centered care, and adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in a professional practice

·         Understand the needs of rural communities at large and engage in community service

Program Director
Elizabeth C. Pawlowicz, DMD
G-32, Salk Hall
School of Dental Medicine
3501 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-624-6417
Email: ecp44@pitt.edu