Comprehensive Dentistry (General Practice Residency)

 The General Dentistry Program at the LSU School of Dentistry and affiliated hospitals in the LSU Health Care Services Division is a one-year/optional second-year hospital-based residency. The program offers a unique opportunity for an advanced clinical and didactic experience in a university hospital environment with additional training in the arts and sciences basic to a general dental practice. The objectives of the program are to educate dentists to function as part of a hospital team and to gain competency in diagnosing and rendering comprehensive and preventive dental treatment for the medically compromised patient. A general dentistry certificate as well as a moderate sedation certificate are awarded to each resident who successfully completes the program.

The primary teaching hospitals are the University Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (UMC) and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. Other affiliated teaching institutions are the LSUHSC School of Dentistry (LSUSD), New Orleans; the LSUHSC School of Medicine, New Orleans; LSU School of Dentistry Clinic, Baton Rouge; and Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System’s Dental Clinic, in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Rotations are scheduled through the departments of comprehensive care, oral and maxillofacial surgery, general anesthesia, emergency medicine and implant dentistry. Residents are also instructed in hospital protocol and organization. Comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care is emphasized, including extensive use of the operating room. Residents may also gain experience in teaching pre-doctoral students at LSUSD.

Appointment to the program is for a twelve-month period beginning July 1 through June 30, with a contract being sent after notification of acceptance. The second year is optional for the resident and the program. Residents must be accepted for a second year. A new contract is signed at the end of the first year for the second resident year. The program requires participation in the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). A personal interview with faculty members and a tour of the LSUHSC School of Dentistry facilities in New Orleans or Baton Rouge are usually conducted during October and November. Applications are accepted from senior dental students who will be completing their predoctoral studies or from graduates of dental schools recognized by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation and who have successfully completed Part I of the National Board Examinations and/or INBDE. Applicants are required to secure a restricted or full license to practice dentistry in Louisiana upon acceptance as a resident in the program (exam for restricted license will be scheduled at orientation).

All graduation requirements of a resident’s dental school, NBDE Part 2, and/or INBDE must be successfully completed by May 31 or the student will be dropped from the program. Any exceptions must be approved by the GPR Program Director.

The LSU GPR PASS deadline is October 1; all supplemental papers and the PASS application must be received by LSU by October 15.