General Practice Residency in Dentistry - Applications due Oct 1st

General Practice Residency in Dentistry

VA Portland Health Care System offers a general practice residency in dentistry program approved by the American Dental Association and affiliated with Oregon Health Sciences University.

ABOUT THE PORTLAND VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (VAPORHCS)

The VA Portland Health Care System is located on a hillside within Sam Jackson Park and overlooks the city of Portland and the Cascade Range, including Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. This area is known as the medical and dental center for the entire state of Oregon and southwestern Washington. In addition to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the University Hospitals and the Oregon Health Sciences University Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing are located nearby. VAPORHCS includes a tertiary-care hospital located near downtown Portland, Oregon and the Vancouver Division, located near downtown Vancouver, Washington. VAPORHCS also operates eight Community Based Outpatient/ Outreach clinics which together serve the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area, NW Oregon, the central Willamette Valley, Central Oregon, and SW Washington State.

The Portland campus is a tertiary care, teaching, and research facility classified by VHA as a 1a complexity level facility, which along with the Puget Sound Healthcare system in Seattle acts one of two referral facilities for the entire Northwest Network VISN 20. Over 400 residents rotate through VAPORHCS each year in the various specialties of medicine and allied health fields. VAPORHCS and its satellite outpatient clinics provide over 218,000 outpatient visits annually. There is an active research program, excellent medical library, and a full-service medical media department.

DENTAL CLINIC FACILITIES

The main clinic is in VAPORHCS’s hospital building which opened in 1988. This 23-operatory clinic includes dedicated operatories for periodontics, implants, oral surgery, maxillofacial prosthodontics, and dental hygiene. Our Portland clinic was remodeled in 2020 with new floors, cabinetry, and xray units for each operatory as well as new surgical chairs and delivery systems. Additional features of our clinic include a new Planmeca Cone Beam CT and digital intraoral imaging, Omnicam digital intraoral scanners, Dentsply MCXL milling units, Valo curing lights, Dryshield isolation, Aseptico surgical handpieces, and a full service in-house lab. A dental operatory and assistant is assigned to each resident during their residency year, so that they can practice dentistry most efficiently. This arrangement provides valuable experience to facilitate the Portland VA GPR residents’ eventual transition to a private practice upon completion of their training.

We also have a dental clinic located at our Vancouver, Washington division of the Portland VAMC. This is a 12-chair clinic where each resident works for approximately 3 months out of the year in a block rotation. This site is located 13 miles north of the main hospital; no transportation is available for the resident between the two sites. Additional training and experience is provided at the OHSU Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, where the resident will attend courses and seminars. VAPORHCS has a comprehensive library containing over 7600 books and 660 journal titles, including a collection of dental journals. The libraries of the medical and dental schools are also available to the GP resident. Residents have access to online resources. The VA has an institutional license w/ Lexi-Comp.

RESIDENCY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The VAPORHCS general practice residency is a comprehensive post-graduate dental educational program designed to provide practical clinical and didactic experience. This residency is approved by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). We accept 4 residents each year into our program. This residency will provide clinical experience in all aspects of general dentistry as practiced in a hospital setting. In addition to refining skills in clinical dentistry, the dental resident will learn to manage patients with complex medical histories and how to communicate effectively with other hospital professionals in a larger scale hospital setting. A certificate is awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs upon satisfactory completion of all program requirements.

Clinical Dentistry Disciplines

1. Restorative Dentistry: Clinical work in this specialty provides the resident with varied experiences to improve his/her proficiency in operative procedures. This includes experience in composite/amalgam restorations, crown and bridge, and implant restorations. Lectures and demonstrations by the staff members on special techniques are presented throughout the year.

2. Oral Surgery: Oral surgery is one of our program’s particular strengths and residents can expect to gain a great deal of skill and experience during their year here. Each resident will spend between 1-2 days a week in oral surgery clinic under the supervision of our oral surgeon and full-time attending staff. Residents will perform extractions and be trained in surgical procedures in the dental clinic and the hospital operating rooms. Other than routine extractions, oral surgery performed and/or observed will include removal of impacted teeth, tori removal, osseous and soft tissue surgery, biopsies, and implant surgical placement. Some exposure to IV sedation will be provided including a didactic course and practical experience with the oral surgeon, however IV sedation is not a primary focus of our residency and most residents will not complete enough cases for certification. Residents will also perform a limited number of surgical cases in the operating room.

3. Prosthodontics: The resident will spend plentiful time in this specialty. The program is particularly strong in this field, as there are a great number of prosthodontic cases available. The resident experiences all phases in the fabrication of full dentures, partial dentures, crowns, bridges, immediate dentures, and special prostheses for patients who have undergone surgical removal of tumors of the oral cavity and face. Implant experience will be provided in treatment planning, implant restorations, and surgical placement.

4. Periodontics: Diagnosis, etiology and rationale of periodontal treatment are presented. The importance of follow-up home care and professional maintenance is stressed. Specific periodontal treatment is presented by lecture, demonstration and supervised treatment. Residents will be trained in periodontal surgical techniques by our staff periodontists. Experience in both emergency cases and management of chronic periodontal disease is available. Portland VA GPR

5. Implant Placement: Dedicated time is set aside for implant placement alongside our staff periodontist during Vancouver rotations. Residents can expect to place around 8-15 implants depending on interest level. Some additional legwork is required as residents will need to effectively coordinate the restorative/surgical workups and post-op appointments. Residents may opt out of implant placement if they prefer not to do the additional work, as implant placement is not a requirement for successful completion of the residency. Residents who have a particular interest in implant placement may also find additional times to place implants outside of these scheduled times.

6. Endodontics: The staff dentists supervise this specialty; at this time we do not have an endodontist on staff but our general dentists are experienced with all phases of endodontic treatment. We do occasionally refer out our more difficult endodontic cases to specialists in the community. We are also looking at adding a parttime endodontist to our staff but cannot guarantee if / when that will happen. Training in use of our rotary systems, lateral condensation and warm vertical obturation is provided. A microscope is also available for use. Residents will have scheduled endodontic clinic one half day per week.

7. Geriatric Dentistry/Extended Care: An integral part of the resident’s Vancouver rotation will be working with an extended care population consisting of a 120-bed nursing home, an adult day care program (about 63 active patients), a Rehabilitation Program (20 in-patient beds), a Chemical Addiction Rehabilitation Service (30 beds), a newly opened Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Program (15 beds) and a facility for patients awaiting liver transplants. The Dental Service also serves as a consultant for the home care program, and the Community Nursing Home program; both based in Vancouver. Upon completion of the extendedcare rotation, we expect residents to demonstrate increased competency in patient assessment (medical and dental), interdisciplinary communication skills, patient transfer techniques, and planning and dental treatment of these complex patients.

8. Consult Clinic: One half-day per week, residents are responsible for completing consults from other hospital services. These will include evaluations prior to bisphosphonate therapy, head and neck radiation, joint and heart valve replacements as well as severe dental infections, oral mandibular advancement devices for sleep apnea, and others. When not assigned to oral surgery, consult or endodontic clinic, residents will be treating comprehensive care patients in their own patient pool, however the schedule can be adjusted as desired to provide more exposure in areas of particular interest.

Off-Service Rotations

1. Anesthesiology: Eighty (80) hours are devoted to an anesthesiology rotation in the VAMC operating rooms. Residents will experience starting IV’s, intubation, and monitoring patients during general anesthesia. Resident will also help perform pre-op assessments with guidance from anesthesiology staff.

2. ENT: This 40+ hour block assignment to the VAMC Ear, Nose & Throat Service provides clinical experience in medical and social history, physical evaluation, examination and clinical management of a variety of ear, nose and throat disorders beyond the scope of a general dentist including management of dysphagia and Portland VA GPR malignancy.

3. Transplant Surgery: This 36-hour block assignment provides clinical experience in risk assessment, history and physicals, admission, discharge and care of inpatients and outpatients pre- and post- transplant.

4. Multidisciplinary Clinic and Tumor Board: This is an 18 hour rotation taking place over three Thursdays. In the morning, residents will join our maxillofacial prosthodontist (Dr. Joy Wang) in completing pre-radiation dental evaluations. In the afternoon, residents will join Dr. Wang and the Multidisciplinary cancer care team as they as they complete an in-person evaluation of cancer patients in which a physical and medical evaluation is performed, followed by a discussion of possible treatment options and patient education. Finally, residents will attend the tumor board at which all findings are presented and again discussed among providers to make a final treatment decision.

5. Community Service Dental residents will be involved in providing dental education and screenings for the Veterans in possible VA Stand Down services which take place in different locations at different years. In addition, during Cancer Awareness Week in April, dental residents will participate with Oregon Health Sciences University in providing Head and Neck Screening exams to the community.

Patient Population

Residents will be treating only Veterans – this does not include any family or dependents. The majority of Veterans treated at VA hospitals are fully eligible for comprehensive dental care. Some Veterans (for example, most consult patients) will be eligible only for focused care as needed to address dental issues that are impacting their medical condition. All treatment rendered is fully covered by the VA; patients do not bear any financial responsibility. This allows residents the freedom to treatment plan and deliver care according to the patient’s best interest and individual dental situation, rather than what their finances will allow.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Residents must meet the following requirements:

• Be a citizen of the United States of America

• Be a student in good standing or a graduate of a United States dental school which has been approved by the American Dental Association council on Dental Education

• Have passed the NDBE (part I and II) or the INDBE by matriculation date All qualified candidates will receive equal consideration without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, politics, marital status, non-disqualifying or mental handicap, age or membership or non-membership in a labor organization. Our Dental Service participates in the American Dental Education Association Postdoctoral Application Support Service, (ADEA PASS) and only accept applications through PASS. As of 2024, we are not participating in the Match program. To Apply for This Residency, Complete the Following by October 1st of application year:

• Complete an official application through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service: ADEA PASS website. http://www.adea.org/PASSapp/

• Submit required supplemental materials: o VA application for Health Profession Trainees (VA Form 10-2850d).

o 2x2 photo (please submit this separately as a jpg or png file, even if it was uploaded to your PASS application) All supplemental materials should be sent by either mail or email to:

Portland VA Health Care System Dental Service P-3-Dent A

TTN: Dental GPR Director

3710 SW U.S. Veterans Hospital Road

Portland, OR 97239

Phone: (503) 220-8262 x 52008

Fax: (503) 220-3442

E-mail VHAPOR-DentalGPRProgram@va.gov

If you would like to send this information encrypted, email the address above and request a secure email be sent to you. You will then be able to respond to that email and send your application in encrypted form. Applications will be reviewed in the order they are received; preference may be given to those applications submitted earlier. Interviews:

Interviews will be arranged by invitation from the Program Director once all your application materials have been received. These interviews will be scheduled in October.

For application and further information:

VA Application for Residents, VA Form10 2850d (PDF)

General Practice Residency in Dentistry Program Brochure 2025 (PDF)