"To Specialize or Not to Specialize, that is the question." As a dental student, at some time you are faced with this question. Many will tell you that going through dental school has a lot better quality of life if you go in knowing that you want to be a general dentist...none of this competing for 1st in class, no heart-break when you don't get a 100% on an exam, no loading up your schedule with extracurricular resume builders...etc. While on the surface this is true, there is more to being a general dentist than merely getting the "general idea" about dentistry. In my opinion a mere passing grade may get you through dental school, but I'd much rather have that 1st in class student down the road do a root canal on me than I would the guy who barely made a graduating GPA.
Where am I going with this? Well, I for one am not interested in specializing. I just don't think it would be compatible with the way I want to do dentistry. My personality type lends to wanting a little more variety in my work. Sure, Orthodontists make way more money than general dentists, but that doesn't mean I want to adjust tiny wires all day long for 35 years.
Besides, I like the idea of being more in charge of my patient pool rather than depending on referrals from other dentists. Also, I have a wife and three kids and am turning 30 years old this year. I want to land a job as quick as possible so I can finally settle down--so another three years to specialize seems a little daunting to me. Who knows if I would even get into a residency with all the competition? So as you can see, I'm almost positive that I want to be a general dentist.
Maybe you can relate to this. Maybe like me, you are looking to become a general dentist too.
If this is the case, I want to make one thing clear. The point I want to get to is that
--EVEN THOUGH YOU WANT TO BE A GENERAL DENTIST, YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST GENERAL DENTIST YOU CAN BE--
....and that's where a post-doctoral program may help you get a little more experience under your belt and give you that edge that sets you apart. These are the two main post-doctoral advanced programs that you will commonly here about:
-Advanced Education in General Dentistry(AEGD)
-General Practice Residency (GPR).
The American Dental Association gives the following summaries about these two options:
AEGD Programs
The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program provides advanced training in clinical dentistry and applied basic sciences. It is a planned, sequential post-doctoral training program specifically designed to meet the needs of recent graduates wanting to enhance their skills as general practitioners. The program is an advanced supplement to the predoctoral dental curriculum, not a continuation of that training. The majority of AEGD programs are one year. Several programs offer two-year positions with a primary objective of training academicians. Generally, AEGD programs do not have affiliations with hospitals, although they may be associated with a General Practice Residency (GPR) program that has such an affiliation. The major distinction between the AEGD and GPR programs is the emphasis that the AEGD program places on clinical dentistry in contrast to the emphasis on medical management in the GPR program. The specific objectives of the program are to enhance competence and confidence in the various clinical disciplines that are integral components of dentistry. AEGD graduates should have a broader base of knowledge and experience to facilitate judgments in diagnosis, treatment planning, and decision making during treatment. Completion of an AEGD program can assist in better preparing the dentist to evaluate patients’ total oral health needs, provide a full range of general dental care, and refer patients, when indicated, to appropriate specialists. The AEGD program also increases the understanding of practice administration through hands-on experience in this area. Per the ADA’s 2003/04 Survey of Advanced Dental Education, graduate training in AEGD programs is available at 44 dental school affiliated and 50 non-dental school affiliated programs in this country. There were 590 graduates in 2002/03.
General Practice Residency
The General Practice Residency (GPR) program in dentistry is designed for advanced clinical and didactic training in general dentistry with intensive hospital experience at the postdoctoral level. GPR programs provide instruction and experience in the delivery of care to a wide range of ambulatory and hospitalized patients. This training and exposure allows dentists to obtain privileges at local hospitals once in private practice. All GPR programs are sponsored by either a hospital or a hospital affiliated institution such as a dental school or Veterans Administration facility. Like the AEGD programs, the demand for GPRs has increased. GPR programs can be one or two years in length, the majority being one year. Both AEGD and GPR award a post-graduate certificate upon completion. Fellowships are sometimes available to serve as a third non-accredited year of training in a specific field of interest. GPR residents rotate through a variety of services including general medicine, general surgery and anesthesiology. Each program also includes advanced training and clinical experience in preventive dentistry, periodontics, restorative dentistry, endodontics, and oral surgery. Training in orthodontics and pediatric dentistry is desirable but not mandatory for GPR programs. A minimum of 60% of the resident’s experience must be in the direct delivery of oral health care to ambulatory patients. The remaining time may be spent in the operating room involved with inpatient services, as well as the emergency room. Time is also devoted to non-dental services, such as lectures, conferences, and seminars. Per the ADA’s 2003/04 Survey of Advanced Dental Education, graduate training in GPR programs is available at 25 dental school affiliated and 175 non-dental school affiliated programs in this country. There were 939 graduates in 2002/03.
(Advanced Dental Education 2005, American Dental Association, www.ada.org)
I hope that helps you get a little idea of an AEGD vs a GPR and how one or the other might help you sharpen your skills as a general dentist. Take the time to keep a competitive resume as you go through dental school. It will help you if you choose to apply to one of these post-doctoral programs...EVEN if you are "just going to be a general dentist."
-DW
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