UAMS Gains Approval for Dental Residency Program

By ChaseYavondaC

Reese Lunsford, a senior dental student from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, conducts a dental exam while Nicki Carter, D.M.D., associate professor in the Center for Dental Education, observes.

The Center for Dental Education, in the UAMS College of Health Professions, received notice of accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation for its post-graduate residency program. Residents will receive 12 months of advanced education, providing dental care under supervision of faculty dentists to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the student-led UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center and the Harmony Health Clinic in Little Rock.

Creating the residency program was a goal of the Center for Dental Education (CDE) when it was established in 2012 as a hub for dental education programs at UAMS. The CDE also operates the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Oral Health Clinic on the UAMS campus, which provides general dental care..

“With such a high need for oral health care in Arkansas, we are pleased to move forward with a residency program that will expand the availability of dental care to more patients while giving recent dental graduates important and broad educational opportunities,” said William Slagle, D.D.S., director of the Center for Dental Education.

The CDE expects to begin interviewing residency candidates in April. Two dental residents will be selected to begin the program in July. The program will expand to six resident dentists after the first year.

Niki Carter, D.M.D., associate professor in the Center for Dental Education and residency program director, completed a residency herself after graduating from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry in 1988. The Arkansas native served a one-year residency at University of Louisville School of Dentistry Humana Hospital before returning to Arkansas to begin her dental practice.

“Completing a residency assists new dentists in the transition from academics to real world dentistry,” Carter said. “The education opportunities for dental residents at UAMS are multifaceted: dentists provide treatment of commonly encountered oral health conditions as well as preventive care in our oral health clinic. Specifically, we will train residents to provide care for a variety of patients ,including special needs and the medically compromised.”

“Clinic dentists also have hospital privileges and are available to provide consultations for UAMS inpatients as requested by physicians.”

In the UAMS clinic, dental residents will join clinic staff that includes faculty dentists, registered dental hygienists and registered dental assistants. In addition, the clinic hosts an externship for senior dental students from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry to UAMS for two-week clinic rotations.

The dental externship program began in early 2014 and was recently expanded thanks to a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas. Now as many as 90 dental students will visit UAMS between fall 2014-fall 2015, working in the clinic, at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center.