Postdoctoral

The postdoctoral Orthodontic program at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is a two year program which emphasizes the clinical aspects of the specialty leading to a Certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. The program admits eight students/residents per year. A majority of the student residents will follow the two year track. In addition, a student/resident may choose to take a three year track leading to a Certificate and a Masters Degree. This program is accredited by the ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.

The program trains students/residents in all aspects of orthodontics with an emphasis on the clinical aspects of the specialty in order to prepare the student resident for private practice. Areas of study include, but are not limited to, adult treatment, treatment of the adolescent, early and interceptive treatment, orthognathic surgery, TMD, cleft palate, dentofacial orthopedics and the correction of other dentofacial anomalies. The program encourages students to pursue further individual advancement in the areas of clinical orthodontics, research, teaching and other scholarly pursuits. The latest in technology such as digital radiography, digital imaging, digital diagnostic records, paperless record keeping, and photography has been integrated into the program.

With a Director of the American Board of Orthodontics as the Chairman and at the helm, great emphasis is placed upon training the students/residents with the values of treatment to Board standards. Thus, students/residents are well prepared to achieve Board certification. There are three full-time faculty members, one half time faculty member and more than twenty part-time faculty members. In addition, the program has visiting lecturers and a visiting research professor. All of the faculty maintain private practices in the greater Boston area and are well versed in the practice of the specialty. Students/residents are required to work along side each and every faculty member in order to receive as well rounded an education as possible and to experience as wide a variety of treatment philosophies as they can.

Each student/resident is assigned patients who exhibit a wide variety of malocclusions indicative of those seen in the private practice of orthodontics.

Courses

Biomaterial Courses

  • Biostatistics I
  • Bone Biology
  • Critical Evaluation of Scientific Literature
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetics in Craniofacial Growth & Development (Basic Principles)
  • Growth and Development
  • Head and Neck Anatomy
  • Medicine
  • Occlusion
  • Radiology
  • Temperomandibular Disorders
  • Principles & Guidelines in Research Involving Human Subjects

Department Courses

  • Cephalometrics
  • Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
  • Biomechanics
  • Occlusion Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  • Behavioral Sciences (Speech Physiology and Therapy & Child Psychology)
  • Implantology
  • Practice Management
  • Practice Administration and Risk Management
  • Clinical Orthodontics
  • Digital Clinical Photography
  • Digital Radiography
  • Digital Imaging Interdisciplinary Treatment Planning
  • Cleft Palate and Dentofacial Anomoliies
  • Biomaterials
  • Biomechanics
  • Clinical Thesis Paper
  • Orthodontics/Orthognathic Treatment Adult Orthodontics, Review of Orthodontic Literature Invisalign, Board Review
  • Laboratory Technique
  • Leveling and Aligning Typodont Course

Special Courses

Great Lakes Orthodontic Laboratories in New York is a one week intensive laboratory course in appliance fabrication. The Tweed Course in Tucson, Arizona is a two week intensive course in orthodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, and mechanotherapy.

The course of study at Tufts includes a background in the basic medical sciences and related clinical sciences applicable to the diagnosis and clinical treatment of patients with a diverse range of malocclusions. Daily seminars focus on case analyses encompassing the different orthodontic treatment modalities, as well as a comprehensive review of important current and historical literature. The department invites guest lecturers to supplement the basic course content, encourages students to attend outside courses to increase their overall knowledge in the field, and stresses research studies and technical exercises. All students are required to take Phase II (written) of the American Board of Orthodontics certification examination and to become Board certified upon graduation.

The department emphasizes the use of the Edgewise arch mechanism and its variations, such as the straight wire appliance, as well as other treatment modalities such as the Bimetric Distalizing treatment approach and the bi-dimentional philosophy. Students treat selective patients with removable and functional appliances as well as the new micro anchorage implant devices. The course of study also includes the diagnosis, analysis and treatment of analyze patients with combined orthodontic, prosthetic, and periodontal problems in concert with other postgraduate departments. Each student/resident is assigned patients requiring a combined orthodontic-orthognathic surgical treatment. The students also treat orthodontic patients with temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain disorders on a limited basis in conjunction with the GelbCraniofacial Pain Center.

Consumer Information for Students and Applicants

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