Dental Public Health Residency Program

Seven people posing for a photo in front of a Tufts School of Dental Medicine backdrop

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine’s innovative Dental Public Health Residency is a 2-year program that offers advanced training in the art and science of dental public health as well as in the practice of clinical dentistry in community health settings.

Program Goals

To provide residents with in-depth knowledge of the principles of Dental Public Health
To equip residents with competencies and skills to analyze complex public health problems in the community and to plan, design, implement and evaluate community-based interventions to address the problems
To prepare residents for leadership positions in academia, community health, government, or public health agencies
To develop the residents’ research skills, to introduce them to the principles of scientific writing and to guide them in scientific presentations and publications

Program Overview

Two years full time (24 months).
Tuition based program.
Includes didactic, research, field/community service and clinical experience in both years of the program.
Certificate in Dental Public Health awarded upon completion of the program requirements.
Residents will be eligible to take the ABDPH board examination in the last term of year 2 and will be eligible to certify to become Diplomates of the ABDPH.

Training Overview

This innovative 2-year program includes:

Advanced didactic, research, clinical and field trainings.
Advanced instruction in oral epidemiology and dental public health focusing on topics that enhance clinical, research and field trainings in dynamic and collaborative settings.
Didactic training in research methods and mentored opportunities to conduct research that is aligned with dental public health principles within one or more of the ten dental public health competencies.
Clinical experience in comprehensive primary oral health care, managing dental emergencies, and collaborating with interprofessional teams that care for underserved communities including those with special health care needs.
Residents will be able to develop the skills, competencies and experiences that build confidence to work and to lead dental public health safety net clinics.
Residents will complete clinical rotations at Tufts Special Care Dental Clinics and at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, a community-based hospital.
Residents will complete supervised field experiences to practice the application of dental public health principles through planning public health programs; assessing current needs; addressing gaps in care, workforce or in access; and designing innovative solutions to address and manage a specific community health problem through community health projects.
Residents will complete rotations at the school-based dental clinic at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School.

Program Eligibility

The following candidates are eligible to apply.

Required: Dentists with DMD/DDS or a foreign equivalent dental degree such as BDS
Preferred: Graduate level training in general public health from an accredited university in the United States or Canada (ie, Masters in Public Health (MPH); or Masters of Science (MS) with a concentration in a topic related to general public health).