Innovative Courses for Foreign-Trained Dentists
For more than 70 years, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine has been offering the Dental International Students (DIS) program to foreign-trained dentists who wish to practice dentistry in the United States. Today, the program has grown to include twenty-nine months of coursework and clinical experience, including innovative courses in implantology and geriatric dentistry. Upon completion of the program, you will receive a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) degree and are eligible for licensure to practice dentistry in the United States.
Program Goals and Objectives
Each year, 30 internationally trained dentists join our DIS program, bringing valuable clinical experience from around the world. Students are prepared to meet the rigorous educational and clinical requirements to obtain their license to practice in the U.S. Students are offered an eight-month intensive introduction to U.S. dentistry practice before joining their third-year colleagues in our DMD program, gaining hands-on experience with patients in the school’s dental clinics and community service programs. Students participate in nearly all phases of the third- and fourth-year dental curriculum, including geriatric dentistry, implantology, craniomandibular and temporomandibular disorder pain management, nutrition and preventative dentistry, and dentistry for the handicapped. The program focuses on collaborative care and inter-professional education to develop teamwork competencies that are effective in health care delivery and research settings.
The 2.5-year program is split into three periods, each with a focus on a different aspect of dentistry. Although the specific courses may change or evolve to keep up with the latest best practices, the following list is a sample of curriculum covered in recent years:
Preclinical Sciences (Months 1-7): Dentures, Prosthodontics, Endodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Operative Dentistry, Orthodontics, Intro to Dental Clinic and Axium, Medicine III Seminar, Oral Pathology, Dental Pharmacology, Implant Dentistry, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Radiology Workshop
Patient Clinic (Months 8-12): Emergency Rotations, Practice Management, Radiology Rotation, Periodontology II, Oral Surgery II, III, IV with Rotations, Ethics, Prosthodontic/Operative, Occlusion, Geriatric Care
Patient Clinic Rotations (Months 13-29): Pediatric Rotations, Special Care Rotations, Public Health Rotations, Emergency Rotations, Oral Surgery
Students are expected to attend all lectures, perform all required clinical work, and pass all written, oral, and practical examinations. It is mandatory that students maintain high ethical standards and pay all bills by the due dates as failure to do so constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program. The Executive Faculty of the School of Dental Medicine recommends eligible students for a D.M.D. to the Trustees of Tufts College, who have the sole right to award academic degrees. Graduation leads to a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. Graduates are then eligible to take the clinical board examinations given across the country required for licensure in any state in the U.S.
At TUSDM, excellence is expected—and rewarded. Academic Honors are achieved by international students who place in the top 10% of the class and whose professionalism and character are judged exemplary by the school’s Executive Faculty. They include:
- Summa Cum Laude: Overall average of 93 with no grade less than 80.
- Magna Cum Laude: Overall average of 91 with no grade less than 77.
- Cum Laude: Overall average of 87 with no grade less than 72.
Similarly, the following awards are presented to graduating Dental International Students who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments as TUSDM students:
- International College of Dentists
- Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) Award
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