GPR v. AEGD

There are two forms of institution-based post-doctoral training for general dentistry:

• General Practice Residency (often abbreviated as GPR)
• Advanced Education in General Dentistry (often abbreviated as AEGD)

Both GPRs and AEGDs are a minimum of 1-year in length. Many programs offer an optional second year. They allow the new dentist to further hone his or her skills in most of the traditionally defined disciplines of dentistry while at the same time increasing one's speed and refining one's techniques. These programs also afford trainees the opportunity to learn from the attending dentists who serve a supervisory role.

While a GPR is a hospital-based program, an AEGD is usually not and the differences between the two types of programs are generally a result of this distinction. Both types of programs afford the trainee with a larger patient pool than he or she was exposed to in dental school; while dental students will typically treat 2 or 3 patients a day in multiple-hour-long sessions, post-doctoral programs are constructed so that trainees may see anywhere from 8-15 patients a day, or even more in a much faster paced setting.

GPR programs will often emphasize the importance of managing comprehensive dental treatment plans and adjusting them based on the patient's medical condition. During training, residents may be faced with the task of managing patients that require dentistry in a hospital setting due to a compromised medical condition.

Residents also typically rotate through various medical services within the hospital. The American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation requires a minimum of 70 hour rotation in Anesthesia Department. Residents must also receive supervised experience in primary medical care settings in order to effectively assess medical risks of treating dental patients.

These rotations not only increase the trainee's knowledge and experience, but also allows physicians, resident or attending, to see how dentistry and medicine are related, allowing for a better referral relationship in future practices.

GPR residents are required to take evening and weekend on-call and answer consults within the hospital. While on-call, the residents may be expected to manage head and neck trauma, facial infections and dental pain for patients reporting to the Emergency Department. The extent of trauma coverage may depend on the level of trauma care provided at the respective hospital sponsoring the program. Larger hospitals will provide higher level of trauma care. On-call back up coverage is provided to the resident through chief residents and/or attending dentists.

GPR residents may also become familiar with performing dental/oral surgical procedures in the operating room and managing the patient's stay while in the hospital. Rotation through the dental specialties increases the resident's ability to handle situations in private practice without referral to a specialist.

In both programs, the basic skills learned in dental school are improved significantly, preparing the dentist for a career in private practice or for a specialty residency program. Residents may work closely with oral and maxillofacial surgeons, allowing them to improve their skills in oral surgical procedures. Under the direct supervision of the oral surgeons, residents may expand their understanding of and increase their skill in third molar extraction, biopsy technique, pathology recognition and treatment planning in facial cosmetic and trauma surgery. Both types of programs will usually feature lecture series to further develop the knowledge that trainees received from their respective dental schools.