Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Program is a one-year training program that is specifically designed to meet the needs of dental school graduates desirous of enhancing their skills as general dental practitioners.

AEGD Program

Residents will have the opportunity to choose from a wide array of specialty experiences including oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontology, operative dentistry, orofacial pain and radiology. Three residents are accepted each year into the program.

Upon successful completion of the program, the graduate can receive up to 150 hours of educational credit toward fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and may become educationally qualified to seek board certification by the Certifying Board of General Dentistry.

The AEGD program is accredited by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation. 

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Admissions Information

Application Deadline: October 1

Applicants must utilize the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) administered by the American Dental Education Association.

Click here to access the PASS application materials and instructions.

Application to the UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School is required prior to being accepted into the program. Applications are accepted on or after May 13. 

Supplemental Materials

  • 2″x 2″ photograph of the candidate
  • National Board results
  • Completed background check questions

Admissions Requirements

All prospective students must hold a DDS, DMD or equivalent degree from a dental school. The program is unable to accept international students or students with advanced standing at this time.

Admission criteria are applied equally to all applicants regardless of race, sex, color, national origin or religion. Minority students are encouraged to apply.

The Adams School of Dentistry does not employ “in-state” quotas; all candidates are reviewed on a competitive basis.

Tuition and Fees

The AEGD Program does not charge students for tuition and fees.

Residents are provided a stipend, contingent on the availability of funding, for the postdoctoral year which is paid on a monthly basis. For FY 2021-22, the annual stipend is $36,000. Regardless of the availability of financial support, teaching responsibilities are a part of the graduate program.

Stipend support is considered as taxable income and consequently subject to appropriate federal and state tax liability.

Benefits

Malpractice insurance premiums for all resident trainees are paid through institutional resources. This coverage only pertains to clinical care rendered in association with the educational program.

Each resident will be offered two weeks (10 working days) of paid vacation for the year of residency. These days may be taken at the resident’s discretion (vacation, sick leave, professional leave) once program responsibilities have been addressed and coverage by classmates, when required, has been arranged. Residents receive time off for all holidays observed by the university.

The Adams School of Dentistry is a nationally recognized leader in providing for lifelong learning. Residents are provided tuition-free access to continuing education courses occurring at the Adams School of Dentistry assuming certain contingencies are met. Access to continuing education courses is on a “space available” basis after paid enrollment is closed. The AEGD program director and the sponsoring department must approve the resident enrollment.

Curriculum

The primary clinical training site is at the Kernersville Veteran’s Administration (VA) Dental Clinic located in Kernersville, North Carolina (approximately 39 weeks) with the remaining time spent at the Adams School of Dentistry for didactic training along with specialty clinical rotations.

Didactic Training

Primarily utilizing the seminar format as well as the ability to audit formal courses, didactic offerings are made in the areas of physical evaluation, diagnosis and treatment planning, prevention, periodontics, operative dentistry, prosthodontics, TMD, dental implants, oral surgery, anxiety and pain control, endodontics, special needs patients, literature review, and practice management. AEGD residents are expected to take an active role in these presentations and in many cases will be called upon to lead seminar sessions.

Clinical Training

A major focus of clinical training is to enhance the resident’s ability to make judgments in diagnosis, treatment planning and decision-making during the course of treatment. Residents administer comprehensive dental care to ambulatory outpatients, which include the elderly, chronically ill, emotionally, developmentally or mentally disabled, handicapped, and highly medicated individuals.

Curriculum

First Year – Summer Semester

OMSU 720 Applied Pharmacology
DENG 707 Regional Anatomy

First Year – Fall Semester

PERI 820 Introduction to Implants

First Year – Spring Semester

OBIO 724 Diagnosis and Treatment of Orofacial Pain
PERI 821 Clinical Implantology

Please note, the curriculum includes seminars given by various expert speakers on selected topics throughout the year.

Contact Us

For questions, please contact:

Program Director, Katie Petrola, DDS: kpetrola@unc.edu