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The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Program is a fully accredited one-year post-doctoral program in clinical dentistry with a didactic component in general dentistry. The primary focus of this program is to improve the clinical skills taught in an undergraduate dental school program.
The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) Program is a fully accredited one-year post-doctoral program in clinical dentistry with a didactic component in general dentistry. The primary focus of this program is to improve the clinical skills taught in an undergraduate dental school program. The clinical and didactic training and experiences are at a level of skill and complexity beyond that accomplished in a pre-doctoral program. The program currently accepts two residents per year. Each resident is assigned a modern, well-equipped dental operatory and a full-time chair-side dental assistant. The facilities and staff support all clinical, educational, and research activities of the program. Clinical and didactic instruction covers the range of dental disciplines, emphasizing practice management and care for the medically compromised and dentally complex patients. Approximately 85% of time will be spent providing direct patient care and 15% will be directed toward non-clinical and didactic activities. 95% of our patients are out-patients.
In addition, the individual resident can identify major areas of interest, such as specific clinical disciplines or research. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, residents receive a certificate in Advanced Education in General Dentistry. Duty, Leave, Stipend
Appointment One full year, starting approximately the first week in July (subject to change)
Clinic Hours 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday
Residents alternate, each covering every other week Monday-Friday
Annual Leave 10 days (vacation) Accumulates by approximately one day per month
Sick Leave Up to 7 days Accumulates by approximately one day every other month
Administrative Leave*Up to 5 days
*5 days of official leave may be approved to attend professional meetings and continuing education courses and to take State Board Examinations. Any tuition or travel costs will be the responsibility of the resident.
Dental Clinic: The clinic consists of ten fully-equipped dental operatories and one oral surgery suite. The clinic is equipped with a full complement of modern dental materials as well as a computerized patient record system, digital panoramic and intra-oral radiography, rotary endodontic equipment, and dental implant surgical and prosthetic equipment. In addition, located within the clinic, is an i-CAT cone beam CT scan for use with complex cases that require high definition 3D diagnostic images.
Hospital scrubs and long sleeve clinic attire are provided daily. The dental laboratory, patient reception area, staff conference room, bathrooms and locker rooms are located within the clinic.
Dental Operatory: Single chair operatory with digital intra-oral radiography, intra-oral camera, and individual computer station and monitor for doctor and assistant.
Dental Lab: In-house dental lab with a full-time CDT who provides a full range of dental laboratory support, except for RPD frameworks and porcelain/ceramic crowns (both are sent to outside labs).
Auxiliary Staff: Three full-time dental hygienists, eight full time dental assistants and one full-time receptionist.
VA Facilities: Togus VA Medical Center is a 67-operating bed facility with general medical, surgical, intermediate and mental health beds, as well as a 100 bed Nursing Home. Opening in October 1866, Togus VAMC is the oldest veterans' facility in the country. Togus is located approximately four miles east of Augusta, the state capital. The Togus campus encompasses 500+ acres of buildings and natural woodlands. The first veteran was admitted to Togus on November 10, 1866. The campus also has an indoor gymnasium (with a workout equipment and a heated pool), cafeteria, post office, canteen store, ATM machine, chapel and outdoor tennis court, basketball court, softball field and walking trails. Clinical Staff:
Dr. Nicholas Sirois, Program Director DMD: Tufts Univ. School of Dental Medicine, 2011 AEGD: VA Maine Healthcare Center, 2012 General Dentistry practice since 2012
Dr. John Coke, Assistant Chief of Dental Service D.D.S: Emory University, Atlanta, GA 1983 GPR: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 1984 U.S. Air Force Dental Corps, 25 years General Dentistry, VA Bangor CBOC since 2013
Dr. Heather Masters DDS: University of Maryland School of Dentistry, 2013 AEGD: VA Maine Healthcare Center, 2014 General Dentistry, VA Bangor since 2014 Dr. Myra S. Gay DDS: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 1997 AEGD: Ft. Campbell, KY 1998 General Dentistry: Togus VAMC 2017
Dr. Alex Gale D.M.D: University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, 2017 AEGD: Togus VAMC, ME, 2018 General Dentistry, Togus VAMC since 2018 Dr. Jennifer Miedema DMD: University of New England CDM, 2017 AEGD: VAMC Togus, ME, 2017-2018 General Dentistry, Togus VAMC since 2018 Part-Time Staff
Dr. Donald Bandy, DDS D.D.S: University of Texas H.S.C., San Antonio, 1978 GPR: General Leonard Wood Army Hospital, Ft. Leonardwood, MO, 1979 OMFS: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1992 Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 1994
Consulting Staff Dr. Michael T. Cwiklinski DMD: U. of Pennsylvania, Periodontics: Tufts University Private Practice, Portland, ME
Dr. Stephen Morse DMD: Tufts University, Periodontics: Boston University Private Practice, Portland, ME Dr. Todd Mellin DMD: Medical University of South Carolina Endodontics: Medical College of Virginia Private Practice, Portland, ME
Orientation Orientation to the program begins the first week. The resident is introduced to dental clinic policies and protocols, clinical privileges, computerized patient record system (CPRS) and other operational details of a hospital based dental practice. A Resident's Manual is provided to serve as a reference source for clinic and hospital policies and procedures and for information on dental materials and equipment. Goals and Objectives
The intent of the clinical program is to enable the resident to meet the following goals and objectives:
Didactic Program The intent of the didactic program is to complement clinical experience with the following:
Past Residents' Experiences The following represents an approximation of the chair-side procedures an average resident accomplishes in one year.
Comprehensive oral evaluations 50 - 75
Removable partial denture units 15 - 30
Surgical placement of dental implants 0 - 20
Implant supported crowns seated 5 - 15
Fixed units (PFM, FGC, Ceramic) 25 - 50
Periodontal surgical procedures 5 - 10
Applications Residents must meet the following requirements:
All qualified candidates will receive equal consideration regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or sexual orientation.
To apply to this program:
Tel: 207-623-8411 ext. 5304 Fax: 207-626-4741 E-mail: nicholas.sirois@va.gov
Deadline: Applications should be completed no later than October 15th.
Interviews When all application materials have been received, interviews and tours of the clinic and facility will be arranged by invitation from the Program Director,. These interviews are normally scheduled from November through early December.
Maine Resources: Official Website of the State of Maine * City of Augusta, Maine ** City of Portland, Maine ** *Links will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs Website. **Links will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs Website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked web site.
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