General Dentistry Residency at Hackensack University Medical Center
Welcome from the Program Director
Welcome to the General Practice Residency in Dentistry at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the leading health care centers in the state of New Jersey and the entire metropolitan area! Our program is the largest in New Jersey, with 18 residents representing, on average, 6-8 different dental schools per year. This diversity through comradery and teamwork promotes and enriches the educational experience as the residents work closely with one another to care for their patients in a comprehensive manner. Over 75 attending faculty, representing all disciplines of dentistry and an estimate of over 1200 clinical years of experience, offer didactic and clinical guidance which creates a robust environment of post-doctoral training. This professional interaction promotes career long networking opportunities within dentistry as many of our attending faculty are former residents, with myself included. Hackensack University Medical Center has extensive resources and provides vast interdisciplinary opportunities as the residents interact with their medical colleagues and other health care professionals providing comprehensive care for the patients. Clinical experiences include all aspects of dentistry and many areas of medicine while the residents rotate through the Anesthesia, Medicine, and Emergency Trauma departments. Another elective which is unique to our program is the off-site private office visitations.
Although our program has all of the benefits of a large educational institution, we try to personalize each resident’s experience according to their professional goals by enriching their clinical exposure to their areas of interest. It is our mission to create a rich, robust, and rewarding advanced training in general dentistry at the post-doctoral level.
On behalf of the Attending Faculty of the Department of Dentistry at Hackensack University Medical Center, I invite you to explore our program further as you continue to plan for your professional career and I am excited to discuss how Hackensack can fulfill your goals.
Program Overview
Hackensack University Medical Center is a 781-plus-bed teaching and research medical center affiliated with Rutgers School of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Hackensack University Medical Center is the largest provider of in-patient and out-patient services in the State of New Jersey and is the fourth largest provider of service in the nation; our nurses have made this a Magnet hospital. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of America’s fifth best hospitals according to health grades and is the only hospital in New Jersey, New York and New England to receive this recognition. They have also received New York Magazine’s best overall hospital distinction.
The Center for Dentistry at Hackensack University Medical Center is a CODA approved post-graduate dental training program for general practice dental residents, and an evening private faculty practice with experienced dental practitioners. After fulfilling their residency year, residents have the opportunity to apply for a position in the faculty practice.
Residency Objectives
The goals of the program establish for the residents an understanding of oral and systemic relationships in health and disease. It also trains the dentist to provide care within the context of total patient health. The training is also designed to develop the skills necessary to diagnose and treat the majority of dental conditions found in private practice and provides specialty referral when appropriate.
There are over sixty dental attendings, including all the specialists who provide both clinical and didactic training (lectures and demonstrations) in all phases of dentistry for both ambulatory and hospital patients. There is a full time Chairman and Program Director and a half time Vice Chairman and Associate Director. There are section chiefs for each of the specialties, and there are key restorative attendings and specialists who cover the clinic on a daily basis. The patient pool is composed of private patients, Medicaid patients and insurance patients.
The modern dental clinic has computers in each eighteen fully-equipped operatories and digital x-rays throughout. The Center for Dentistry also features a full marketing program and multiple websites.
Residents participate in rotations in anesthesia, medicine, emergency medicine and private offices. Residents also participate in Children’s Dental Health Month in February and in Oral Cancer Screening Month in April.