Goal and Objectives
The purpose of the pediatric dentistry internship program is to train and equip dentists to become more competitive in applying for pediatric dentistry residency programs in the United States. The internship provides didactic and clinical experience to strengthen student intern’s application to an accredited pediatric dentistry residency program. The internship program is available through affiliation agreement only.
Description of the Internship Program
This is a one-year program during which the student intern participates in similar curricular activities as the first year pediatric dentistry residents in our department. The students will attend didactic courses with the first year residents and participate in presentations of journal articles in seminars. Furthermore, the student will participate in weekly case presentations and interdisciplinary dentistry seminars, as well as lectures by guest speakers in our institution. Clinical activities will involve hands-on contact with patients and working on pediatric patients under the supervision of pediatric dentistry residents and faculty. The student intern will be assigned their own patients, and will attend clinic sessions with the pediatric dentistry residents. Interns will rotate through our offsite clinics, providing comprehensive dental care to pediatric patients.
The student intern will learn and be able to perform diagnostic and treatment planning procedures, as well as provide comprehensive preventive and restorative dental care to infants, children, adolescents and special care patients. Overall, the combined didactic courses and clinical experience will prepare the student intern to be a more competitive applicant for acceptance into a pediatric dentistry residency program.
The student internship will start with one student in 2015-2016; this number may be increased in the future to up to 2 student interns, pending availability of faculty coverage and clinical space.
Internship Selection Criteria
The student intern has to have completed and graduated from a US or foreign dental school and preferably placed in the top 25 % of their dental class. The student intern must be fluent in English and possess reasonably good writing skills so they can follow and interpret records and literature. The student’s application must include the scores from the TOEFL examination, not older than one year. The director of the pediatric dentistry residency program will interview the applicants either in person, or if that is not feasible, via telephone.
Since the program involves patient contact, the student interns must purchase their own liability insurance from an insurance company in the United States. The minimum coverage will be identical to that required by º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ. Proof of health insurance is also required. If accepted into the internship program, the student intern will have to take training programs required by all individuals involved in patient care including HIPAA and OSHA.
Start Date of the Pediatric Dentistry Internship Program
The internship begins the last week of June, the same time as the pediatric dentistry residents begin.
Requirements for Completion of the Internship Program
The student intern’s performance will be evaluated by the program director and pediatric dentistry faculty using the following criteria: successful participation in and completion of didactic courses; successful performance of clinical activities and laboratory procedures; professional behavior with peers, staff and patients; strict adherence to guidelines for ethical and professional behavior required for interns and residents in our department and dental school.
Upon successful completion of the program, the student intern will receive a letter of completion of the pediatric dentistry internship program at the º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ School of Dentistry. It is important to note that this letter will acknowledge completion of the internship program only and does not represent full or partial certification of the student intern for pediatric dentistry specialty and it cannot be used to replace the first year of a pediatric dentistry residency program in the future. In case of unsatisfactory performance in any of the above mentioned areas of evaluation, the student intern will first be made aware of their deficiencies in a verbal communication and in writing, and the time frame for correction will be established. If the student intern does not improve in the area of deficiencies, the student intern may be dismissed from the program immediately, especially if the deficiency relates to unethical behavior, lack of professionalism or clinical incompetency.
The Benefits of the Pediatric Dentistry Internship Program
During or after successful completion the internship program, the student intern can apply for pediatric dentistry residency programs in the United States or elsewhere, including the pediatric dentistry residency at the º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ School of Dentistry. However, successful completion of the pediatric dentistry internship program does not mean that the student intern will automatically be accepted into the pediatric dentistry residency.
A student intern interested in pursuing pediatric dentistry residency training will have to compete with all other interested applicants and will be expected to follow the same application process as all applicants. The student intern’s credentials, including their performance during the internship program, will be evaluated with the rest of the applicants for that year and an interview will be granted on the basis of competitive ranking of all the applicants. However, due to a very competitive environment in the pediatric dentistry residency program application process, successful completion of the pediatric dentistry internship program does not offer student interns a guarantee of acceptance into an accredited pediatric dentistry residency program, including the º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ School of Dentistry pediatric dentistry residency program.
Application deadline:
October 1
Tuition and fees:
$48,000 as of 2017-2018, subject to change
Maria-Jose Cervantes Mendez, DDS, MS
Assistant Professor/Clinical
Director of Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program
Department of Developmental Dentistry, UTHSCSA
8210 Floyd Curl Dr.
San Antonio, TX, 78229-3923
Tel: 210-450-3504
cervantesmen@uthscsa.edu