PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

Christopher V. Hughes, DMD, PhD, Chair
Wendy Cheney, BDSc, DMD, Program Director

Pediatric Dentistry is an age-defined specialty that provides both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care for infants and children through adolescence, including children with special health care needs.

The Department of Pediatric Dentistry offers courses leading to a CAGS in Pediatric Dentistry, an MSD in Pediatric Dentistry, or a DScD in Pediatric Dentistry.

Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Pediatric Dentistry

The CAGS curriculum is structured according to the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation's Requirements for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Pediatric Dentistry. The program is fully accredited by the commission.

The primary goal of the CAGS in pediatric dentistry is to prepare dentists to become specialists who are proficient in providing both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care to infants and children through adolescence, including children with special health care needs. In addition, the curriculum is designed to prepare students wishing to pursue a career in research or teaching in pediatric dentistry.

The CAGS in pediatric dentistry at Boston University is a 24-month, university-based, postgraduate program. In addition to the university-based component, significant hospital and community-based clinical experience is gained at Boston Medical Center, Franciscan Hospital for Children, and East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.

Affiliated Institutions

Boston Medical Center is the major teaching hospital associated with Boston University. The pediatric section of the Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery provides comprehensive services for children and adolescents up to the age of fourteen on an outpatient basis, inpatient consultant basis, and in the operating room under general anesthesia.

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center provides comprehensive health care services to the local community. The dental department provides services for pediatric and adolescent patients on an outpatient basis only.

Franciscan Hospital for Children provides rehabilitative and acute inpatient care, ambulatory services, residential treatment, child-care services, and special education for infants, children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities. Other services include primary care, medical and surgical services, and urgent care for children with disabilities and for children from the local community. The Department of Dentistry provides services for both inpatients and outpatients in a modern nine-chair facility and in a three-room state-of-the-art operating suite.

Curriculum

Year 1

SDM OB 761 Oral Microbiology 1 cr, 2nd sem.
SDM OB 830 Research Writing 2 cr, 1st sem.
SDM OS 831 Head and Neck Anatomy 1 cr, 1st sem.
SDM PH 763 Bioethics and the Law .5 cr, 2nd sem.
SDM PH 803 Biostatistics 2 cr, 1st sem.
SDM PA 801 Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology 2 cr, 1st sem.
SDM PD 802 Fundamentals of Pediatric Dentistry 3 cr, 1st sem.
SDM PD 822 Advanced Seminar in Pediatric Dentistry 4 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.
SDM PD 832 Growth and Development 1/2 cr, 1st sem.
SDM PD 911 Clinical Pediatric Dentistry 10 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.
SDM PD 918 Clinical Anesthesia 1 cr, 1st or 2nd sem.
SDM PD 922 Clinical Oral Surgery 1 cr, 1st or 2nd sem.
SDM PD 981 Research in Pediatric Dentistry 2 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.

An additional 2.5 credits from the Interdisciplinary Curriculum is required. These courses are taken on an elective basis and must be approved by the program director.

Year 2

SDM PD 808 Orthodontics for Pediatric Dentists 1 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 824 Advanced Case Presentations in Pediatric Dentistry 4 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 823 Advanced Seminar in Pediatric Dentistry 4 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 982 Research in Pediatric Dentistry 2 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 912 Clinical Pediatric Dentistry 10 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 916 Clinical Orthodontics 4 cr, 3rd and 4th sem.
SDM PD 920 Clinical Pediatric Medicine 1 cr, 3rd or 4th semester


Master of Science in Dentistry in Pediatric Dentistry

The MSD program requires a minimum of one year in addition to the time commitment for the CAGS in pediatric dentistry and entails a research project, thesis, and thesis defense.

SDM PD 991 Research: Pediatric Dentistry 4 cr, 1st and 2nd sem.

Doctor of Science in Dentistry in Pediatric Dentistry

The DScD program requires a minimum of three years in addition to the CAGS in pediatric dentistry.

SDM PD 992, 993, 994 Research: Pediatric Dentistry 12 cr, 1st-6th sem.

Combined Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health

The combined program offers both clinical training in pediatric dentistry and a perspective that includes both community and global concerns. After completing two years in pediatric dentistry and one year in dental public health, a CAGS and an MSD in dental public health are awarded. In addition to the CAGS, students completing three years in dental public health are awarded a DScD in dental public health.