Advanced Education Program in Dental Anesthesiology

The advanced education program in dental anesthesiology is a two-year program leading to the award of a certificate. The educational design of this program provides a strong clinical background in anesthesiology.

Aside from off-service rotations in cardiology, internal medicine, and anesthesiology at Loma Linda University Medical Center and local area hospitals, all training is conducted in Special Care Dentistry (SCD) located on the first floor in the School of Dentistry. Special Care Dentistry is a very active treatment facility that manages a flow of nearly 5,000 patients each year.

Didactic instruction is coordinated through the Department of Dental Anesthesiology. Residents attend a month-long series of daily presentations in July and weekly grand rounds at Loma Linda University Medical Center. In addition, regular meetings of the dental anesthesiology residents are held in which a variety of contemporary topics are discussed including a review of the current literature. Residents also participate in teaching pain control in the pre-doctoral curriculum.

In an effort to develop dentist-educators, a separate (optional) program is available for study leading to a master of science (MS) degree in physiology or pharmacology. Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) for those who elect to pursue the master's degree program. Acceptance into the MS degree program would begin following completion of the certificate program.

Upon successful completion of the program, the dentist anesthesiologist will be eligible to take the diplomate examination of the American Dental Board of Anesthesiology and to apply for a general anesthesia permit in any state of the United States.

Master of Science in Dentistry (MSD) degree track:
Graduate students/residents may elect to apply for the Master of Science in Dentistry (MSD) degree track from all the advanced education programs except Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics where the MS degree is a program requirement.

The MSD degree track is intended to provide individuals with an advanced degree widely recognized as having completed a dental specialty program.  Applicants must be recommended for admission to this degree track and subsequently approved by the Associate Dean for Advanced Dental Education.  The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for admission to the MSD track.  The MSD degree is awarded upon successful completion of the certificate program and requires the submission of an acceptable publishable paper in the format of a journal chosen by the program director.  The publishable paper must be submitted either during the program or within one year from the program completion date.  A public presentation of the research, much like a thesis defense, is also required.

Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) - The advanced education program in dental anesthesiology participates in the PASS application service of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) allowing applicants to apply to multiple participating institutions using one standardized format. http://www.adea.org/pass

Application deadline - Applications for admission must be submitted by October 1st of the year prior to the summer of intended enrollment. All transcripts and supporting documents must be sent to Admissions Processing, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350 and received by the October 1st deadline.

Electronic application submission - The application process must be completed online and only applications with all the required supporting documents will be reviewed for admission. Online application

Advisory to Applicants: To ensure prompt posting of your required supporting documents, complete your application before you request transcripts and test scores.

Invitation to interview - All complete applications that meet the minimum admissions requirements are reviewed (refer to Admissions Requirements below). The top candidates are invited for an interview by a selection committee composed of department faculty and outside faculty/administrators and chaired by the program director. The candidates are ranked in two categories: 1) nominations for admission and 2) nominations as alternates.

Admissions decisions - The program director presents the list of nominations for admission (with alternates) for discussion and approval by the graduate admissions committee. The committee meets monthly, and candidates will be notified of a decision as soon as possible.

Acceptance - Candidates offered acceptance are required to submit a signed letter acknowledging their acceptance in to the program to the Associate Dean for Advanced Dental Education. Upon receipt of their letter confirming acceptance, the applicants will be entered into the University system to register for courses.

Background check - Accepted students must complete a background check in order to register and begin the program. Additional information on this process can be found in the University Catalog. http://ssweb.llu.edu/backgroundcheck

1. Transcript(s) - Only official transcript(s) will be accepted. Applicants who have transcripts from non-US and non-Canadian dental schools must submit a translated course-by-course transcript report from one of the following agencies:

• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc (ECE)
  (414) 289-3400 (www.ece.org)
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars And Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
  (202) 293-9161 (www.aacrao.org)
• World Education Services (WES) (212) 966-6311 (www.wes.org)

See International Transcript Information

2. GPA - A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.

3. (For optional MS degree program only) Graduate Record Examination (GRE) - Satisfactory completion of the GRE is required by the Faculty of Graduate Studies for admission to the Master of Science degree track. The sum of the GRE verbal and quantitative scores must equal or exceed the sum of scores that correspond to the 50th percentile for each of those sections. Furthermore, neither the verbal nor quantitative score may be lower than the score corresponding to the 35th percentile for that section. In addition, only GRE test scores within the past five years will be accepted.

The GRE Writing Assessment score must equal or exceed 4.0. Applicants with scores lower than 4.0 must satisfactorily complete the Loma Linda University Critical Essay or the university course in English Writing as specified by the Associate Dean for Advanced Dental Education.

For information regarding the Graduate Record Examination, test locations, and test dates, please contact the Educational Testing Services (ETS) at www.ets.org.

4. National Dental Board examinations - Successful completion of the National Dental Board Part I and Part II (if available) is required.

5. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Foreign applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in the English language as evidenced by minimum TOEFL scores of:

• 550 - paper-based test
• 213 - computer-based test
• 80 - Internet-based test with a minimum of 18 on each section: reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

6. Letters of recommendation - Three letters of recommendation from individuals who have known and worked closely with the candidate are required in support of an application.

7. Curriculum Vitae - Send your curriculum vitae directly to the Office of Advanced Dental Education.

8. Photograph - Include a recent, passport-style photograph of yourself (optional, but recommended) should be sent to the Office of Advanced Dental Education.

Important Instructions for the Transmittal of Official Documents:

All official documents must be mailed from the issuing institutions. Applicants must not mail originals or official copies of transcripts, GRE scores, National Dental Board scores, and TOEFL scores themselves.

An application is not considered complete until all required supporting documents have been received. Only completed applications go to committee for consideration. This policy holds true for and non-U.S. applicants. So please apply early.

Tuition for the 2007-2008 academic year: None.

Fees such as health insurance, students services, information technology, and the School of Dentistry: Paid by the program.

Interdisciplinary Required Courses:

Curriculum by Academic Year:

1st Year

2nd Year

Graduation

The optional Master of Science (MS) degree program would begin after completion of the two-year certificate program.

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