Dental Center - Residency Program

Dental residency program description

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin's two-year, advanced residency program in pediatric dentistry is designed to offer residents a balanced curriculum in academic and clinical dentistry. The program provides the specialized knowledge and necessary skills to manage the various oral health problems encountered in children and adolescents.

The residency program is a full-time, hospital-based program and fully accredited by the American Dental Association. Upon completion of all requirements, residents are eligible for certification by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Residents also may choose to earn a master's degree in Pediatric Dentistry from Marquette University, Milwaukee, but are required to register for 30 credit hours.

 

Facilities

Children's Dental Center has two locations:

  • Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Clinics Building.

    • 13-chair clinic.

    • About 70 percent of patients are healthy children from various socioeconomic, racial and cultural backgrounds.

    • About 30 percent of patients have complicated issues such as a physical or mental challenge, or a medical condition.

  • Downtown Health Center, Milwaukee.

    • Eight-chair clinic.

    • Most children are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

    • The program emphasizes resident-community involvement, including understanding of poverty and barriers encountered by families with limited financial means.

Both clinics are fully prepared to manage the comprehensive needs of children and adolescents. Children's Hospital also has 17 operating rooms that may be used for dental cases. Three of these rooms are located in Day Surgery, where the vast majority of dental general anesthesia cases occur. Two mobile operating and supply carts, along with a mobile X-ray machine, are available for operating rooms cases. 

Faculty

The residency program faculty includes five, full-time, attending pediatric dentists:

Pediatric dentistry (full time)
  3. Shane Fisher, DDS
  4. Carli DiGioia, DMD
  5. Elise Poremski, DDS

Community pediatric dentists (part time)

  • Amy Getz-Niedziela, DDS
  • Chad Zambon, DDS
  • Steve Chybowski, DDS
  • Nicole Simonetti, DDS

Orthodontist and oral surgeon (two days per week)

  • Mike Melugin, DDS

In addition to administrative and teaching responsibilities, the attending faculty members are active clinicians.

 

Staff

Combined support staff at both locations includes 13 dental assistants, three hygienists, four clinical secretaries, an administrative assistant and a clinic manager.

Training program

Academics: Courses and seminars
The program offers a wide variety of courses and seminars to enhance a resident's education. Courses and seminars include:

  • Craniofacial Growth and Development.
  • Pulp Therapy in Pediatric Dentistry.
  • Pediatric Dental Trauma.
  • Pediatric Dental Infections.
  • Pediatric Medicine.
  • Preventive Concepts in Pediatric Dentistry.
  • Practice Management.
  • Transition of the Human Dentition.
  • Cephalometrics.
  • Oral Pathology.
  • Orthodontic Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.
  • Board Review Course.
  • Child Development and Behavioral Guidance.
  • Concepts in Pediatric Dentistry.

Children's Hospital also offers additional lectures such as Grand Rounds, Pediatric Trauma Rounds and Craniofacial Anomaly Rounds. Residents are given time to attend these lectures with their medical colleagues.

Research
All residents must complete an original research project. Each resident is paired with a faculty member who serves as a research mentor.

Poster presentation
All residents are expected to present a poster at a major professional meeting during their two-year program.

American Board of Pediatric Dentistry certification
All residents are expected to complete the ABPD qualifying exam prior to completion of the program. In addition, mock oral boards are given to help residents prepare for the oral portion of the ABPD certification exam.

Clinical training

Scope
Residents receive training in advanced pediatric dental techniques including:

  • Preventive dentistry.
  • Restorative procedures.
  • Behavior guidance.
  • Sedation.
  • Pulp therapy.
  • Oral pathology.
  • Hospital dentistry, including operating room procedures.
  • Pediatric medicine.
  • Oral/facial trauma.
  • Interceptive and select comprehensive orthodontics.

The program includes extensive training in dentistry for medically compromised children, as well as physically and mentally challenged patients. Residents are expected to expand their knowledge of pediatrics and integrate dental diagnosis and treatment with the comprehensive medical needs of their patients.

Hospital training
Residents develop extensive hospital experience. Operating room cases, inpatient consultations, management of oral/facial infections and traumatic injuries, and consultations with medical departments are a part of a resident's regular training.

Rotations
Various rotations are offered throughout the residency, including pediatric primary care, anesthesiology, emergency pediatric medicine, speech and hearing, cardiology, child development, community health care and child protection services. Residents staff the craniofacial anomaly team and attend regularly scheduled lectures and various department seminars with the pediatric medical staff.

Emergency coverage
The residents provide coverage in emergencies, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each resident will be on call via pager approximately one week per month. Throughout the year, first- and second-year residents are paired on call so they may share information and provide assistance for procedures.

Patients
Children's Dental Center serves the needs of nearly 6,000 patients annually, including more than 20,000 patient visits. It is one of the busiest specialty clinics at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Every patient gives residents an opportunity to learn pediatric dentistry in a hands-on environment.

Children's Dental Center receives numerous referrals from other Children's Hospital programs and clinics.

Head Start program
Residents are directly involved with Milwaukee's Head Start program through efforts to promote oral health among its participants. Residents regularly participate by completing annual dental exams for Head Start participants.

Salary and benefits

2011 stipends

  • First-year resident: $42,000.
  • Second-year resident: $43,500.

Benefit program
Residents receive:

  • Malpractice insurance.
  • Short-term disability insurance.
  • Life insurance.
  • Group health insurance (partial payment).
  • 10 paid vacation days annually.
  • Paid holidays and sick days.

Residents also receive eight education days beyond their regular vacation days. These days may be used to attend educational conferences and meetings, such as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Annual Session, AAPD Sedation course and AAPD Comprehensive Review of Pediatric Dentistry course. Additional meetings and courses may be attended with the program director's approval.

There is no charge for Children's Hospital lectures and seminars.

 

Current residents

First year

  • Beth Hoge, DDS, Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee.
  • Jordan Scheffler, DMD, Case Western Reserve Dental School, Cleveland.
  • Damon Thielen, DMD, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Mesa.
  • Grace Wenham, DMD, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Second year

  • David Burrus, DDS, Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee.
  • Erin Franken, DDS, Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee.
  • Brandon Knockum, DDS, University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill.
  • Aaron Stump, DDS, Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis.

 

 

Externship opportunity

The Children's Hospital Pediatric Dental Program offers a one-week externship. The externship is limited to fourth-year dental students or dentists interested in applying to the program.

Please contact Shane Fisher, DDS, for more information.

 

Application process

Children's Hospital accepts four dental residency applicants annually through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service/Match Application Service. All four residents will receive a stipend. Children's Hospital may offer a non-stipend position to a qualified applicant each year.

To be considered for admission, applicants must have:

  1. Earned a dental medicine or dental surgery degree at an ADA-accredited school.

  2. Passed the National Board Dental Exam, Part I.

Applicants must:

  1. Register and submit an application through the PASS Web site.

  2. Submit a 2 x 2-inch photo.

Upon invitation to the residency program, a personal interview is required.

The application deadline for PASS is October 1 of the year preceding matriculation.

All correspondence regarding program information and applications should be directed to:

A. Charles Post, DDS
Director, Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
MS773, P.O. Box 1997
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1997
(414) 266-2040
E-mail: cpost@chw.org