The Department of Pediatric Dentistry provides predoctoral clinical training designed to prepare graduates to deliver comprehensive dental care for children in in their community. Didactic and simulation-based training begins in the second year and continues through the third and fourth years with direct patient care.
The Advanced Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry offers a robust residency experience emphasizing clinical excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and research.
- First Year: Training focuses on clinical diagnosis and treatment, with didactic instruction at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry. External rotations include pediatric medicine and anesthesia, each lasting one month. First-year residents share emergency coverage responsibilities at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and participate in operating room rotations at both Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital, providing care under general anesthesia.
- Second Year: Residents complete additional rotations in the Hemophilia Clinic, Cleft Palate Clinic, and the School of Dentistry’s Predoctoral Clinic. When not on rotation, second-year residents provide patient care in the outpatient Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at the School of Dentistry.
Residents participate in seminars, literature reviews, and case presentations covering advanced topics in pediatric dentistry, including advocacy and practice management. Each resident completes a research project culminating in a thesis defense or a publishable paper, fulfilling requirements for the Master of Science in Dentistry degree.
Upon satisfactory completion of the program, graduates receive a Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry and an optional Master of Science in Dentistry and are prepared to pursue American Board of Pediatric Dentistry certification.