The Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program-Rural Track addresses a gap in dental education and in access to care with respect to underserved and vulnerable populations in rural areas of New Hampshire. As a state without a dental school or residency programs, it is critical for New Hampshire to collaborate with Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) to grow its dental workforce with the advanced skill-set and cultural competency experience required to meet the needs of underserved persons, especially those in rural areas with limited resources. The program will expand the training pipeline of dental professionals in the state, and create opportunities for dentists to become more proficient in providing quality health care focused on population health.  Residents will be recruited to work in New Hampshire permanently after completing their formal post-doctoral dental training. The AEGD - Rural Track training program is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Degrees/Certificates Offered

Certificate Only

Three residents will be accepted into this 12-month, certificate-only program. Each resident must have a DDS or DMD from a dental school accredited by the CODA, must be either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and must hold or be eligible to obtain a New Hampshire dental license. 

Program Overview

Overall Program Goals and Objectives

• Enhance the residents’ knowledge and competencies in all phases of general dentistry.
• Act as a primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients in a rural setting. This includes: providing emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care; providing patient-focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner; and directing health promotion and disease prevention activities.
• Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs and living in a rural setting.
• Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.
• Function effectively and efficiently in multiple rural health care environments within interdisciplinary health care teams.
• Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care. This includes using critical thinking, evidence or outcomes-based clinical decision-making, tele dentistry and technology-based information retrieval systems.
• Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient-centered care, adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
• Understand the oral health needs of vulnerable, underserved, and older adult populations living in rural communities, and engage in community service.

For more information about the program or if you’d like to see the program’s competency statements, please contact the Program Director at john_zdanowicz@hms.harvard.edu

Didactics and Research

Educational seminars will be provided by HSDM using a Zoom platform on Friday mornings. The residents will travel to HSDM for orientation and IV sedation class and to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for a class in Physical Evaluation and Medical Assessment. The residents will have Friday afternoons to work on a required research project and will be required to each prepare a poster for presentation at the HSDM student research day in April and professional conferences. View Master Schedule of Assignments.

Residents

• The program will provide a stipend of $40,000/year for each resident.
• Costs/Fees:
  • Costs covered under the HRSA grant
    • Health Insurance – Harvard University Student Health Plan (HUSHP) Basic required, cost $1,304 (Or HUSHP Supplemental $4080. May be waived with comparable coverage)
    • Facility fee – $2036
  • Costs covered by the resident
    • Malpractice Coverage – CRICO, cost $191

Summary of Clinical Sites

Dental Health Works (DHW) is an independent 501c3 (non-profit dental program) located in Keene, Cheshire County in Southwestern NH along the Vermont border. DHW serves a variety of vulnerable and underserved populations in the region including individuals struggling with mental health conditions, developmental disabilities, medically complex illnesses, homelessness, and immigrant status. DHW is the only practice in Southwestern NH providing comprehensive care to Medicaid children and adults. The residents will each spend four days a week (Monday through Thursday) for four months. This will be supervised by Dr. Stephen Hoffman.

Mid-State Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Bristol, Grafton County in Northwestern NH. It is the main provider of primary care in the region for more than 11,000 people in 19 geographically isolated rural communities. Mid-State is the only dental clinic in the service area offering a formalized, discounted fee schedule for low-income residents, and one of the few who accepts Medicaid. The residents will each spend three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) for four months. This will be supervised by Dr. Kelly Perry.

Greater Seacoast Community Health is a network of federally qualified community health centers providing primary care, pediatrics, dental care, and other services to more than 16,000 individuals in Eastern Rockingham and Strafford Counties, NH, and York County, Maine. The residents will each spend four days a week (Monday through Thursday) for four months at the dental clinic in Somersworth. This will be supervised by Dr. Whitney Goode.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) located in Lebanon is New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer. A tertiary care center available to 1.9 million residents across NH and Vermont (VT), DHMC also includes affiliated member hospitals and 24 Dartmouth-Hitchcock clinics that provide ambulatory services. DHMC provides regular care to 225,739 patients at its clinics and main campus. The residents will each spend one day a week for four months for oral surgery experience. The one day a week will be on Tuesdays of the weeks the resident is assigned to Mid-State. This will be supervised by Dr. Rocco Addante

Coos County Family Health Services (CCFHS) located in Berlin, is an FQHC and the main provider of primary care for over 12,000 patients across 13 communities in NH’s most Northern region. Coos County Family Dental, within CCFHS is the closest dental provider for many patients, despite being hours away. They are also the only dentists in the region accepting new patients (adults or children) with Medicaid. The residents will each spend one day a month (during the Healthworks assignment) for four months for interprofessional education. This will be supervised by Dr. Zahra Gulamhussein.

Oral Healthcare@Home, Inc. based in Manchester, is a private agency dedicated to bringing skilled preventive dental services to a homebound population in communities across NH. A Certified Public Health Dental Hygienist working in a collaborative practice agreement with a dentist is deployed to serve homebound patients in private and group residential settings. This site will offer the trainees a unique experience in all issues involved with homebound patients and the residents will each spend one day a month (during the Greater Seacoast assignment) for four months. This will be supervised by Joan Fitzgerald, RDH.

Harbor Care Health and Wellness Center located in Nashua, is a FQHC that provides low-income, homeless, and disabled New Hampshire residents with primary, behavioral/mental, and oral health care as well as affordable housing, substance use, veteran, home care, and HIV/AIDS services. Each resident will be able to participate in the operation of a mobile health van for one day a month (during the Greater Seacoast assignment) for four months. This will be supervised by Dr. Neha Gupta.

Accreditation

The program in AEGD is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. For more information, please visit the Commission on Dental Accreditation website.

Protecting Student Privacy

Harvard School of Dental Medicine has multiple measures in place to protect student privacy, both on campus in the classroom, and in a remote learning environment.  These practices protect all students regardless of their mode of instruction.

• Each student is provided with a unique Harvard ID number and Harvard key login, and provisioned unique accounts for different systems used at the school for enrollment, classroom participation and accessing student records. 
• Access to these accounts is additionally protected by 2 factor authentication, which ensures that only the student to whom the account has been assigned can access the account, using a registered personal device.
• Student identity is verified during the onboarding process by presentation of a government ID and through a CORI. 
• Students complete an online check-in process each term within the student information system using their unique account credentials.  This online process provides them the opportunity to review and update their privacy restrictions according to FERPA each term.

Appplicant Information

Please visit AGE Admissions for application requirements.