A History of Breaking Boundaries
The Lutheran Medical Center Department of Dental Medicine is the nucleus for four postgraduate residency programs accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. Organizationally, the department functions as a hospital-based multi-specialty interdisciplinary group practice. The General Practice Residency Program began in 1974; the Advanced Education Program in General Dentistry in 1988; the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry in 1994. These programs started traditionally at Lutheran but evolved over time to reflect more effectively the mission of the hospital. Capitalizing on the Medical Center’s commitment to community service, oral health care and residency experiences moved beyond the hospital to the Lutheran Family Health Centers. The move occurred decades ahead of current trends. The network is one of the largest and most comprehensive dental programs of any community health center in the country. In 2005, the department added to its mix an Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics.
For more than a decade, the Department of Dental Medicine has strengthened its commitment to care for underserved and never-served communities by forging alliances with community health centers and other providers beyond the New York metropolitan area. These alliances serve as catalysts for developing exciting models for residency training in general and pediatric dentistry. Residents in the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry may choose to study in Brooklyn, NY; St. Joseph Hospital Pediatric Dental Center in Providence, RI; or the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, AK. Residents in the Advanced Education Program in General Dentistry (AEGD) may elect educational options in community health centers, private group practices, and Indian Health Service units in New York City and upstate New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Tennessee, Mississippi, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawai`i. Lutheran continuously explores new opportunities that may provide enriching educational experiences for residents.