Orthodontics

The Orthodontic Graduate Program provides a robust clinical experience in comprehensive orthodontics, with emphasis on goal-oriented diagnosis and treatment of different malocclusions. Faculty members teach multiple treatment modalities, including functional therapy, comprehensive and interceptive care, straight-wire systems, lingual therapy, and clear removable aligner treatment.

Interdisciplinary care is also emphasized in the graduate clinic. These team approaches to comprehensive care include surgical orthodontics, treatment in the mixed dentition, accelerated orthodontics in conjunction with periodontics and esthetic dentistry involving collaboration with periodontics, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and restorative dentistry. Diagnosis and treatment of patients with cleft lip/palate and other craniofacial anomalies is included.

All clinical treatment is conducted under an attending model, which fosters best-evidence based approaches and creative/critical thinking. Faculty model ABO standards and certification, and cultivate a culture of clinical excellence among graduate students.

Graduate students are involved as teaching assistants in the DMD curriculum during their second and third years. They take an active part in all three components of the courses by preparing some lectures, directing small group discussion and providing clinical coverage for the dental students. Such experience is limited to the orthodontic component of the DMD curriculum and students receive a stipend for this effort. This stipend amounts to $2175 over an 11 month period each year.

Graduate students must successfully investigate and defend an independent research project before they graduate. They are required to identify a topic and select an advisor by the completion of their first semester. Students are encouraged to first pursue their natural sense of curiosity, as there are many resources available within the college, Medical Center and land-grant campus. Award-winning research is being conducted in our program within the college, and students are required to publicly present and defend their research, and to prepare a manuscript suitable for publication that is unanimously acceptable to their MS degree research committee.