These programs also afford trainees the opportunity to learn from the attending dentists who serve a supervisory role, something generally unavailable in private practice.
During training, residents may be faced with the task of managing patients that require dentistry in a hospital setting due to a compromised medical condition.
Medical management of dental patients may be emphasized in weekly grand rounds and rotations through anesthesia, internal medicine, and the hospital emergency department.
These rotations not only increase the trainee's knowledge and experience, but also allow physicians, resident or attending, to see how dentistry and medicine are related, permitting a better referral relationship in future practices.
This relationship is best demonstrated in tumor boards where both medical and dental residents discuss and treatment plan head and neck cancer patients.