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.
This relationship is best demonstrated in tumor boards where both medical and dental residents discuss and treatment plan head and neck cancer patients.
Under the direct supervision of the oral surgeons, residents may expand their understanding of and increase their skill in third molar extraction, biopsy technique, pathology recognition and treatment planning in facial cosmetic and trauma surgery.
For example, as of January 1, 2007, New York State requires that new dentists complete either a GPR, an AEGD or a specialty residency prior to receiving their dental license.