DOCTOR OF DENTAL SURGERY

The list of candidates for degrees, certificates, and diplomas appearing herein is subject to such corrections, with respect to additions, deletions, and changes, as may be necessary. The information as presented is current as of the program printing deadline. Graduates attending the ceremony are presented to the Chancellor alphabetically. The winner of the most prestigious award in each faculty, if attending, is presented first.


Units of Credit
One unit of credit is awarded for ten hours of lecture or seminar, twenty hours of laboratory or clinic, or thirty hours of independent study per term. In the predoctoral programs (DDS and IDS), students are assigned to comprehensive care clinics for approximately 650 hours during the second year and 1,000 hours during the third, in addition to specialty clinic rotations. Units of credit are assigned in the comprehensive care clinical disciplines in proportion to the amount of time an average student spends providing specific types of care for assigned patterns.
Full-time enrollment in the predoctoral programs at the School of Dentistry (DDS and IDS) is defined as 16 or more units per term. Fulltime enrollment in the graduate residency programs in orthodontics and endodontics is defined as 20 or more units per term. All residents in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery programs are considered full time.

Personalized Instructional Program
Beginning with the DDS class of 2019 and IDS class of 2019, successful completion of a Personalized Instructional Program (PIP) is required for graduation. This is reflected on the transcript as a stand-alone course (BMS 394,COH 394,DS 394 etc.). Unit values will vary based upon contact hours.

Curriculum
Biomedical, preclinical, and clinical science subjects are integrated and combined with applied behavioral sciences in a program to prepare graduates to provide excellent quality dental care to the public and to enter a changing world that will require them to be critical thinkers and lifelong learners. The 36-month curriculum leading to the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery begins in July and is divided into twelve quarters, each consisting of ten weeks of instruction, one week of examinations, and a vacation period of between one and four weeks.
Integrated biomedical science instruction in anatomy, histology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and mircrobiology and immunology is offered over the 10 quarters in increasing detail, followed by multidisciplinary presentations of basic science foundations for clinical topics such as the importance of saliva, tissue aging, nutrition, and infection control. Throughout the curriculum, students learn to apply basic science knowledge to clinical problems. Integrated preclinical instruction in direct and indirect restorative dentistry and dental anatomy is concentrated in the first four quarters with students learning to work from a seated position in a modern preclinical simulation laboratory. Preclinical instruction in removable prosthodontics, occlusion, and implants is offered in quarters 5-7. Clinical work with patients is initiated in the fifth quarter.
The school is a pioneer in competency-based education, an approach that replaces the traditional system of clinical requirements with experiences that ensure graduates possess the knowledge, skills, and values needed to begin the independent practice of general dentistry. Pacific is also known for its humanistic approach to dental education, stressing the dignity of each individual and his or her value as a person.
The Clinical Practice Strand supports comprehensive patient care which is based on the concept of private dental practice where the student assumes responsibility for assigned patients' overall treatment, consultation, and referral for specialty care. Second-year students practice clinical dentistry approximately 15 hours per week and third year students practice approximately 33 hours per week. Students learn to provide comprehensive dental care under the direction of a team of clinical faculty led by the Group Practice Leader (GPL). The GPL is responsible for mentoring students and ensuring they are receiving adequate clinical experiences to ensure competency upon graduation. In the second year, students treat patients in a disciplinebased model where they are supervised by trained and calibrated faculty in specific clinical disciplines, including oral diagnosis and treatment planning, periodontics, endodontics, restorative dentistry, and removable prosthodontics. In the third year, students treat patients in a generalist model, where they provide all care for their patients under faculty supervision.
The second-and third-year class is divided alphabetically into six group practices. There are approximately 22 second-year and 22 third-year students in each group practice, which is managed by the GPL, who has overall responsibility for the care of patients by all students and faculty in the group practice. Specialists in endodontics manage complex cases in a specified area of the clinic, including test cases. Periodontists manage most periodontal procedures.
There are four exceptions to the comprehensive care model: oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, oral medicine/facial pain, and radiology. Students are assigned to rotations for two to three weeks in each of these disciplines, except for the oral medicine/facial pain rotations which are one day each. In orthodontics, students participate with faculty and orthodontic residents in adjunctive orthodontic care and in oral development clinics. Third-year students also rotate through the Special Care Clinic where they treat perinatal patients, dental-phobic patients, and patients with developmental disabilities. In addition, each student provides care in the hospital operating room on patients with specific health issues.
Advanced clinical dentistry and evaluation of new developments and topics that involve several disciplines are learned in the third year in conjunction with patient care. Third-year students participate in patient care at extramural sites located in treatment facilities around the Bay Area, including acute care hospitals and community clinics. At extramural clinic sites, students are taught by Pacific faculty in conditions that more closely resemble private practice, and typically treat 4-6 patients per day. Rotations occur at a number of different times, including weekdays during the academic year and vacation periods. Students find these experiences to be valuable, teaching them how to provide excellent patient care in a condensed time frame. Students may elect to participate in externships to specialty programs during academic break periods.
Behavioral science aspects of ethics, communication, human resource and practice management, and dental jurisprudence are integrated across the curriculum. Epidemiology and demography of the older population, basic processes of aging, and dental management of hospitalized patients, geriatric patients, and those with the most common disabling conditions are studied during the third year.
Students are counseled individually with regard to establishing a practice and applying for postgraduate education. A weekend conference in the senior year acquaints students with opportunities for postgraduate education and with alumni views of the realities of dental practice.
In the 1990s under the leadership of Dr. David W. Chambers, the school led the nation in the adoption of a competency-based education model for pre-doctoral dental programs. In contrast to the prevailing system of 'clinical requirements, ' an approach that merely counted a pre-set number of procedures completed in each clinical discipline, competency (p. 3) implies an ongoing and broad-based measure of the developing knowledge, skills, abilities, and values essential to the beginning practice of general dentistry (p. 3). In a competency-based model, multiple faculty observers repeatedly evaluate independent student performance in a natural setting over time.
These competency statements were developed in 2016-17 by a representative group of faculty, students, and alumni to reflect the 'headheart-hands' philosophy the school embraces: the integration of current and emerging biomedical and clinical knowledge (head); professionalism, ethical behavior, empathy, and communication skills (heart); and clinical skills (hands). For clarity and consistency in application and measurement, an appended glossary defines key terms highlighted in the statements. 5. Apply the principles of health promotion and disease prevention (p. 3) to individuals and communities. 6. Apply the principles of bioethics (p. 2) to practice. 7. Apply the principles of behavioral science (p. 2) to practice. 8. Establish and maintain trust and rapport with all stakeholders (p. 4) in patient care. Demonstrate empathy (p. 3). 9. Manage the oral health care needs of pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients, including geriatric patients and patients with complex needs (p. 3). 10. Perform comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and risk assessment on patients at all stages of life (p. 4). 11. Obtain, select, and interpret images and tests necessary for accurate differential diagnoses and correlate them with clinical findings. 12. Formulate and present comprehensive, sequenced treatment plans and prognoses in accordance with patient needs, values, and expectations. 13. Obtain and document informed consent or refusal. 14. Follow standard infection control guidelines. 15. Preserve and restore hard and soft tissue to support health, function, and esthetics: • Screening and risk assessment for head and neck cancer; • Local anesthesia and pain and anxiety control; • Appropriate utilization of therapeutic and pharmacological agents used in patient care; • Management of orofacial pain; • Communicate with dental laboratory technicians and manage laboratory procedures to support patient care; • Risk assessment, prevention, and management of caries, including minimally invasive dentistry; • Restore and replace teeth, including operative, fixed, removable, and dental implant therapy; • Periodontal therapy and recall strategies; • Dental emergencies; • Pulpal therapy and endodontics; • Oral mucosal and osseous disorders; • Bony and soft tissue surgery; • Malocclusion and space management; and

Competency Statements: Glossary of Terms
The purpose of this glossary is: (a) to define critical terms in the competency statements so that faculty can design, deliver, and assess targeted, sequenced learning experiences; and (b) to make transparent to students and faculty the goals of the educational program. The glossary is a critical component of the Competency Statement document.
Behavioral science: a branch of science that studies human action and investigates decision-making processes and communication strategies that occur within and between organisms in a social system. Familiarity with major concepts of the discipline may provide solutions to an array of individual, family, and community challenges.
Bioethics: the shared discipline of reflective examination of ethical issues and implications in health care, health science, and health policy.
Biomedical science: the scientific knowledge base of human biology required for the treatment and prevention of oral and systemic disease. This includes knowledge of anatomy, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, epidemiology, embryology, genetics, histology, immunology, microbiology, nutrition, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, and related knowledge domains. Competence (competency): knowledge, skills, abilities, and values essential to the beginning practice of oral health care that are performed consistently and independently in natural settings. Competence is observable over time and therefore can be measured and assessed to ensure acquisition.
Complex needs: patients with moderate to severe medical, developmental, and/or psychosocial conditions that require of the practitioner additional information or knowledge to manage the patient's health.
Critical thinking: the ability to interpret, evaluate, and draw sound conclusions in sometimes complex situations where all information may not be present or apparent. In professional practice, critical thinking is the application of rational analysis to patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. The practitioner must be able to identify pertinent information, make decisions based on deliberate review of options, evaluate outcomes of diagnostic and therapeutic tests or decisions, and assess his or her own competence and ability.
Empathy: to understand the thinking, perspectives, and feelings of others. To be done correctly, empathy requires interest in others and a set of skills.
Evidence-based dentistry (EBD): an approach to oral health care that requires the judicious integration of clinically relevant scientific evidence relating to the patient's oral and medical condition and history, the dentist's clinical expertise, and the patient's treatment needs and preferences. (American Dental Association).
General dentistry: (a) the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and surgical and non-surgical treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area, and the adjacent and associated structures, and their impact on the human body; (b) a service provided by a dentist within the scope of his/her education, training, and experience; and that is (c) in accordance with the ethics of the profession and applicable law. A general dentist is an integral part of the healthcare system and is the primary oral health care provider for patients of all ages. (adapted from ADA House of Delegates, 1997).
Identity: the belief that a subject, person, or thing is the same as it is represented or claimed to be. Identity can encompass race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, and other personal characteristics.
Interprofessional education: When students from two or more health professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective patient care collaboration and improve health outcomes.
Interprofessional collaborative practice exists when providers from different health backgrounds work together with patients, families, caregivers, and communities to deliver quality care (adapted from the World Health Organization, 2010).
Oral health: a functional, structural, aesthetic, physiologic, and psychosocial state of well-being that is essential to an individual's general health and quality of life (ADA House of Delegates, 2014).
Oral health care team: generally composed of the dentist, specialist dentist, dental therapist or dental health aide therapist, dental hygienist (with or without expanded function), dental assistant (with or without expanded function), office support staff, and the dental laboratory technician. Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other medical professionals are increasingly a critical component of the team.
Patient experience: all elements of the care experience that contribute to patient satisfaction: scheduling, reception, treatment and care, sensitive and empathetic interactions with staff and providers, billing, and follow up.
Prevention: procedures, processes, or strategies that reduce risk, promote disease prevention, and result in improved patient health.  JAMA 2002: 287: 226-235). Professionalism is the foundation of the doctor-patient relationship. It requires integrity and a high level of skill. The professional assumes an obligation to sharpen and develop skills and judgment throughout a career. Quality assurance: systematic and ongoing assessment and evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of a service, product, process, structure, or outcome. The process involves identifying strengths and weaknesses, designing and implementing solutions or strategies to improve performance, and careful monitoring to determine the effectiveness of a change or intervention.
Reflection: the active process of reviewing, analyzing, and evaluating experiences, drawing upon theoretical concepts or previous learning, to inform future action (Reid, 1993). Scope of practice: procedures, treatments, and actions that a practitioner is allowed to undertake as prescribed by professional licensure and that are within the practitioner's competence.
Self-Assessment: the evaluation of one's performance against current, defined, evidence-based standards and, ultimately, without external input.
Self-Care: activities and practices that are engaged in regularly that aim to reduce stress and to maintain and enhance health and wellbeing. Prioritizing emotional, physical, intellectual, occupational and environmental wellness is necessary to honor professional and personal commitments. Healthy self-care includes a realization of when to reach out for help or support.
Stages of life: pediatric (< 14 years), adult (15-65 years), and geriatric (>66 years), including the frail elderly and patients with complex needs. Stakeholder: any person or party in the healthcare setting with an interest in the financing, implementation, or outcome of a service, practice, process, or decision made by another. Stakeholders include patients, care givers, family members, faculty and other practitioners, specialists, the dental school, and others consulting on or providing care.
Please note: Courses are taught on a permanent or interim (continuing) basis. Course numbers followed by the letter 'I' indicate interim courses which are taught over two or more quarters. Units assigned to interim courses build upon each preceding quarter's unit value and culminate in a final and permanent unit value. The final unit value is transcripted with the permanent course while interim courses and corresponding unit values can be found on report cards.