One of my most popular posts outlines the typical differences between AEGDs and GPRs. I did not complete a post-gradaute residency program and wrote the post while researching programs I had considered applying to during my last year of dental school after attending a brief course comparing the programs at the ASDA Annual Session in 2015.

Below is what I originally wrote:

Location: GPRs are usually hospital based while AEGDs are commonly located in dental schools or community clinics. Unfortunately, this statement does not always hold true because some GPRs are located in clinics and some AEGDs are found in hospitals, so when deciding where to apply, an applicant should plan to contact each program to learn more about the practice setting.

Case Selection: Generally, AEGDs focus on completing cases from start to finish. Many students described AEGDs as a fifth year of dental school – giving students an opportunity to undertake more challenging prosthetic, endodontic, and aesthetic cases. Many students would describe the procedures performed at an AEGD to fall under the category of “elective dentistry”.GPRs are notorious for providing students with surgical experiences superior to a typical predoctoral education. This may include surgical extractions, implant placements, and apexifications. Since most GPRs are hospital based, they are often designed to deliver dental care to the medically compromised. This means that most of your patient’s health histories may introduce limitations to the type of dental care they can tolerate.

General Medicine: GPRs often require hospital rotations in sedation, internal medicine, general surgery, and more; AEGDs do not.

On Call: GPRs typically require an on-call commitment;  AEGDs do not.

Here’s a PDF document published by UCSF describing the similiarities and differences between GPRs and AEGDs that may be useful: http://career.ucsf.edu/sites/career.ucsf.edu/files/PDF/DentistryresidencyGPR.pdf

 

That’s Great, So What’s New?

What I typed above is typically true, but I recently had an opportunity to interview some of my classmates and a fellow podcaster who just completed or (in the case of episode 4) are in the middle of an AEGD or GPR. What I learned is that most of these programs have a lot to offer a new graduate. Everyone I spoke to was (for the most part) satisfied with their programs, and they all believed that they had improved upon the foundation that dental school provides and were ready to take the next step in their professional careers.

If you are interested in applying to an AEGD or GPR, completed a residency program and are curious about what other’s are gaining from their programs, or enjoy listening to young dentists talk about dentistry you can listen to all 5 of these episodes below.

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