Goals & Objectives

Endodontics Mission Statement

The Department of Endodontics supports the Dental School Mission toward the enhancement of oral health through acquisition, dissemination and use of endodontic evidence-based knowledge. This mission is addressed through four interrelated action components: education, patient care, research and community service.

Goals of the Endodontic Graduate Program

EDUCATIONAL GOAL
Our education goal is to develop residents who will have evidence-based knowledge, clinical skills, and attitude to provide patient-centered care and engage in lifelong learning.

PATIENT CARE GOAL
Our patient care goal is to develop qualified, skillful clinicians who practice endodontics with state-of-the-art armamentaria and philosophies. New endodontists will treat and retreat all types of teeth that need root canal therapy, perform vital pulp therapy, revascularization procedures, and perform routine and advanced endodontic surgical procedures, manage traumatic injuries, and the emergency needs of their patients, and treat medically compromised patients.

RESEARCH GOAL
Our research goal is to provide an environment in which research and the dissemination of scholarly activity are performed by its faculty and endodontic graduate students. All should have an appreciation for research design and critical review of the literature.

COMMUNITY SERVICE GOAL
Our community service goal is to develop endodontists who are trained to lecture and teach in a clinical setting in a dental school, who give presentations to dental societies and study clubs, and who are a part of organized dentistry.

Objectives of the Endodontic Graduate Program

Program Objectives for the Education Goal

1. The graduate student must meet all of the education standards set forth by the Commission on Dental Accreditation for the Advanced Education Program in Endodontics.
2. The graduate student must submit a portfolio of five cases written and organized according to the American Board of Endodontics specifications.
3. The graduate student must pass four oral examinations, two by department faculty (winter term) and two by independent examiners prior to graduation (former ABE directors).
4. All graduate students must take the written portion (Part 1) of the American Board of Endodontists prior to program completion.
5. The graduate is encouraged to attain board certification.
6. The graduate is prepared to engage in life-long learning.

Program Objectives for the Patient Care Goal

1. The graduate student is skilled in a wide variety of clinical techniques (surgical and nonsurgical) using evidence-based practice.
2. The graduate student is skilled in the use of the microscope and state-of-the-art dental armamentaria in the practice of endodontics.
3. The graduate student is skilled in performing routine and advanced endodontic surgical procedures.
4. The graduate student is skilled in the treatment of the medically compromised patient.
5. The graduate student is skilled in attending to the emergency needs of his/her patient.
6. The graduate student is skilled in new advances in endodontic treatment: revascularization/regenerative procedures.
7. The graduate is skilled in performing internal bleaching.

Program Objectives for the Research Goal

1. The graduate student must perform a research project successfully, obtain their master’s degree, write a manuscript in a publishable format for publication, and present their research at the College Research Day and AAE—annual session meeting.
2. The graduate student must be able to critically review the literature based on the levels of evidence.

Program Objectives for the Research Goal

1. The graduate is encouraged to teach part-time in a dental school environment following graduation.
2. The graduate is encouraged to lecture to study clubs and at dental meetings and to support organized dentistry.