The General Practice Residency (GPR) is an intensive postgraduate training program fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The program is designed to train the general dentist in the management of medically complex and special-needs patients in both outpatient and hospital settings, while increasing knowledge in the practice of dentistry and its various disciplines. The 12-month full-time program begins July 1.

UCSF GPR Program Overall Goals and Objectives

You will spend approximately 90% of your time on clinical care. Rotations include general dentistry, hospital dentistry, oral surgery, oral medicine, orofacial pain, anesthesia and general medicine. The other 10% of your time, you will be attending an Emergency Simulation and History & Physical course at the San Francisco VA. You will also and attend a quarter long Research Methodology class, along with other courses throughout the year.

Rotation Schedule

General Dentistry Rotation (6 months):

Dental Oncology (3 months):

At the UCSF Dental Oncology clinic at Mission Bay, you will perform comprehensive dentistry on patients with a history of head and neck cancer. Here, you will learn to provide care with the patients’ interdisciplinary oncology teams, including radiation oncology, medical oncology, head and neck surgery, and speech and language pathologists. You will also work with OMFS faculty to ensure timely dentoalveolar surgery prior to radiation therapy. Lastly, you will be exposed to new technological advancements including intraoral scanning, 3D printing and on-site milling.

Laguna Honda Hospital (3 months):

You will be performing comprehensive dental care in a two-operatory clinic located inside the newly renovated skilled nursing facility. You will treat patients with HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's and dementia, developmental disabilities, degenerative neurological disorders, traumatic brain injuries and stroke, psychosocial difficulties, and substance abuse. You will also provide palliative treatment and pain management for end-of-life care. This facility is equipped with an endodontic microscope, enabling the residents to perform single and multi-rooted, non-surgical endodontic treatment.

Operating Room Dentistry:

This is an opportunity to perform comprehensive general dentistry in the operating room setting for patients with special needs who cannot be seen in an outpatient setting. Monthly, you will assess patient eligibility for treatment under general anesthesia.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Rotation (3 months):

An intensive three-month rotation in which the GPR resident provides oral surgery services at the Moffitt Long Hospital and UCSF Dental Center on the Parnassus Campus as well as at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco’s county hospital.

UCSF Parnassus Campus (2 months):

Here you will be working alongside a team of oral surgery residents, dental students, attending faculty, and staff in an oral surgery clinic treating a wide variety of patients. In the clinic you will perform consultations for patients needing treatment for TMJ symptoms, maxillary and mandibular discrepancies, surgical and non-surgical extractions, implant placement, oral pathology, and trauma. In addition, you will perform dental clearances for inpatients prior to their upcoming surgeries. Lastly, you will have the opportunity to scrub-in for OR cases and be expected to round on patients.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (1 month):

Here you will be working alongside a team of oral surgery residents, dental students, oral faculty, and staff at the oral surgery clinic at San Francisco’s county hospital. You will perform the majority of your surgical and non-surgical extractions and alveoloplasty procedures here, while assisting senior OMFS residents with IV sedation and OR trauma cases. You will take trauma call on a buddy-system with an OMFS resident, and orient and teach fourth year dental students. When on call, you will perform incision and drainage procedures, fabricate occlusal splints, and evaluate trauma patients in the emergency department. In addition, you will work alongside OHNS, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery interns for a broader integrative experience.

Auxiliary Rotations

Oral Medicine Rotation (2 weeks):

Here you will learn to evaluate and perform soft tissue biopsies using different methods alongside oral medicine residents and faculty at UCSF Parnassus. You will learn to identify, manage and treat patients with conditions that include but are not limited to burning mouth syndrome, lichen planus, and oral malignancies.

Orofacial Pain (2 weeks):

GPR residents will learn to identify and develop treatment plans for the management of acute TMD, chronic orofacial pain, and sleeping disorders. Residents will gain a better understanding of the dental provider’s role in the proper management of such cases.

General Medicine Rotation (2 weeks):

The GPR resident becomes a fully integrated member of an Internal Medicine team at UCSF Parnassus. Here you will learn to follow patients from the time they are admitted and treated during their hospital stay to the time they are discharged. You will learn from internal medicine attendings, senior residents, and interns to evaluate the patient beyond the oral cavity.

Anesthesia Rotation (2 weeks):

The GPR resident becomes a fully integrated member of the anesthesia team at UCSF Parnassus. You are partnered with an anesthesiologist and CRNA, and will learn to manage patients' anesthesia needs pre, peri and post operatively.

On-Call Schedule: While on the Dental Oncology rotation, you will be on-call on the weekends and between the hours of 5:00pm and 8:00am on the weekdays, providing phone triage. While on the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery rotation, you will be on-call on a buddy system with an OMFS resident.

Teaching Opportunity: At all clinical locations, you will oversee a group of third and fourth year dental students and help facilitate learning. You will be their point person, and will be responsible to help them achieve their learning goals.

Community Outreach: As a GPR resident, you are also expected to dedicate time to contribute to the community. UCSF GPR collaborates with the predoctoral educators and students to provide oral health services for patients attending a community health clinic, Mabuhay Health Clinic. There are ample opportunities in San Francisco for community service events.

Upon successful completion of the residency, you will receive a certificate of graduation and will be eligible to apply for a dental license in California and any other state that accepts licensure by residency.

Clinical Facilities

UCSF Dental Oncology Service - UCSF Precision Cancer Medicine Building, Mission Bay

UCSF’s dental oncology is located in the new, state of the art facility Bakar Precision Cancer Medical Building in Mission Bay, where service is dedicated to providing pre- and post-radiation oral health care services to UCSF’s cancer patients, focusing primarily on cancers of the head and neck.

Laguna Honda Rehabilitation Center

This skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, owned and operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, offers a dedicated skilled nursing facility for HIV/AIDS patients, a program for Alzheimer's and dementia patients, group living for patients with developmental disabilities, treatment for degenerative neurological disorders, therapeutic services for traumatic brain injuries and stroke, support for patients with psychosocial difficulties and substance abuse, and pain management for end-of-life care. The GPR program performs comprehensive care on a daily basis in a two-operatory clinic to serve the center's 780 inpatient residents.

UCSF Parnassus Operating Room

GPR residents perform comprehensive dentistry in the operating room for patients requiring admission/inpatient services as well as come-and-go surgeries.

UCSF Medical Sciences Building (S-738) - UCSF Parnassus

This facility is home to the Center for Orofacial Pain, which offers multidisciplinary management of head and neck pain related to temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain and sleep disorders.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/Hospital Dental Clinic is an eight-operatory facility providing outpatient and inpatient surgical services. While rotating here, GPR residents work in concert with OMFS residents and faculty to provide 24-hour emergency coverage for all oral and maxillofacial emergencies, including trauma.

Salary and Benefits

Stipends: The current stipend for GPR residents is $62,487. The stipend is subject to annual review.

Loans: Residents may be eligible for having their student loan payments count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness with employment verification. See HERE for additional information.

Annual leave: Vacation and sick leave are granted at the discretion of the UCSF GPR program director. Presently, residents are entitled to 15 days paid time-off during the year, which normally should not be taken together and may not be taken during the anesthesia and general medicine rotations. Sick leave with pay is granted at the discretion of the program director.

Moonlighting: Residents are expected to devote 100 percent of their professional activities to the GPR program. Permission to carry out professional and outside activities beyond the scope of the program can be granted only in exceptional circumstances by the program director in conjunction with the chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Liability: Residents receive professional liability insurance to cover all activities related to the educational program. Residents are covered by the University of California Malpractice Insurance, which provides coverage for all malpractice claims and, in normal circumstances, will cover all other employment-related claims, including punitive damages, which are examined on an individual basis.