Quality Awards
Curriculum
St. Luke’s offers a one-year, ADA/CODA accredited dental residency program. This program was designed around a “private-practice philosophy” of comprehensive care. Nine residents practice in the Star Community Dental Clinic on E. Third Street in Bethlehem and have rotations to the other 2 clinic sites located in Allentown and Easton. The residents are supervised by the program director and staff attendings who are available for consultation and guidance. Frequent interaction with medical personnel ensures patients receive optimal health care. The program director is a full-time employee of St. Luke’s Hospital.
Goals and Objectives
Rotations
Resident rotations include Emergency Medicine (80 hours), Anesthesia (80 hours), Family Medicine (80 hours), and Community Health (64 hours). Training and experience is provided in hospital protocol, physical evaluation, and the care of the medically compromised patients. Residents also experience OR dental care for the treatment of special needs patients.
Clinically, the residents participate in endodontics, operative dentistry, pain control, periodontics, pediatrics, prosthetics, simple orthodontics, oral surgery, implant placement and restoration, and special care dentistry. A dedicated staff of dental assistants, hygienists, and office personnel support the patient care activities.
CPR certification is required prior to beginning the residency program. BLS, ACLS and PALS are provided for new residents. Residents are on-call to evaluate and treat dental emergencies and traumas, and to perform inpatient consultations at the Bethlehem Campus only. Residents rotate on-call (after-hours) one week / one weekend per month.
Treating the "Whole" Dental Patient
Upon completion of this training, the dentist will have a better understanding of treating the “whole” dental patient, especially those with compromised medical conditions. They will have gained valuable application and experience of their dental knowledge, and will have gained the speed required to practice dentistry for a lifetime.
The graduating dental residents will receive a certificate at the completion of their GPR program.
