Clinical experience information for Pediatric Dentistry
How many clinical hours will I have? An average of 28 hours a week.
Where do I receive my clinical education? Our students have operatories at UT Dentistry’s Center for Oral Health Care & Research, the Ricardo Salinas Outreach Clinic and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. We also have an extension program in Laredo, Texas.
How many operatories are in the clinic where I will work? Students rotate through our different facilities. The Center for Oral Health Care & Research clinic has 19 dental chairs for clinical education. The Ricardo Salinas Outreach Clinic has seven operatories. The Children's Hospital of San Antonio facility has six dental chairs, and the Laredo Health Department Dental Clinic has a total of 15 operatories.
What types of procedures will students be expected to perform to complete the rotation? Emphasis is placed on preventive and restorative care, hospital dentistry, conscious sedation, interceptive orthodontics and special patient care.
Who supervises and teaches? All of our faculty members also are practicing pediatric dentists. You will be working with a team of faculty members who are there to guide you and serve as mentors. Instructors hold case conferences with students.
What clinical rotations will I participate in? Most of your time you will work in our pediatric clinics, but you will participate in clinical rotations outside the facility to receive a comprehensive and well-rounded training.
These rotations include:
- Pediatric medicine
- Anesthesia
- Hematology/Oncology
- On-call/emergency care
- Chief resident
- Craniofacial Anomalies Clinic
Who are my patients? Patients are members of the San Antonio community. We also serve South Texas with locations in Laredo and at a variety of community clinics in Bexar County.
What else should I know? Our faculty will evaluate students on patient management and chair-side manner. You must serve our patients in a professional way to complete the program. You will be expected to complete a research project that includes data accumulation, protocol development, preparation of a scientific paper and presentation of your findings in a scientific forum.