| The Graduate Specialty Program in Periodontology prepares qualified dentists for specialty practice, teaching, and research in Periodontology and Oral Implantology through an advanced education program leading to a Postgraduate Certificate in Periodontology and a M.S. (Master of Science) degree in Oral Biology. Under program director Jon B. Suzuki, DDS, Ph.D., MBA, and deputy program director James A. Craig, DDS, MS, the 36-month program starting in July of each year provides advanced education in periodontology and oral implantology leading to clinical specialty certification. Fully accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education that can be contacted at 312-440-2719 or at 211 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611) with a recent commendation for its research training, the Graduate Periodontology Specialty Program at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry offers a comprehensive evidence-based approach to periodontology and oral implantology, with a particular emphasis on surgical oral implantology. Through a special affiliation arrangement with the Misch International Implant Institute in Michigan, Year I graduate periodontology students at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry attend and participate on a tuition-free basis (usual cost approximately $22,000) in six three-day advanced surgical oral implantology courses given in Detroit, Michigan at the Misch International Implant Institute under the direction of Carl E. Misch, DDS, MDS, appointed as Clinical Professor and Director of Oral Implantology in the Department of Periodontology at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry. Dr. Misch, along with other Temple University faculty experienced in oral implantology, provide periodontology specialty students at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry with an usually strong and thorough background in surgical oral implantology. Other program strengths include a new visiting lecture series featuring distinguished periodontists, modern and spacious clinic facilities, an unusually abundant and diverse patient pool in North Philadelphia with extensive periodontal treatment needs, and internationally recognized faculty with special expertise in periodontal immunology and early-onset forms of periodontitis (Dr. Jon B. Suzuki), periodontal epidemiology (Dr. Jasim M. Albandar), and clinical diagnostic periodontal microbiology/antimicrobial periodontal chemotherapy (Dr. Thomas E. Rams). The school’s Oral Microbiology Testing Service Laboratory, one of only four such state-licensed clinical periodontal microbiology reference laboratories in the United States, provides periodontal microbiology culture and antibiotic susceptibility analysis for the graduate periodontology program.
The rigorous, full-time, 36-month clinical specialty program encompasses clinical and didactic instruction presented over 3 years (6 semesters), 2 four-month summer sessions, and 2 two-month summer sessions at the beginning and the end of the program. Graduate Periodontology students matriculate at the beginning of July of each year and must remain in continuous residence for the entire program period. Part-time options are not available.
Graduate students receive the major part of their didactic education during the first year of the program and are tutored in clinical periodontics and surgical oral implantology. The didactic part of the program consists of seminar/lecture courses that require extensive reading, study and analysis of the primary scientific periodontal and oral implantology literature, and a series of basic science CORE oral biology courses taken jointly with graduate students from other advanced dental education programs. The program places emphasis on comprehensive clinical periodontal and oral implantology patient care, with approximately 50% of the curriculum devoted to gaining clinical competency in all accepted modes of periodontal therapy, including resective, regenerative and periodontal plastic surgical techniques, surgical oral implantology, sinus lift augmentation surgery, and contemporary approaches to anti-infective periodontal chemotherapy. Surgical experience includes clinical tutoring in several different endosseous dental implant systems. Clinical rotations through a hospital-based dental department and a clinical oral pathology laboratory are required, along with opportunities for training and experience in conscious sedation.
Graduate periodontology students at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Periodontology, a Master of Science in Oral Biology degree, and specialized surgical oral implantology training from the Misch International Implant Institute, which helps fulfill in part eligibility requirements of the American Board of Periodontology, and qualifications for Diplomate status in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Tuition for the first two years of the Graduate Periodontology Specialty Program is presently $29,298 for Pennsylvania residents, and $40,678 for non-Pennsylvania residents and international students. Tuition rates for the third year of the program are currently under review. No dental school stipends, scholarships or fellowship funding are presently available. Graduate periodontology students also have the opportunity to experience the culturally rich and exciting environment of historic Philadelphia, which is centrally located close to New York City, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pocono Mountains, the Amish rural community in Lancaster County, PA, and the Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington, DC region.
Three to four applicants are accepted each year. In the selection of applicants, preference is given to academically-accomplished candidates with one or more years of clinical practice experience or completion of a general practice residency (GPR) or an advanced education in general dentistry (AEGD) program. Preference also is given to applicants with prior research experience/training, scientific publications, and/or prior advanced degrees in basic science/biomedical fields.
Since English is the language of instruction at The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, adequate proficiency in both verbal and written comprehension and expression of English is a prerequisite for admission. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to attain Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores equivalent to 600 or higher prior to consideration for admission.
You can apply to the Graduate Periodontology Specialty Program by contacting the Office of Graduate Education and Research, The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, 3223 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19141 (telephone 215-707-7667; tcampbell@dental.temple.edu). Please submit applications and inquires by December 1 of each year.
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