University of Maryland School of Dentistry Offers New Certificate in Oral Health Science Program for Non-Dental Health Care Providers

BALTIMORE – The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) has announced an innovative new program for nurses, physician assistants, and other non-dental healthcare providers seeking advanced training in oral health and dental medicine. The curriculum is designed to help clinicians recognize and manage oral health infections, diseases, and systemic conditions to more effectively and efficiently improve overall health for their patients.

“By equipping health care professionals to detect oral conditions, particularly common oral diseases, such as periodontal diseases, we are equipping them to improve patient outcomes,” says Mary Beth Aichelmann-Reidy, DDS, chief of UMSOD’s Periodontics Division in the Department of Advanced Oral Sciences and Therapeutics. “The recognition of oral diseases and oral manifestations of systemic diseases is integral to health promotion and disease prevention.”

UMSOD’s new Certificate in Oral Health Science Program is designed as a post-baccalaureate program for non-dental healthcare professionals. The five course, 13-credit curriculum blends online instruction with face-to-face clinical experiences at the Universities of Shady Grove, in Rockville, Maryland. Designed for the working professional, the course can be completed part-time in less than 2 years.

Because professionals with expertise in oral and dental medicine will play an increasingly greater role on healthcare teams in advancing improved patient care outcomes, health practitioners will be trained in competencies central to the management of prevalent infections, diseases, and systemic conditions affecting the oral cavity. The training prepares practitioners to become leaders in emerging healthcare delivery models building on multi-disciplinary treatment paradigms; promotes knowledge and expertise, and provides participants with the communication and management tools needed within the integrative scope of interprofessional health care management.

Highlights of UMSOD’s innovative Certificate in Oral Health Science Program include:

• Designed for the working healthcare professional, the program can be completed part-time and within 18 months.
• The student will learn how to incorporate oral health services into care management.
• Participants will learn how to evaluate and recognize acute and chronic oral conditions and diseases.
• Enrollees will gain an understanding of the impact of oral disease on healthcare delivery and the overall well-being and health of patients.
• Students will be trained in oral dental radiology and will be prepared for dental radiology certification.
• This graduate certificate program will provide trained healthcare professionals with the tools necessary for better communication and collaboration within healthcare teams and improve patient care outcomes through oral health care management.

The program includes five courses:

• Oral Infection and Disease: Foundations for Recognition
• Contemporary Oral Therapeutics in Oral Medicine and Dentistry
• Complex Interplay: The Relationship between Oral Health and Systemic Disease
• Prevention and Oral Health Promotion
• Clinical Practicum in Oral Health Care Delivery and Oral Dental Radiology