Advanced Education General Dentistry Certificate (Graduate)

Expand your knowledge and refine your clinical competency and judgment with a 12-month graduate certificate program in Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) from Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry.  The program is designed to accommodate six recent dental school graduates who function in the program as residents as well as applicants who hold a DMD or DDS degree from a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) accredited dental school. Dentists who hold a BDS, DMD or DDS from an international dental school not accredited by CODA may apply to the AEGD program for international dentists.  

The field of dentistry is rapidly evolving, with new restorative technologies being pioneered and patients who live longer and have more complex medication and healthcare needs. The program takes you beyond the four-year DMD curriculum and strengthens your knowledge base and clinical judgment, helping you keep pace with advances in the field. While primary patient care provides the majority of residents’ learning experience, you’ll also further enhance your diagnostic skills and ability to develop patient-appropriate treatment plans through the didactic curriculum and weekly seminars covering treatment planning, literature reviews and topics in general dentistry.

Residents train to operate effectively and collaborate efficiently within cross-functional healthcare teams while honing their ability to provide emergency, multidisciplinary and patient-centered oral healthcare to a diverse community of patients with a broad spectrum of conditions and needs.

Certificate students acquire robust clinical experience by working in the AEGD Clinic, which operates as a stand-alone clinic with a staff of dental assistants and hygienists. Rotations in postgraduate endodontology and periodontology and implantology supplement the comprehensive patient care assignment in the AEGD clinical facility. Dedicated faculty, who are experts in their fields and who are full-time, tenured members of the Department of Restorative Dentistry, instruct and support residents throughout their clinical development and treatment of complex cases.

AEGD Program for International Dentists

The Kornberg School of Dentistry offers a postgraduate opportunity for dentists who hold a BDS, DMD or DDS degree from an international dental school not accredited by CODA. This comprehensive program includes both clinical and didactic training, and the flexibility to attain an optional Oral Health Sciences MS. 

Residents in this one-year program also have the flexibility to pursue an optional second year of AEGD training and/or to earn an optional Master’s of Science degree in Oral Health Sciences. Those interested in the optional MS degree must apply to both the first-year AEGD and MS programs concurrently. If accepted to both programs, the tuition for the MS degree program will be included in the AEGD tuition. Learn more about how to apply to the AEGD program for international applicants.

This AEGD program begins in July and runs through the following June. In addition to tuition and fees, students are also required to pay an annual instrument fee. International dentists who have not already completed a DMD or DDS degree from a CODA-accredited institution are not able to be considered for the stipend-based AEGD program.

Facilities

The AEGD program has a 15-chair clinical facility that includes 

• a fully equipped dental laboratory, 

• expanded dental operatories, 

• instrument and materials storage,

• radiology capability, 

• resident office space, 

• sterilization area, and

• waiting room and front desk space.

Learn more about facilities in the School of Dentistry.

Classes & Curriculum

While most of the courses residents complete focus on primary patient care, the weekly didactic curriculum includes literature review, treatment planning, general dentistry and prosthodontics seminars. 

The Advanced Education in General Dentistry program includes didactic instruction over a 12-month period. Core courses include

• Advanced Oral Pathology,
• Advanced Dental Pharmacology,
• Advanced Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, and
• Oral Microbiology and Immunology.

Learn more about coursework for the Advanced Education in General Dentistry certificate program.

Related Professional Degrees

• Dentistry DMD
• International Dentists DMD

Related Graduate Certificates

• Endodontics
• Dental Public Health
• Orthodontics
• Periodontics

Careers

Recipients of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Certificate are prepared to become

• comprehensive general dentists,
• educators and
• researchers.

Career Development

Through the Office of Student Affairs, students pursuing careers in dentistry can get counseling and support during their tenure at Kornberg and after they graduate. The office regularly hosts career events and guest speakers covering a wide range of topics including

• corporate and private practice careers,
• debt management,
• general practice residencies,
• military service, and
• specialty education.

Once enrolled in the program, you will receive regular notifications about career opportunities. Additionally, the school provides an updated list of job opportunities for dental professionals across the U.S.