Curriculum Overview

Advanced Standing International Student Program

The Advanced Standing International Student Program​ ​(ISP) consists of didactic courses supported by on-line resources, preclinical simulated courses and clinical courses involving direct patient care in the school's clinics.

The ISP program is a hybrid program where ISP students take some of their courses with just their ISP cohort and other courses with the traditional dental students. This has been designed specifically to fast-track courses that incoming advanced standing students will already have taken. Thus, the first two to three months are spent in fast-paced, intensive pre-clinical courses both didactic and simulated labs. ISP students begin to see their first patients during the 3rd month of school in the Periodontics Clinic and Transition Clinic.

The courses just for ISPs include restorative dentistry, occlusion, complete and removable prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics, endodontics, esthetic dentistry, oral radiology, and implant dentistry. Additionally, students take multiple lecture courses alongside second year dental students including clinical dental pharmacology, orofacial pain, oral surgery, infection control, diagnostic radiology, pediatric dentistry, pain control and medical emergencies.

Beginning in the summer, ISP students will regularly see patients in the clinics, and begin performing restorative, endodontics, operative dentistry, periodontics, oral diagnosis, emergency and oral surgery procedures. The time spent in the clinic is integrated with the traditional students. Students also participate in a case presentation seminar where they present treatment plans and patient cases to their faculty and peers.

Finally, ISP students take a course in communications and behavior change in order to bring international students up to par with American patient expectations. This interactive course is designed to facilitate the transition to the American clinical setting with an emphasis on systemic and oral health.

ISP students who do not enter with Part 2 or INBDE complete will take the exam between their first and second years of the ISP program.

During the second year, students continue to practice comprehensive patient care. Additionally, students take multiple courses in hospital dentistry, oral pathology, clinical oncology, forensic dentistry, dental ethics, public health and orthodontics alongside second and third year dental students.

In the second year, students begin preparing for state or regional board examinations in order to become licensed dentists in the United States. Depending on where the student will practice after graduation will dictate when and where the tests take place.

Optional Curriculum

ISP students also have some additional elective credits and research projects that they can opt to pursue. Students participate in these based upon their interests, as well as the amount of time they can dedicate above the required curriculum. They are not a part of the standard curriculum and can occur throughout their time of study, however, it is highly recommended that they not begin until after the first semester. These includes a global health dentistry course, Guatemala CU Smiles Program, our Advanced Clinical Training Service Program (ACTS), and research.

Critical Thinking
  • Evaluate and integrate emerging trends in health care
  • Utilize critical thinking to evaluate and integrate best research outcomes with clinical expertise and patient values for evidence-based practice.
Professionalism
  • Make professional decisions that satisfy legal, societal and ethical principles.
  • Use self-evaluative skills to assess individual knowledge and abilities, to practice within the scope of one’s competence and make appropriate professional referrals, and to identify areas of deficiency to correct through lifelong learning.
  • Collaborate effectively with other health professionals to facilitate the provision of overall health care.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
  • Apply appropriate interpersonal and communication skills to create a humanistic environment.
  • Communicate effectively with diverse patients and other health care providers to ensure appropriate, patient-centered patient treatment.
Health Promotion
  • Provide prevention, intervention and educational strategies.
  • Participate with dental team members and other health care professionals in the management and health promotion for all patients.
  • Recognize and appreciate the need to contribute to the improvement of oral health beyond those served in traditional practice settings.
Practice Management and Informatics
  • Evaluate and apply regulatory agency requirements for dental practices such as infection control, HIPAA and environmental and office safety programs
  • Apply principles of risk management including informed consent
  • Demonstrate effective business practices, financial management and human resource skills
Patient Care
Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
  • Perform an examination that collects biological, psychological, clinical, radiographic and other diagnostic/consultative information required to evaluate the health, oral conditions, needs, and expectations of patients of all ages.
  • Recognize, diagnose and interpret normal and abnormal conditions of the orofacial complex (to include oral cancer), occlusal and temporomandibular disease, craniofacial growth and development that require monitoring, treatment or management.
  • Develop, present and discuss individual sequenced treatment plans for patients of all ages consistent with patient’s condition, interest, goals and capabilities.

Establishment and Maintenance of a Healthy Oral Environment

Management of Emergency Situations

  • Anticipate, diagnose, and provide initial treatment and follow-up management for medical emergencies that may occur during dental treatment
  • Recognize and manage dental emergencies to include acute pain, hemorrhage, trauma, and infection of the orofacial complex

Control of Pain and Anxiety

  • Employ pharmacological agents and techniques to manage orofacial discomfort and psychological distress
Periodontal Therapy
  • Diagnose, treatment plan, comprehensively treat, and maintain patients with periodontal disease in the primary, mixed, and permanent dentitions

Endodontic Therapy

  • Diagnose and treat diseases of pulpal and periradicular origin in the primary, mixed, and permanent dentitions 
Surgical and Non-Surgical Therapies
  • Diagnose and treat conditions requiring reparative surgical procedures and non-surgical therapies on the hard and oral soft tissues

Restorative/Prosthodontic Therapy

  • Provide single or multiple tooth restorations, with appropriate fixed or removable techniques, to restore anatomic form, function, and esthetics to patients of all ages.
  • Continually analyze the outcomes of patient treatment to improve patient care.