Penn Veterinary Medicine | University of Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

            Penn’s involvement with veterinary dentistry began about 38 years ago as an informal case-based collaboration between MJR-VHUP staff and staff from the University of Pennsylvania Dental School, which is one block from MJR-VHUP. For many years, dentistry was part of the Soft Tissue Surgery Service, and was spun off as a separate clinical service, with its own residents, about 19 years ago. MJR-VHUP has had a dental hygienist on staff since the early 1980s. Academic links with the Dental School have continued, and veterinary dental residents are welcome to attend lectures and seminars at the Dental School and to collaborate with Dental School staff on projects.

 

 

The Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service currently consists of three AVDC-certified faculty members, three residents, one dental hygienist, one dental hygienist that is also a veterinary technician, and two veterinary technicians:

 

Alexander Reiter, Dipl. Tzt., Dr. med. vet., Dipl. AVDC, EVDC, Assistant Professor of Dentistry, Head of the Dentistry Service

John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, Dipl. AVDC, Assistant Professor of Dentistry, Director of the Dental Residency Program

Bonnie Miller, RDH, BS, Staff Dental Hygienist

Jeanette Hernandez, RDH, CVT, Dental Hygienist and Veterinary Technician

Jodi Stern, CVT, VTS (Dentistry), Certified Veterinary Dental Technician

Pat March, AHT,CVT, VTS (Dentistry) Certified Veterinary Dental Technician

Kristin Walker, DVM, Resident in Dentistry (July 2007 – July 2010)

Sarah Bonner, DVM, Resident in Dentistry (July 2008-July 2011)

Robert Menzies, BVSc, Resident in Dentistry (July 2009-July 2012)

 

 

 

Dr. Wilfried Mai, Assistant Professor of Radiology and Chief, Section of Radiology, MJR-VHUP

Dr. Paula Larenza, Assistant Professor, Anesthesia Service, MJR-VHUP

Michael Goldschmidt, BVSc, MSc, MRCVS, Professor of Pathology and Head, Surgical Biopsy Service, School of Veterinary Medicine

Dorothy Cimino Brown, Associate Professor of Surgery, Chief of Surgery, MJR-VHUP

(in order of completion of program)

 

Jamie Anderson, DVM, MS, RDH, Dipl. AVDC, ACVIM

Philippe Hennet, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, EVDC

Paul Orsini, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, AVDC

Eva Sarkiala, DVM, PhD, Dipl. AVDC

Marco Gioso, DVM, PhD, DDS, Dipl. AVDC

William Rosenblad, DVM

Margherita Gracis, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, EVDC

Alexander Reiter, Dipl. Tzt., Dr. med. vet., Dipl. AVDC, EVDC

Simone Ostermeier, MRCVS, Dipl. EVDC

John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, Dipl. AVDC

Jennifer Rawlinson, DVM, Dipl. AVDC

Curtis Stiles, DVM

Stanley Blazejewski, VMD

Viacheslav Eroshin, DVM

 

 

The training program will commence with a general orientation for all new MJR-VHUP residents on July 14^th. The residency is designed to provide training and increase knowledge and experience in the discipline of dentistry through exposure to clinical dentistry and oral/maxillofacial surgery, research related to these disciplines, and teaching. The training program at MJR-VHUP is approved by the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC), and residents entering the program will register with the AVDC and are expected to submit the reports required by the AVDC to maintain their AVDC eligibility. The program is three years, full-time. The third year includes time for preparation of the AVDC examination, time for completion of research projects, and clinical time as a Chief Resident. Progress to the second and third year of the program is dependent on satisfactory completion of the first and second year, respectively. The resident’s performance will be evaluated twice annually by his/her supervisors. There is normally a first, second and third year resident in place at any one time.

 

The major responsibilities of the resident are to receive patients, diagnose their problems, perform dental and oral/maxillofacial surgical procedures on and carry out the post-surgical management of the patients that are admitted to the hospital. The resident receives guided instruction on client communication and patient care and performs clinical procedures under supervision. The extent of instruction and supervision is matched to the experience and abilities of the resident. Residents also instruct veterinary students and interns and share responsibilities for dental emergencies and weekend and holiday coverage with staff members. The resident’s responsibility for patient care and teaching increases as training progresses and is dependent upon a demonstrated level of proficiency. The residency also provides opportunities for practice of procedures on cadavers, reading of relevant literature, and discussion of residency-related topics. The resident is expected to participate in at least one research project that can be completed during the three-year residency period. Residents generally have one day every week for laboratory sessions, professional development, and research.

 

            The annual VHUP dental, oral/maxillofacial surgery, and oral medicine caseload is approximately 500-550 animals anesthetized for treatment, and another 150-200 seen as consultations only. This caseload produces about 750 AVDC case procedures each year. The caseload consists predominantly of dogs and cats with periodontal disease, tooth fractures, chronic oral inflammation or tooth resorption. Extensive oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures (trauma, congenital defects, neoplasia) and advanced endodontic and restorative procedures are well represented. Though malocclusion consultations are common, few active orthodontic movement procedures are performed.

 

Additional experience in clinical dental disciplines may be obtained during cadaver practice and extramural visits by the resident to other Diplomates of the AVDC, and by occasional visits to the Philadelphia Zoo and other regional exotic animal collections including the New Jersey State Aquarium and the Lehigh Zoo. The Special Species Section at VHUP provides opportunities for diagnosis and treatment of oral conditions in small mammals, birds and reptiles. The University Laboratory Animal Resources Service uses the VHUP Dental Service for consultations, which results in opportunity for clinical experience with monkeys and occasionally other species. When practical, residents may visit New Bolton Center (the School’s Large Animal Hospital, 35 miles southwest of VHUP) when equine oral and dental cases are treated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year One         42 weeks         MJR-VHUP Dental Service rotations*

 4 weeks         Anesthesia, soft tissue/orthopedic surgery, and radiology rotations

 4 weeks         External rotations or project work**

 

Year Two        44 weeks         MJR-VHUP Dental Service rotations*

 

Year Three      44 weeks         MJR-VHUP Dental Service rotations*

 2 weeks         Vacation

 

* MJR-VHUP Dental Service rotation

Monday:         Clinic appointments, rounds, laboratory session for students

Tuesday:         Clinical/surgical procedures under anesthesia, rounds

Wednesday:    Clinic appointments, rounds, laboratory session for students

Thursday:        Clinical/surgical procedures under anesthesia, rounds

Friday:            Emergency or over-booked dental and oral/maxillofacial surgical procedures, reading/project day, laboratory session or extramural visit**

 

Follow-up care of hospitalized cases on weekends is required occasionally. Weekend and holiday coverage of current cases or emergencies is split between the residents, and clinician back up is provided.

 

** To be determined by the resident’s supervisors

 

The program includes one-week rotations through the services of anesthesia, soft tissue surgery, orthopedic surgery, and radiology to fulfill the AVDC requirements. Laboratory sessions are times for instruction in and practice of clinical procedures on cadaver material.

 

The resident will have access to a computerized veterinary dental bibliographic database, various other electronic databases of the university’s libraries, and an extensive collection of veterinary dental books, journals and videotapes. Both the Dental School Library and the Biomedical Library are close to MJR-VHUP (one block away). Although the program specializes in treatment of small animals (dogs, cats, plus other species patients seen through MJR-VHUP’s Special Species Service), occasional visits to the Philadelphia Zoo, other regional exotic animal collections, New Bolton Center and to university research animal facilities are included. Time for visits to other veterinary dental practices and to human dentists is provided each year. Teaching, patient care, and research are enhanced by interaction with the medical and dental schools at the University of Pennsylvania. Funds will be provided to enable the resident to attend the Annual Veterinary Dental Forum (the nation’s largest veterinary dental meeting).

 

The resident will be encouraged to present clinical case reports at veterinary dental meetings and to participate in ongoing research or to develop an individual research project that will be presented at MJR-VHUP Grand Rounds.

 

The salary for a first year resident will be $27,000 per year. Health insurance, professional liability insurance, and other personal benefits are provided or significantly discounted. On-site parking is provided free of charge for residents.

 

 

The University of Pennsylvania participates in the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC) Veterinary Intern and Resident Matching Program (VIRMP). This requires that applicants submit a rank order form to VIRMP (due on January 15, 2010) in addition to submitting application materials described below to the University of Pennsylvania (due on December 7, 2009). Please visit the VIRMP web site at www.virmp.org for information on the VIRMP application process and an application package. Applicants will be notified of the results of the matching process on February 8, 2010.

 

            There are no citizenship or licensure requirements for residents at MJR-VHUP, except that applicants must be graduate veterinarians who have completed (by the date of commencement of the residency) a one-year internship; employment in a multi-veterinarian companion animal or mixed veterinary practice for one year or more may be acceptable as equivalent to an internship – please provide details of the practice experience. The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

 

The deadline for receipt of the complete application is December 7, 2009. To apply, submit a letter indicating your reasons for wanting to participate in a veterinary dental residency program, and include your curriculum vitae and veterinary school transcript sent from your school of graduation directly to the VIRMP website. Also include a list of three to six standardized letters of reference, preferably from veterinarians and individuals familiar with the applicant's training, clinical experience, and speciality interest. All items should be submitted electronically via the VIRMP by the December 7, 2009 deadline.

Foreign veterinarians do not require the US and/or State veterinary medicine license in order to practice veterinary medicine at MJR-VHUP. However, foreign nationals should be prepared to pay US $1,000 to the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) for expedited H-1B visa processing, in addition to the standard visa fee.

 

Visits by prospective residency applicants are encouraged. Please contact Dr. John Lewis for further information:

 

Phone: (215) 746-0135

Fax:     (215) 898-9937

Email: jrlewis@vet.upenn.edu