Periodontology Curriculum and Courses

Note: Postgraduate Periodontology courses are designated PPER. 600-level courses are Postgraduate Periodontology course without CGHS credit. 800-level courses carry CGHS credit.

• PPER 800 – MDS (Periodontology) Research & Manuscript: This course provides postgraduate students with the experience of engaging in research in dental and related sciences, and to pursue a Masters of Dental Science (MDS) degree in the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences. Involvement in this course is arranged to meet individual student needs. Time commitment will average 3 hours per week during each semester of pursuit. Students work with advisors experienced in research methodology and scientific writing. Research mentorship is provided by faculty members gathered to satisfy the needs of the student and the research project being pursued. Student activities include topic-specific review of literature, research protocol development, hands-on research, data acquisition, statistical analysis and interpretation of experimental results, drawing conclusions, and publication of outcomes. Public defense of the research effort and submission of a manuscript to a professional journal in accordance with regulation established by the College of Graduate Health Sciences are required. Research, public defense, and manuscript submission accomplished during this course are in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Dental Science degree awarded by the UTHSC, College of Graduate Health Sciences. (Course Director – Dr. Sidney Stein; MDS Credit Hours: Variable; Offered: Spring & Fall)
• PPER 810 – Classic Periodontology Literature Review: This seminar is conducted regularly throughout all three  years of the residency program under the direction of the postgraduate periodontics faculty . The purpose of this seminar is exposure to classic and current concepts in various subject areas, as well as written and verbal evaluation of the literature reviewed. (Course Director – Dr. Vrushali Abhyankar; MDS Credit Hours: 4; Offered: Fall and Spring)
• PPER 811 – Contemporary Evidence-Based Periodontology Journal Club Interdisciplinary Seminar: This seminar is conducted regularly throughout the three year residency period. Periodontics, prosthodontics and endodontics residents present multidisciplinary cases  and major journals devoted to periodontics, endodontics and prosthodontics are reviewed selectively to follow an evidence based treatment approach. (Course Director – Dr. Anastasios Karydis; MDS Credit Hours: 2; Offered: Fall and Spring)
• PPER 812 – Conscious Sedation in Dentistry: This course aims to provide periodontal residents with the knowledge and clinical skills to: a) Provide minimal sedation with the use of oral medications and/or nitrous oxide, to alleviate anxiety and control pain without inducing detrimental physiological or psychological side effects. b) Select and safely administer effective intravenous moderate conscious sedation in an outpatient dental setting. The course, which includes Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support training/certification is offered during the Spring Semester of the first year of periodontal residency. (Course Director – Dr. Paul Bland; MDS Credit Hours: 4; Offered: Spring)
• PPER 814 – Research in Periodontal Pathobiology: This course will provide each first-year periodontal resident with the opportunity to engage in periodontally related research for 3 hours per week during the summer/fall semester. Student activities will include the following: critical verbal and written evaluation of research paradigms derived from the periodontal literature; development of appropriate strategies for performing thematic literature searches using on-line sources; and composing and critiquing a research protocol.  Direction for future research, as well as ongoing projects, will be discussed. (Course Director – Dr. Sidney Stein; MDS Credit Hours: 3; Offered: Fall)
• PPER 815 – Orthodontics-Periodontics Seminar: This seminar course is conducted by members of the Orthodontics and Periodontology faculties. Included are lectures on the interrelationships of orthodontic and periodontic approaches to common treatment situations. Emphasis is placed on the basic science mechanisms underlying periodontic and orthodontic therapies. Selected literature of common interest to the students of Orthodontics and Periodontics is reviewed. Graduate students present cases for diagnosis and treatment planning as well as cases treated in an interdisciplinary manner. The purpose of this seminar is to encourage greater interaction and understanding between orthodontist and periodontist, including the identification of patients to be treated jointly by graduate students in orthodontics and periodontics. (Course Director – Dr. Ayman Al-Dayeh; MDS Credit Hours: 1; Offered: Fall)
• PPER 821 – Treatment Planning Seminar: This course was developed by the course Director and aims to develop the periodontal resident’s knowledge, skills and ability to accurately plan treatment for a patient with multi-disciplinary and/or periodontal disease or acquired/developed conditions.  It is expected that this course will teach the periodontal resident to be able to select and then defend appropriate treatment options for patients with comprehensive treatment needs.  It will also require the periodontal resident to seek appropriate consultation from medical and dental specialists and use evidence-based literature material to develop appropriate treatment planning steps and procedures. (Course director – Dr. Douglas Dixon)
  
• PPER – 822 Periodontal Therapy Seminar: This course aims to develop the periodontal resident’s knowledge, skills and ability to appropriately defend and present selected therapy for a patient with multi-disciplinary and/or periodontal disease or acquired/developed conditions.  It is expected that this course will teach the periodontal resident to be able to evaluate different treatment modalities and options and then present evidence-based treatment and lessons learned with each case.  It will also require the periodontal resident to seek appropriate consultation from medical and dental specialists and use evidence-based literature material to ensure appropriate therapy and best practice procedures. (Course director – Dr. Douglas Dixon)
• PPER 823 – Periodontal Recall/Lecture: This course aims to develop the periodontal resident’s knowledge regarding previous treatment modalities and evaluate results of previous therapy.  It also allows a periodontal resident to learn the effectiveness of patient compliance and past treatment dogma regarding outcomes of therapy.  Recall presentations will also require the periodontal resident to treatment plan current or future needs of patients who have previously underwent past procedures and may or may not have been compliant with supportive periodontal therapy. Lectures are designed to encourage the periodontal resident to become “subject matter experts” on various periodontal, medical, or multi-specialty treatment planning procedures which will further augment the periodontal resident’s fund of knowledge. (Course director – Dr. Douglas Dixon)
  
• PPER 622 – Seminars in Periodontal Surgery: course is devoted to the indications, advantages, limitations and contraindications, as well as the technical approach to the management of periodontal diseases and conditions using standard periodontal surgical procedures. (Course Director – Dr. Vrushali Abhyankar)
• PPER 626/627 – UTHSC and Church Health Clinical Periodontics: Approximately 65% percent of the resident’s clinical time is spent in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center dental school postgraduate periodontics clinic where advanced experience is gained in the management of all types of periodontal treatment situations. 2^nd and 3^rd year residents spend 10% and 20% of their clinical time at Church health center. Emphasis is given to detailed case workup, analysis of all dental and periodontal problems, providing experience in a wide variety of approaches to periodontal treatment, clinical and photographic documentation of all treatment procedures performed and a careful evaluation of post-treatment results, including maintenance therapy for all patients treated in the postgraduate periodontics clinic. Experience is gained in the treatment planning, placement and maintenance of dental implants, as well as various approaches to anxiety control and sedation.
• PPER 630 – Current Literature Review: This course in intended to review current literature from scholarly sources, present information, discuss materials and techniques pertaining to a specific topic, within the field of Periodontics. (Course director – Dr. Pooja AjitSankardas)
  
• PPER 638 – Practice Management: This seminar and demonstration course is designed to prepare the student for all phases of the “business” of periodontics as well as the responsibility of being a professional. This course essentially covers the management of private practice (office location and layout, staff policies and procedures, office forms, bookkeeping systems, case presentation, ethics, etc.), office visitations (observing the activities of community periodontists and their auxiliary personnel) and the relationship of the specialist to other professionals. Guest lecturers (lawyer, accountant, banker, investment counselor, insurance agent, estate planner, and representatives of organized dentistry) also provide information concerning business and ethics. The course is supplemented with guest lectures by practicing periodontists from various geographical areas. (Course Director – Dr. Binkley)
  
• PPRO 850 – Comprehensive Prosthodontically Driven Implant Dentistry: The two-semester course is intended to introduce periodontal and prosthodontic residents to prosthodontically-driven implant dentistry. A progression of modules will be completed to expose learners to the diagnosis and treatment planning, surgical procedures, restorative workflows, and maintenance phase of dental implant therapy. A variety of educational resources will be utilized, including resident presentations on assigned topics, case presentations, didactic seminars, and hands-on exercises. Teaching materials will be posted in an online Blackboard course, so they are available for future reference. The course goal is that residents will gain comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge, enhance their utilization of clinical photography and patient data collection, and use critical thinking in case selection and patient care management regarding dental implant treatment. (Course directors – Dr. Gullard and Dr. Ferriera).