Dental Rotations and Didactics
About the Rotation Sites
The CHA Windsor Street Care Center is located in a multi-purpose community center at 119 Windsor Street in Cambridge. It is one of CHA's busiest care centers, serving a diverse, multicultural community.
Health care services provided include adult and pediatric primary care, mental health services and dentistry. The center serves as the primary site for outpatient dental care at CHA, with seven dental operatories and over 12,000 annual patient visits.
The Harvard Dental Center (HDC) is the clinical site of the General Practice Residency (GPR) program at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. It is located on the first floor at 188 Longwood Avenue in Boston.
This facility is also used by postdoctoral programs, letting residents practice side by side with world-renowned Harvard faculty. The HDC boasts 24 dental operatories, radiology, laboratory, sterilization area, reception area and business office.
About the Experience
Building on the clinical and academic strengths of CHA and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, this residency program integrates dental and medical training. By bridging the gap between these disciplines, the program prepares residents with the interdisciplinary knowledge required to practice as oral physicians within a complex healthcare system.
The CHA GPR curriculum features rotations in Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia, and the Oral Physician Model. In these roles, residents collaborate with interprofessional teams to provide primary care and screenings, fostering an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between oral and systemic health.
Rotation Descriptions
Anesthesia: This is a two week, full time assignment to the Department of Anesthesiology. Residents participate in the administration of general anesthesia to inpatients and ambulatory surgery patients under direction of a staff anesthesiologist.
Medicine: This is a two week, full time assignment to the Family Medicine Residency to observe and participate in the management of non-dental patients from admission to discharge in accordance with ambulatory care and hospital protocols.
Emergency Medicine: This is a one week, full time assignment to one of the CHA emergency rooms with duties to be assigned by the designated emergency room physician.
Oral Physician Model: By combining patient histories with physical exams, residents develop diagnostic skills at CHA and Harvard-affiliated sites. The program’s curriculum bridges the medical-dental divide through the management of oral manifestations of systemic conditions. Residents gain critical experience analyzing how social drivers of health and medical interventions alter dental treatment plans, all while fostering a professional culture of sensitivity and inclusive care.
The curriculum further includes specialized clinical rotations spanning Operating Room Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry, Inpatient Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, and Public Health Outreach.
Patient Care Activities
Clinical Dental Services: Residents provide comprehensive and emergency dental care through rotations at two primary sites: the Windsor Street Care Center (six months total) and the Harvard Dental Center (three months total). These rotations are interspersed throughout the academic year under the supervision of full- and part-time Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty.
Standard Clinical Hours:
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- Harvard Dental Center: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Windsor Clinic: 8:30 am – 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm – 5:00 pm
Extended Hours: Open late on Mondays and select Saturdays
After Hours On-call Duty: Each resident is required to perform emergency first call duties for Cambridge Health Alliance hospitals on a rotational basis. Program faculty members provide second call service on a rotational basis as well.
Didactic Program
Our residency offers a rigorous, year-round didactic curriculum led by Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty and respected guest lecturers. The program integrates clinical dentistry and medicine with practice management and public health to ensure a well-rounded professional foundation. These core concepts are reinforced through seminars, literature reviews, clinical rotations, and case presentations.
Overall Goals and Program Objectives
The General Practice Residency Program will:
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- General Dentistry: Train residents to act as primary care "oral physicians" with a focus on general dentistry by building upon their existing foundation to master advanced diagnosis, ethical decision-making, comprehensive treatment planning, and clinical knowledge and skills across operative dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, fixed and removable prosthodontics, oral surgery, and emergency dental services.
- Resident Education: Expand residents' knowledge and clinical expertise across key dental disciplines through a robust clinical and didactic curriculum, evidence-based dentistry, quality-improvement strategies, and the implementation of technology-based information systems (EHR, telehealth, and digital equipment) to foster lifelong learning.
- Patient Care: Enable residents to manage overall patient care needs through health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, risk assessment, and effective referral skills, ensuring coordinated, patient-centered care for diverse populations.
- Community Service: Empower residents to develop the skills, knowledge, and cultural humility required to deliver oral healthcare, health promotion, and public education outside the traditional clinics, meeting local community needs through health screenings, fairs, and/or street medicine.
- Hospital-Based Oral Health Care: Train residents to provide comprehensive oral health care in a hospital setting for diverse and medically, socially, and behaviorally complex patients by collaborating effectively with interdisciplinary medical teams to integrate dental treatment with patients’ overall healthcare needs.
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