5.2.1 - Dental Student Patient Management

All prospective patients are required to receive a screening assessment in Oral Diagnosis to determine their suitability as patients in the clinical program. After a preliminary evaluation of the medical/dental history and status, they will either be provisionally accepted, rejected, or referred based on an assessment of many factors, including potential value to the teaching program, ability to pay for treatment, availability for regular appointments, the ability of dental students to provide necessary care, etc. 

The purpose of the screening assessment is to select suitable patients for treatment and to provide the student with diagnostic experiences. The student dialogue with the patient during initial screening is critical to the patient’s understanding and acceptance of the program and its parameters. 

Accepted patients sign the Terms of Participation Form and are placed in the unassigned patient file to await future assignments and periodic review for appropriateness in meeting the clinical experiential needs of students. The assignments are made by the Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs based on the requests of the Group Practice Directors and the Assistant Group Practice Directors. 

DS2 Faculty Advisor: Professor, Department of Diagnostic & Preventive Sciences

DS3 / DS4 Faculty Advisor: Group Practice Directors Division of Comprehensive Care

Shillingburg Clinic 1
Shillingburg Clinic 2
Shillingburg Clinic 3

Miranda Clinic 1
Miranda Clinic 2
Miranda Clinic 3

Robertson Clinic 1
Robertson Clinic 2
Robertson Clinic 3

The College of Dentistry, as a teaching institution, is strongly committed to providing its students with the best educational experience possible and as such, makes every effort to provide patients for students that offer a wide range of clinical experiences.  More importantly, the College is also committed to providing its patients with comprehensive care that is patient-centered and affordable.

Patients are accepted based on their educational value and assigned to students based on the student’s educational requirements.  There may be instances when an assigned patient does not exactly match the assignment request made by the student; this is unavoidable as treatment needs and the patient’s treatment expectations are subject to change with time.

Students are expected to act with professionalism, responsibility, and accountability in accepting patient assignments; repeated complications in the assignment process with a particular student will ultimately result in the student becoming responsible for procuring his/ her own patients for treatment.

Patients are screened in the Oral Diagnosis Clinic. This clinic is staffed by faculty and assigned students who are on an oral diagnosis rotation (see Section 5.1.2.4: Clinic Schedules). All patients, when completing the screening process, may be recommended for the student clinic, the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program, or may be rejected for our school programs. 

Common reasons for rejection from the student clinics are a case may be too complex for a student or other reasons that may make it difficult to deliver the dental care required.

During the assessment examination, key factors are entered into the axiUm record to categorize the patient’s dental needs. Once the examination is complete and the patient has been provisionally accepted into the program, the assessment information is provided to the Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs.

On a bi-weekly basis, these patients are assigned to the Group Practice Directors. Senior patient assignments are made by the Group Practice Director to his/her students via the Communications Center. Junior patient assignments are made by faculty designated to either Miranda, Robertson, or Shillingburg Clinic. Sophomore patients are assigned by the Sophomore faculty designated for assignments.

While students are on scheduled rotation in the Oral Diagnosis clinic, they may screen a patient whose needs match their clinical requirements. A request for a specific assignment of a patient, who a student has personally screened, may be submitted to the Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs; however, there is no agreement that the patient will be assigned to the requested student. Students are not to make promises to any patient regarding when or to whom the assignment will be made.

A student may personally screen and request assignments from family members, friends, or relatives of patients already in their patient family.  Such assignment requests will usually be honored, provided the patient’s dental needs meet the student’s level of ability.  

Once a patient assignment has been made by the Group Practice Director or DS2 Faculty Advisor, the patient’s information is referred to the Communications Center for entry of the assignment and scheduling of the initial workup appointment.