Agree with Calidental,
There are some really nice programs out there.But to be able to filter out the best and also have the luck of being selected is quite rare,I believe.
There are some real nice programs especially in state schools.The advantage of it being that your fees is either zero or in some you actually get paid.
LSU-for eg is a great school.They have a new building to where they shifted from Baton Rouge.The city is recuperating though,it is still a few years in the works.They are the kings in aesthetic dentistry-no doubt about it.Their wax-ups blew me away.
Certain schools have operative dentistry courses and here is where it gets tricky,I feel.Usually in such situations,you dont get to do Veneers since it goes to Operative.I feel that is ridiculous.
There are schools where Implants are the norm.They do very advanced Pros.Not all schools do advanced Pros.And when I mean adv,I am referring to Tr planning a case with intense collaboration with all the indicated specialties-so that there is no compromise on the result.An attempt at this is very important irrespective of the financial situation of the pt,atleast initially.But if treatment planning is done according to the financial situation-I feel that hurts one's planning skills.
There are very few state schools where you get to learn surgical placement of implants.Prosthodontists are probably the best surgeons(regarding implants) out there,because they think restoratively when placing them,which is highly important.No offense to Perio/OS,but Pros guys will do a great job when properly trained.
Ofcourse,I don't think we will achieve a standard of doing flapless like perio/OS in placements,because-let's face it,no matter how easy it looks,it's simply too complicated to do it.
You need to make sure you learn the hybrids.I feel there is going to be a lot of demand for them and I'm positive that the price will come down a bit too on those.
Overdentures,Single-stage,Singe-piece are all part of the game.But It is necessary to be familiar with a bunch of implant systems to offer your patient a wide variety of choice-unlike in some schools where they are limited to just one system-most definitely because of sponsorships.
I have very limited knowledge on RPDs,but I feel that schools need to look at this part as well.All cases are not fit for implants/fixed.Sometimes the best treatment will be an RPD.I have met quite a lot of residents who either do not know how/simply do not like doing them.But I feel the basics need to be learnt and a couple of cases need be done in residency.
You will never find the perfect match,due to innumerable dynamics,but like my mentor says,
"You can make a great education out of a lousy program-It simply just depends on you."
