Craniofacial Orthodontic Fellowships

[Patientsarenumberone]

I'd just like to provide a little information and clarification for those interested in pursuing additional training through craniofacial orthodontic fellowship programs in the US. First off, congratulations on your interest in becoming a leader in treating the segment of the orthodontic population who, in my opinion, needs our help the most. Although these programs exist in various forms at separate stages of dental education, the current CODA approved fellowships are designed for individuals who have already completed orthodontic residency. These programs can be found on the American Lip and Palate Association website: http://www.acpa-cpf.org/education/fellowships/ .

For orthodontists who may not have had the chance to treat syndromic or cleft lip and palate patients during their residency, I think this is an excellent opportunity to pursue focused training. It is sad that our profession does not do more to increase access to care for these patients, who often have insurance and are willing to pay for care like anyone else. In my opinion, the more of us that are trained in this the better. One year is not very long, and I encourage you to do it.

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[playa2652]

Hi. I am starting my ortho residency in July and I was thinking about maybe pursuing a fellowship at NYU or Children's Hospital LA, do you know any information about these programs? Also, my orthodontics program is fairly new, but my directors have been teaching for 30+ years in a different institution...I just wanted to know how competitive these fellowships are? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

Finally which programs should I try and completely avoid? If I'm going to do a craniofacial ortho fellowship, I want the best experience possible.

 

[Patientsarenumberone]

Regarding your question, I would contact the program directors directly. The details of the programs change over time. For a start I would ask them the following questions:

1) How much actual hands-on clinic time do you have per week working with cleft and syndromic patients?
2) How many patients are yours alone and not shared with the residents?
3) What type of procedures do you get practical training in (NAM, orthognathic surgery, distraction osteogenesis, etc.)?
4) Do you work primarily with the plastic surgeons, oral surgeons or both?
5) Who supervises you and which clinical faculty are responsible for teaching you? Are these individuals full or part-time?
6) Do you just watch on your rotations, or do you get to actually participate in treatment?
7) Are the orthodontists involved in the actual surgical treatment planing of the orthognathic cases, or are you expected to be a "band-boy" who puts handles on teeth?
8) Is the program housed within a dental school, hospital or plastic surgery department?

These are all details you should look into, and determine what is necessary for your individualized training needs.

I would avoid any craniofacial orthodontic fellowships which haven't been CODA approved. This means that an outside regulatory agency evaluates the standards of the program.


The fellowships at Case Western, NYU and Children's Hospital in LA are all good programs from what I've heard based on experience.

 

[gryffindor]

We saw so many cleft and syndrome patients when I was a resident. I did not realize this is not the norm at other programs when this fellowship track was announced.

 

[Pittsburgh Cleft Ortho]

Congratulations in choosing to pursue training in treating the deserving cleft-craniofacial orthodontic population! Please be aware the American Cleft Palatal Craniofacial Association has a resident scholarship to attend their annual session. Also see their page for a listing of orthodontic fellowships: http://www.acpa-cpf.org/education/fellowships/. Of particular note, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, a leader in cleft-craniofacial team care, seeing over 4500 patients annually, recently announced a cleft craniofacial orthodontic fellowship program. The orthodontic division is a full time orthodontic practice that is dedicated to the birth-adulthood treatment of persons with clefts and craniofacial conditions. Please email: [email protected] for more information.

 

[NY OMFS]

While not primary a cleft fellowship, Jacobi Medical Center offers an Orthodontic Orthognathic Fellowship.

The following is from our website (www.jacobidental.org):

Applications are now being accepted for the 2015-2016 Jacobi Orthodontic/Orthognathic Fellowship. We are now offering a part time Fellowship in addition to our full time Fellowship. To request an application, please email a "Letter of Intent" and a current CV to Dr. Myron Gurman at [email protected]. There is no application fee.

This program emphasizes advanced treatment of dentofacial deformities with a focus on orthognathic surgery. Jacobi Medical Center Department of Dentistry is affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NY). Our Oral & Maxillofacial Residency is a six year program with rotations through Jacobi, North Central Bronx and Beth Israel Hospitals. Fellows also participate in the management of patients with craniofacial defects, including syndromic patients and all stages of cleft lip and palate treatment. Fellows will participate in the Hospital's Congential Craniofacial Care Center monthly conferences.

The Orthodontic Fellow will work with the Oral & Maxillofacial faculty & residents, Pediatric Dentistry faculty & residents as well as the attending orthodontists. The faculty profiles can be found on the Jacobi web site.

The Orthodontic attendings at Jacobi will be mentoring & guiding the Fellow on a regular basis. The Fellow will be trained in all aspects of pre and post surgical orthodontics. We use 3-D computer based surgical planning in which the Fellow will be proficient. The Fellow will be actively involved in the clinical treatment of all the orthognathic patients.

The Fellow is expected to utilize our vast patient volume to conduct independent research and publish articles relating to the treatment rendered at Jacobi. We have teleconferencing abilities with Beth Israel for our Orthognathic Conferences. The Fellow will present cases at conferences along with the OMFS residents. The Fellow will join the OMFS staff in the operating room to "scrub" on the orthognathic cases. All "model surgery" will be done by the OMFS residents with the Fellow. We have a joint conference with Plastic Surgery & ENT at Jacobi to present & discuss craniofacial deformity cases. The Fellow will participate in these conferences.

The didactic portion of the Fellowship will include literature review, lectures & textbook assignments. Lectures are given by Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry. There will be regular evaluations regarding the educational progress of the Fellow.

The Fellowship is salaried. In addition, health benefits and paid vacations are included. The Fellow will receive a Certificate of Completion of the Orthodontic/Orthognathic Fellowship upon successfully finishing the program. Candidates are required to be licensed in New York State or have the equivalent of a New York License. Liability Insurance is provided by Jacobi Hospital.

Applicants who will be contacted for an interview are invited to spend a full day at Jacobi Hospital to meet the faculty and visit the facility.

For more information contact: Dr. Myron Gurman at [email protected]. You can also contact the department secretary Lisandra Santana, at [email protected] or 718.918.3421 (voice), 718.918.6147 (fax).