Idk about perio programs. But, from the prosth programs that I've seen (currently in a prostho program)... they don't make you buy any textbooks. It certainly wouldn't hurt to buy textbooks for your own personal reference. But, it's definitely not a requirement. Any resources that you would need should be made readily available to you by the program. Our program has a library full of all the textbooks that you need--and you can rent them out or use them at your own leisure.
As far as learning hands on, that is inherent in the program. So, long story short, you don't just learn hands-on.. it's a mix of hands-on, lit-reviews, learning from coresidents, etc. A good program will have a good mix of all the above. Hope that helps.
