thinking about perio

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hey everyone

i'm seriously considering looking into perio residencies. how competitive is it to get in? and which programs have a good reputation? how is the program at tufts? what does the future of the profession look like?

i scored a 84 on part I and my class rank is 79 out of 154. do i have any shot at getting in???

thanks to all who reply

 

[DREDAY]

hey everyone

i'm seriously considering looking into perio residencies. how competitive is it to get in? and which programs have a good reputation? how is the program at tufts? what does the future of the profession look like?

i scored a 84 on part I and my class rank is 79 out of 154. do i have any shot at getting in???

thanks to all who reply

you may have to do a residency.

 

[Ecks]

you may have to do a residency.

do you mean a gpr or an aegd? and then apply?

 

[psiyung]

do you mean a gpr or an aegd? and then apply?

No, he means a perio residency

 

[Ecks]

No, he means a perio residency

i'm confused... isnt a perio residency what i'm applying for? are you saying there are other perio residencies out there that dont license you as a periodontist??

sorry for my ignorance 😕

 

[Ramathorn]

i'm confused... isnt a perio residency what i'm applying for? are you saying there are other perio residencies out there that dont license you as a periodontist??

sorry for my ignorance 😕

Psiyung is joking. Many SDN members bash perio, and suggest that anybody with a pulse can get accepted to a program.

 

[Ecks]

Psiyung is joking. Many SDN members bash perio, and suggest that anybody with a pulse can get accepted to a program.

why is that? is perio on the decline or something?? i would think with implant technology getting better, the workload for perio would increase (assuming oral surgery doenst take all cases).

 

[ItsGavinC]

why is that? is perio on the decline or something?? i would think with implant technology getting better, the workload for perio would increase (assuming oral surgery doenst take all cases).

Because most dental students associate perio with hygiene (scraping teeth all day long). It's an easy target for jokes.

 

[DiaperDandy]

Because most dental students associate perio with hygiene (scraping teeth all day long). It's an easy target for jokes.

I considered perio for a while. A good buddy of mine is going that route, and he is competitive for any type of specialty. 90 on Part I and great class rank. He is convinced that he will get away with doing almost no ScRP in his practice...all perio surgeries. There is supposedly a ton of money in perio, as in any dental specialty, if the practice focuses on money-making procedures.

My friend expects he will be fairly competitive at his top choice programs with the academics that he has. The consensus seems to be that perio is the easiest specialty to get in to. There can be a lot of tuition associated with the program, although a few programs actually pay a good stipend.

Perio just has a bad reputation as the gum gardners of the dental profession. And they are dipping into the implant industry in a big way, which has actually created some bad blood between some of the faculty at my school.

 

[Ecks]

Perio just has a bad reputation as the gum gardners of the dental profession. And they are dipping into the implant industry in a big way, which has actually created some bad blood between some of the faculty at my school.

It seems like everyone is dipping into implants. Perio, OMFS, even prosth. Do you think there is enough to go around? or is one specialtity going to dominate implants eventually?

I'm assuming perio makes most of their money off implants... what other procedures are considered big money makers in perio? and how much ScRP do private periodontists actually do themselves? I thought hygienists do that?

 

[skibikegolf]

It seems like everyone is dipping into implants. Perio, OMFS, even prosth. Do you think there is enough to go around? or is one specialtity going to dominate implants eventually?

I'm assuming perio makes most of their money off implants... what other procedures are considered big money makers in perio? and how much ScRP do private periodontists actually do themselves? I thought hygienists do that?

My classmate's dad is a periodontist and he loves it. He says he hasn't done ScRP himself in about 20 years- he has his hygienist do it. He does a lot of crown lenghtening, tissue grafts, bone grafts, sinus lifts, and implants. He also says he does a lot of extractions instead of refering them to the Oral Surgeon

 

[ktcook83]

It seems like everyone is dipping into implants. Perio, OMFS, even prosth. Do you think there is enough to go around? or is one specialtity going to dominate implants eventually?

yes, the specialty of general dentistry 😉

 

[backaction]

Your board score is low, even for perio. Having said that there are people who get into perio with board scores even lower, but probably not at the top programs. Tufts is not considered a good program, but they have larger classes than most programs, it's expensive and the competitiveness to gain admission is easier. Also, look into Boston University. They also have large classes. If you are more interested in implants look into doing a implantology fellowship for 1 or 2 years. Look into Loma Linda, Tufts and Boston University for that. You won't be a specialist after doing this, it costs a lot of money, it's an option. Good ones might be Nebraska, UCSF, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Connecticut, Rochester, VCU, Ohio State, San Antonio, Michigan, Kentucky, Loiusville, Maryland, Baylor and some others. The weakest program that I've personally seen is Boston University. Good Luck.

 

[Ramathorn]

It seems like everyone is dipping into implants. Perio, OMFS, even prosth.

Prosthodontists developed implants, and were the only ones who placed them for the longest time.

OMFS stole implants from Prosth. And Perio stole implants from OMFS.

 

[aphistis]

Prosthodontists developed implants, and were the only ones who placed them for the longest time.

OMFS stole implants from Prosth. And Perio stole implants from OMFS.

The original credit for endosseous implants goes to orthopedics, unless Branemark was secretly boarded in prosthodontics too. 🙂

 

[docj1]

The original credit for endosseous implants goes to orthopedics, unless Branemark was secretly boarded in prosthodontics too. 🙂

You are correct aphistis. However some prosthodontists continue to refine their design and placement.

 

[cuneatus2]

Prosthodontists developed implants, and were the only ones who placed them for the longest time.

OMFS stole implants from Prosth. And Perio stole implants from OMFS.

And

 

[Tooth]

So, I did a prophy today on a patient with generalized alveolar bone loss and felt pretty helpless. Now, I'm just a D-2 and haven't had a lot of experience in anyone's mouth but I couldn't help but feel like this patients oral health was hopeless. The patient had multiple 2+ mobilities with furcal involvement and braces with 2mm of calculus caked all over the wires. The majority of teeth were hanging on by a thread. So, help me understand how I'm supposed to think about this kind of patient. As a newbie, I would like to send the patient to perio and hope they never come back unless they have full mouth extractions so I can slap some dentures up in there. I mean, even with bone and gingival grafts, the PDL will never grow back. Those teeth are pretty much goners functionally and look like crap. I don't want to look at a bunch of teeth hanging on the edge of life year after year after year. How do periodontists do it?

 

[FreshBreath]

The weakest program that I've personally seen is Boston University. Good Luck.[/QUOTE]

Really? How come?

 

[FreshBreath]

The weakest program that I've personally seen is Boston University. Good Luck.

Really? How come?

 

[backaction]

Really? How come?

1. First year is all research with no clinical patient care. While Van **** is a good guy, he told me that you do not choose your research project--you do what you are given.
2. Tuition is around 60K including instruments, fees etc. This does not include living expenses in Boston which are probably another 25K living slightly above poverty.
3. Way too many residents in a very small space. When I was there there appeared to be very little faculty mentoring. You probably get to see lots of patients, but there were plenty at every program I visited. They really didn't have any qualities that were better than other programs. They were historically a great program back in the 70s, but not now. Price tag way expensive. The city is good though

 

[3rdswizard]

So, I did a prophy today on a patient with generalized alveolar bone loss and felt pretty helpless. Now, I'm just a D-2 and haven't had a lot of experience in anyone's mouth but I couldn't help but feel like this patients oral health was hopeless. The patient had multiple 2+ mobilities with furcal involvement and braces with 2mm of calculus caked all over the wires. The majority of teeth were hanging on by a thread. So, help me understand how I'm supposed to think about this kind of patient. As a newbie, I would like to send the patient to perio and hope they never come back unless they have full mouth extractions so I can slap some dentures up in there. I mean, even with bone and gingival grafts, the PDL will never grow back. Those teeth are pretty much goners functionally and look like crap. I don't want to look at a bunch of teeth hanging on the edge of life year after year after year. How do periodontists do it?

This is the problem that I have seen with Perio. Patients with this situation get lost in the abyss of Perio for years keeping extractable teeth, wasting lots of dollars. They would be much better served with extractions and implants. Same goes with crown lengthening, flaps, etc. Perio is dying as a specialty. That is why they are moving into the implant scene so heavily.

With your given scores and class rank, I would consider doing a GPR and doing implants. That is the wave of the future...

 

[PFM]

This is the problem that I have seen with Perio. Patients with this situation get lost in the abyss of Perio for years keeping extractable teeth, wasting lots of dollars. They would be much better served with extractions and implants. Same goes with crown lengthening, flaps, etc. Perio is dying as a specialty. That is why they are moving into the implant scene so heavily.

With your given scores and class rank, I would consider doing a GPR and doing implants. That is the wave of the future...

obviously, youre not very informed about the advances in periodontology. perio in now going into the phase of bone regeneration to where ppl can keep their teeth much longer. fyi...the whole premise of dentistry is to keep your natural teeth and any other substitute is always second best; which is why we go though great lengths to save them. obviously if you see a tooth w/ 2mm of bone support then you do extract it, but the main trust of perio is to try to keep salvageable teeth regrow new supporting structure or arrest bone loss.

w/o adequate bone height and width how could you possibly do an implant...and do you know what specialty will spear-head bone regrowth? yea thats right perio. so how could perio possibly be a dying specialty

w/o crown lengthening how are you going to get adequate height for your crown

personally i think all of the dental specialties are alive and well and have great futures.

 

[HuyetKiem]

. so how could perio possibly be a dying specialty

.

I agreed. I have sent many of my patients to perio dept for surgery and implant since last July. Defintely not a dying specialty. For full mouth rehab cases, perio people are my main allies.

 

[3rdswizard]

obviously, youre not very informed about the advances in periodontology. perio in now going into the phase of bone regeneration to where ppl can keep their teeth much longer. fyi...the whole premise of dentistry is to keep your natural teeth and any other substitute is always second best; which is why we go though great lengths to save them. obviously if you see a tooth w/ 2mm of bone support then you do extract it, but the main trust of perio is to try to keep salvageable teeth regrow new supporting structure or arrest bone loss.

w/o adequate bone height and width how could you possibly do an implant...and do you know what specialty will spear-head bone regrowth? yea thats right perio. so how could perio possibly be a dying specialty

w/o crown lengthening how are you going to get adequate height for your crown

personally i think all of the dental specialties are alive and well and have great futures.

That is my point. There continues to be heroic efforts made to save teeth that should be extracted. How successful is bone regeneration anyways...

 

[Bifid Uvula]

obviously, youre not very informed about the advances in periodontology. perio in now going into the phase of bone regeneration to where ppl can keep their teeth much longer. fyi...the whole premise of dentistry is to keep your natural teeth and any other substitute is always second best; which is why we go though great lengths to save them. obviously if you see a tooth w/ 2mm of bone support then you do extract it, but the main trust of perio is to try to keep salvageable teeth regrow new supporting structure or arrest bone loss.

w/o adequate bone height and width how could you possibly do an implant...and do you know what specialty will spear-head bone regrowth? yea thats right perio. so how could perio possibly be a dying specialty

w/o crown lengthening how are you going to get adequate height for your crown

personally i think all of the dental specialties are alive and well and have great futures.

What is the ONE AND ONLY SPECIALTY that CURES periodontal disease definitively??.... OMFS via the innovative technique of EXTRACTION.

I'm all for general dentists and periodontists correcting mild to moderate defects using intraoral bone and bone in a bottle, make no mistake the big cases belong to the one's who have training to get extraoral autogenous bone...