DEPARTMENT OF DENTAL MEDICINE AND ORAL-MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

Chairperson: Kathleen L. Agoglia, DDS

Academic Programs

The Department of Dental and Oral Surgery offers a multitude of post graduate opportunities for the energetic and enthusiastic graduate dental student. This program has been existence for over forty years, with graduates in all the disciplines of dentistry. Many of our graduates have entered academia at major institutions where they have been recognized for their expertise in their specialty area, while most have entered private practice and are very successful.

The residency programs at Brookdale University Hospital in General Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery are all fully accredited by the American Dental Association Council on Dental Accreditation. The Advanced Educational Program in Implant Dentistry is recognized by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

The objective and goal of each of these prestigious residency programs is to transform the student dentists into confident, skilled and well educated practitioners in the field of their choice. The Department as a whole has excellent patient care as its primary objective with the education and transformation of the student into a competent respected health care practitioner.

Each resident is treated as an individual and through a rigorous academic program will have become proficient in their area of concentration. Their academic exercises will include lectures by the faculty, lectures by visiting professors and practitioners, tutorials, literature review and interdepartmental presentations.

The clinical experience will encompass a wide variety of patient presentations that will become part and parcel of their knowledge base. The hospital setting lends itself to a plethora of medical, social and pathologic conditions that will challenge the inquisitive mind to see a resolution to the patient’s condition. This exposure to the complex patient will allow the young Doctor of Dental Medicine the ability to converse with their medical counterpart in an intelligent manner, and seek consultations when indicated.

General Practice Residency - Director, Kathleen A. Agoglia, DDS

The General Practice residency meets and exceeds the standards required by the Council on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. The program has full Accreditation without reporting requirements. The resident is exposed to a broad clinical experience encompassing all basic general dental procedures to the more complex exacting procedures of implant placement and restorations. Experience in fixed and removal prosthetics, molar endodontics, periodontal surgery, and advanced orthodontics including orthognathic surgery are only a part of this residency. Over the residents’ tenure they will advance progressively in both academic knowledge and clinical experience.

Pediatric Dental Residency – Director, Leonard Gallo, DDS

The Pediatric Dental Residency is also fully accredited by the American Dental Association without reporting requirements. It is a hospital based program that is twenty four months in length and qualifies the Resident to become Board Certified. The resident will receive a broad education in the care of the pediatric patient. This experience will come from participation in both the outpatient dental facility and the very active pediatric in-patient service. They will become proficient in behavioral and pharmacological patient management, physical assessment orthodontic evaluation and care of the patient in either the dental chair or the operating room table. The various pain control and behavioral control methods are part and parcel of the daily routine. The use of IV Sedation and Oral Sedation are adjuncts utilized in the control of the patient. Rotation in Pediatric Medicine service, anesthesia, orthodontics and oral maxillofacial surgery will be the culmination of the educational process to the development of a Pediatric Dental Practitioner who is capable of treating patients in any environment.

Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Residency – Director Vito A. Cardo, Jr. DDS

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Training Program is fully accredited by the American Dental Association. The program’s goal is to transform the well educated student of dentistry into a skilled and knowledgeable surgeon. The graduating Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon will be well versed in all aspects of the specialty. The training received will prepare the practitioner both clinically and academically to participate and pass the certifying exam of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. The resident will receive adequate training in all areas of the specialty, Craniofacial Trauma, Orthognathics, Implantology, Dental Alveolar Trauma, IV Sedation, Cosmetics and Pathology. The program is designed to progressively develop the neophyte in skills and knowledge over forty-eight months into a clinically and academically proficient surgeon; a surgeon who will be respected by both their patients, peers and the community at large.

Advanced Educational Fellowship in Implantology – Director, Vito A. Cardo, Jr. DDS – Co-Director -Timothy Slavin, DDS, - Steven Acker, DDS

This fellowship program is fully recognized by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry as one of the few hospital-based implant fellowships in the United States and the only one in New York State. The program is recognized as an academic entity by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. The program is a thirty month educational experience that exposes the General Dentist to the art and science of implantology. The Fellow will be exposed to both the clinical and academic principles of implant placement and restoration. The Fellow will place and restore implants from both the single tooth to a full arch. They will learn the principles of surgery, infection control, and patient care, with emphasis on the medically compromised patient. The Fellow will become a skilled implantologist both clinically and academically. The Fellow will gain experience in the placement of implants, bone graftings, sinus augmentations and the use of IV sedation as an adjunct to the specialty. The Fellow upon completion will be able to pass the certifying exam of the American Academy of Implantology.

Clinical Department Programs

Orthodontics – The Department’s Orthodontics Program is open to the community. Two Board Certified Orthodontists treat the community patients for both routine orthodontics and more complex orthodontic-surgical procedures.

Emergency Dental Medicine – The Department has a 24 hour seven day per week in-hospital dentist available to the community. The Department treats patients with all oral and facial problems that are emergent. This includes all problems from the simple tooth ache, facial swelling and pain, to the most complicated fractured jaw.

Anesthesia and Sedation – The Department has available to the community of patients who have a fear of the dentist, a staff of Dental Anesthesiologists that will medicate the patient with sedation to relieve their apprehension. Patients with more extensive needs will be given general anesthesia and be treated in the operating room.

Dental Implants – Implants are current state-of-the-art restorations for those patients who have lost their teeth. In addition, implants can be placed in either jaw to help keep a loose denture tight and functioning. The Department has an implant service that has over fifty years of experience in placement of implants.

Special Needs Patients – The Department has developed a program to treat patients who are uncomfortable in the dental chair. Patients with Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome, Autism, mentally disabled and other conditions that require general anesthesia for their care. Our dental facility is highly experienced in the care of these patients. The patient is treated in the Operating Room under general anesthesia where, dental filings extractions and root canal therapy are completed.

Multispecialty Clinic – We are a multi-specialty clinic with specialists in Endodontics (root canals), Prostodontics (Dentures and Caps) Implantology, Oral Surgery (tooth removal), Pediatric Dentistry (children’s Dentist) Periodontics (gum care) and Orthodontics (tooth straightening). A board certified faculty member is available for consultation in each area to plan your care.

Facial Reconstruction and Orthognathic Surgery – Facial reconstruction is a subspecialty of the Oral-maxillofacial surgery service. Patients who have lost parts of their jawbones to trauma, infection or cancer surgery can have their jaws replaced and functioning again. Patients who have congenital defects such as cleft palates, overbites and underbites can have these facial defects corrected by surgery.

TMJ – Temporomandibular Joint – TMJ pain and malfunction is a common finding in many patients. The Department has several Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons that can repair these defects and reduce or remove the pain associated with TJM Disease.

Geriatrics – Brookdale Hospital’s Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation

TLC – Treatment For Life Center – Residents rotate to two-chair Dental Operatory, within the hospital to treat patients with special infectious disease needs.

Contact Information:
For Academic Information about Residencies call (718) 240-6282

Staff:

Dr. K. Agoglia – Chairperson & Director of the General Practice Residency
Dr. T. Slavin – Clinical Coordinator of the General Practice Residency/Prosthetics/Co-Director Dental Implantology
Dr. L. Gallo – Director of Pediatric Dental Residency
Dr. V. Cardo, Jr. – Director of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Residency
Director of Implantology Fellowship
Ms. Adams – Clinical Manager
Dr. S. Acker – Co-Director Dental Implantology/Practice Management
Dr. R. Degano - Pediatric Dentistry
Dr. L. Limb – Pediatric Dentistry
Dr. D. Fassman – General Dentistry/Geriatrics/Nursing Home Dentistry
Dr. B. Lish - General Dentistry/Special Needs Patients
Dr. M. Kennedy – Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. A. Marks – Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. M. Dourmas – Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. J. Lee Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
Dr. F. Eng – Orthodontics
Dr. R. Gehani - Orthodontics