Program Overview

The UCLA program is renowned for providing hands-on experience in treating headache, neuropathic pain disorders, TMJ disorders, and obstructive sleep apnea. Heavy emphasis is placed on learning a medical model for assessing and treating patients, including developing competencies in neurological, stomatognathic, myofascial, and psychological assessment of the patients.

Length of program - 2 years

Number of Residents Accepted Each Year -
2 residents (additional students may enroll in the tuition-based preceptorship program)

Curriculum

a) The didactic components are notable because very little of the required pain sciences are presented in predoctoral or traditional dental specialty training programs. In order to be recognized as an expert specializing in Orofacial Pain you need a competency background in the basic and applied pain sciences as well as the science and literature about the more traditional dental and TMD/TMJ approaches. The curriculum includes: Neurology, Neuroanatomy, Neurological Exam, Laboratory Medicine; Behavioral Medicine; Neurobiology of Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Headache Disorders, Musculoskeletal and Myofascial Pain Disorders, Pharmacotherapeutics for Pain and Pain Management; TMJ Disorders, Sleep Apnea and Orofacial Dystonias; Occlusion and TMJ Disorders.

b) Clinic Experience is hands-on (preceded by an observational probationary period that depends on the participant's prior experience). Initially more TMD patients will be assigned, and then expanded to more chronic pain profiles. The UCLA program gives actual treatment experience of the whole spectrum of Orofacial Pain conditions as well as traditional Temporomandibular Disorders rather than limitation to screening, diagnosis and referral for treatment . Assessment and treatment experience includes:

1. Acute and chronic temporomandibular and TM joint disorders.
2. Myofascial Pain Disorders and use of a myofascial pain treatment protocol.
3. Management of jaw behavior disorders and bruxism.
4. Chronic headache disorders including managing medication overuse (analgesics or narcotics), management of migraine and migraine variants.
5. Recognition and management of facial migraine, and mid face cluster mimicking toothache.
6. Trigeminal neuralgia and other neuropathic pains, including those mimicking toothache.
7. Recognition and co-management of chronic regional pain syndrome components to chronic facial pain (sympathetic mediated pain).
8. Using topical medications and neurosensory stents.
9. Sleep Apnea
10. BOTOX for chronic myofascial pain and headache.
11. Pharmacological management. Learning to select the best systemic medications for the above pain mechanisms, learning to deal with the side effects. (Residents learns to use over 40 drugs)
12. Use of psychometric assessment instruments and co-management with psychotherapy (John Reeves PhD, Director), and psychiatry
13. Co-treatment of patients between the Sections of Orofacial Pain Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for TM joint disorders and pathology.
14. Co-treatment of patients who require Rehabilitative Medicine and Physical Therapy
15. Co-treatment of TMD/TMJ and neuropathic pain patients also requiring dental treatment in the general and specialty dental clinics.
16. Medical observation rotations, and participation rotations to off campus pain centers

What to Expect

1. Full participation in clinic rounds discussions of cases is expected by all students.
2. Once established in the program, participants will be assigned patients in the Clinic two days per week, and will be responsible for patient care, documentation, writing reports to referring doctors, follow-up to patient calls, and urgent or emergency care.
3. The resident will participate in the OFP faculty practice while the faculty is seeing patients. The resident will assist in evaluating patients and in research being conducted in the Clinic or academic Section
4. The resident will be expected to prepare seminar and case materials for postdoctoral presentations and to the UCLA Orofacial Pain Associates Study Club in a Grand Rounds format.
5. Residents are expected to accumulate and turn in before graduation a dossier of 10 fully documented cases that can be used for future professional presentations.
6. Opportunities will be provided for the residents to give selected lectures and clinical simulation laboratory instruction to the predoctoral dental students.
7. On-call pager duties will be shared on a rotational basis by the residents.
8. Each resident should work to publish one case history by the end of their program. In addition, the residents may have an opportunity to participate in a clinical research project.
9. Although not required at the present time, residents anticipating going on to an Oral Biology MS or PhD program may start their MS research project during second year of residency.
10. Residents are encouraged to attend national meetings such as the American  Academy of Orofacial Pain, American Pain Society, International Headache Society, American Headache Society, especially if any of these meeting are on the West coast or local. Costs are met by the resident.
11. Second year residents will participate in UCLA Hospital and off site Hospital rotations (including Cedar's Sinai Pain Center, Dr. Steven Graff-Radford, director).
    
    

Requirements/Pre-requisites

DDS or DMD from an ADA Accredited dental school

Application Process

• General Application Form
• Official undergraduate and dental school transcripts. Translation of transcripts if not in English
• Three letters of recommendation
• Personal statement
• Curriculum vitae
• Official National Dental Board Examination scores
• Selected candidates will be invited for an interview.

Timeline

The APPLICATION DEADLINE for receipt of the complete application dossier: is Dec. 15th., for enrollment the following July 1st commencement. The selection is made and announced by Jan 5th.

Selection Factors

We are seeking energetic and enthusiastic participants to our Orofacial Pain Residency and Preceptorship programs, and expect our students to become the next leaders in this field. Successful candidates may come from AEGD, GPR, other dental specialties, as well as directly from dental school graduation or from private practice. Usually students have become interested through a special mentor, course experience, personal experience as a practitioner or as a patient themselves. Some come with an interest in research and a possible clinician-scientist career in dental education. Others come with more clinical practice expectations and will be well prepared, but should be open to various models of practice and career.

Another track into the OFP program includes registration in the Oral Biology MS degree program and applying for a concurrant preceptorship in the OFP program (3 years). Applicants to the Oral Biology MS degree program are expected to have at least a B grade average in their undergraduate and dental school coursework prior to being accepted. It is recommended that these candidates complete 1 year in the OFP program prior to beginning the MS Oral biology program. The second recommended year in the OFP program can be done concurrently with the normally 2 year MS Oral Biology program.

Well qualified candidates with a serious interest in a clinician-scientist career can apply to for the Oral Biology PhD degree program at UCLA (4-5 years) Applicants to all UCLA PhD programs must have completed the GRE examination. [See Internet Key-word: “GRE”] This is usually started after a 1 year residency or preceptorship training and the second year would then be partially integrated into the PhD program.