Student Resources

Pursuing a Dental Public Health Specialty

Public Health has been recognized as a specialty of Dentistry since 1950. Specialists in this area not only work in the clinical aspect of dentistry but also focus on the policies concerning the status of oral health within communities and populations. A typical day for a public health dentist may consist of a morning spent lobbying at the local, state, or federal government level on behalf of underserved populations and communities, and an afternoon spent treating patients in a clinical setting. Public health dentists also may spend a significant portion of their time meeting with advocacy groups, organized dental associations, or cross-disciplinary associations to develop position papers that can be provided to elected officials in an effort to guide legislature, regulations, and rules.  

Length of Residency: 2-4 years

Salary: approx. $161,000

Links to Accredited Public Health Residencies

A.T. Still University

• https://www.atsu.edu/master-of-public-health-dental-emphasis-dental-public-health-residency

Boston Univeristy Goldman School of Dentistry

• https://www.bu.edu/academics/sdm/programs/dental-public-health/cags/

Case Western Reserve University

• https://dental.case.edu/community/residency/

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

• https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/about/residency-program.html

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine

• https://www.dental.columbia.edu/education/postdoctoral-and-residency-programs/dental-public-health-program

Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto

• https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/node/70

Harvard School of Dental Medicine

• https://hsdm.harvard.edu/dental-public-health

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

• https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/careersandtraining/Fellowships/DentistsandPhysicians/ResidencyDentalPublicHealth/

New York State Department of Health

• https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/dental/public.htm

North Carolina Division of Dental Health

• https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/dph/oralhealth/partners/Residency.htm

NYU Langone Health 

• http://www.lmcdental.org/programs/dph

Temple University The Maurice H Kornberg School of Dentistry

• https://dentistry.temple.edu/academics/dental-public-health-sciences-residency

Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

• http://www.uthscsa.edu/academics/dental/programs/dental-public-health-residency

Texas A & M University Baylor College of Dentistry

• https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/public-health/graduate-program.html

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry

• https://www.dentistry.uiowa.edu/preventive-grad-program-requirements

University of California, San Francisco

• https://dentistry.ucsf.edu/programs/post-grad/dental-public-health