DEN 711: Dental Disciplines Foundations Gateway

DDFG will be a 12-week course placed at the end of the first-year curriculum. Under close faculty supervision, and utilizing a student-pair model, students will provide patient care in the LCSDM clinic located at the Little Rock Branch Campus of Lyon College. During DDFG, dental students will begin their journey toward: 1) demonstrating progress toward competency in comprehensive dental care for patients, and 2) ultimately demonstrating acquisition of competency in the core skills of general dentistry by the conclusion of year 3. As they apply the knowledge, skills and values learned in the preceding first year courses to the task of resolving patients’ oral health issues, dental students will be assessed on a daily basis utilizing a standardized formative assessment addressing five educational domains: 1) Critical Thinking and Application of Basic and Behavioral Science Knowledge, 2) Professionalism, 3) Communication and Interpersonal Skills, 4) Practice Management and Administration, and 5) Patient Care. As described in Standard 2-5 (Table 2-5.1), each of the five domains is comprised of 3 to 14 subdomains. Successful completion of DDFG will be required to progress to the D2 year.