Pediatric Cleft, Craniofacial, and Special Orthodontics Fellowship
UT Southwestern / Children’s Medical Center of Dallas offer a one-year fellowship program in Pediatric Cleft, Craniofacial and Special Orthodontics. The fellow will be a fully integrated member of the cleft and craniofacial team at these institutions. The demand for orthodontists with a sub-specialty in cleft, craniofacial, and special need orthodontic care has been dramatically increasing over the past decade nationwide that currently there is a shortage of such. This position is typically offered to an orthodontist who has completed dental and orthodontic training elsewhere and is looking for additional orthodontic training for cleft, craniofacial and special need patients in a hospital setting with comprehensive team approach. This fellowship program is under the direction and supervision of Dr. Yong Jong Park, who is the attending orthodontist at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of the program is to educate and train future academic, clinical, and research leaders in cleft craniofacial and special care orthodontics. Upon completion of the training program, the orthodontist should have clinical expertise in all aspects of cleft, craniofacial and special need orthodontic management for infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. The vast majority of cleft, craniofacial and special need orthodontic management issues for these patients are inadequately covered in most orthodontic residency training programs
Areas of Training
- Utilization of advanced diagnostic modalities to arrive at accurate diagnoses and formulate an appropriate and comprehensive treatment plan.
- Participation in clinical orthodontics including: presurgical orthopedic treatments in cleft infants, dentofacial orthopedic treatments, and comprehensive orthodontic treatments including presurgical orthodontic preparation and post surgical orthodontic treatment for orthognathic surgery, distraction osteogenesis.
- Interacting with other disciplinary team members to deliver a team approach care to cleft, craniofacial and special need patients
- Participation in conferences including journal club, seminars, weekly cleft/craniofacial team clinic
- Clinical teaching to orthodontic and pediatric dental residents on rotation
Program Curriculum / Required Scholarly Activities
Clinical Duties and Responsibilities
The fellow will participate in patient examinations, patient consultation, and treatment planning regarding orthodontics and craniofacial development. He or she will perform clinical orthodontic and dentofacial orthopedic treatment procedures on cleft, craniofacial and special need patients. The responsibilities also include emergency management, the preoperative and postoperative evaluation of orthodontic-surgical cases, and gathering of information and pertinent data concerning upcoming cases. An intensive experience in the orthodontic management of pediatric cleft and craniofacial patients will be gained in the orthodontic clinic at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, where the fellow will work with other cleft team members including pediatric dentists, speech pathologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and plastic surgeons. The fellow will also be exposed to orthodontic laboratory procedures pertaining to treatment of cleft and craniofacial anomalies. Additionally, the fellow will participate in the operating room. Fellows will observe the attending surgeon while performing major cleft and craniofacial repairs in infants and children.
Academic / Educational Experiences
Clinical education is primarily derived from lectures, seminars and rounds as well as in the course of the orthodontic fellow’s clinical duties, interacting with the attending staff in plastic surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, as well as other craniofacial team members. Additionally, fellows are required to be involved in the education of the residents and medical and dental students rotating through the service.
Research
Fellows will be expected to initiate and complete clinical research projects and/or case reports during their training. These will be facilitated by orthodontic or plastic surgery faculty members. The opportunity to make presentations at national and international conferences in cleft and craniofacial orthodontics is offered to fellows who have appropriate material.
Eligibility and Application Process
Applicants must complete their training in dentistry and orthodontic residency.
Applicants from the United States must have completed orthodontics residency from an accredited program. International applicants must have completed equivalent program and meet the requirements established by the Texas Dental Board and the U.S. Immigration Services.The position usually begins on July 1st and is for one year in duration. Interested applicants should contact Kaydence Hope for more information and application at 214-645-3104 or kaydence.hope@utsouthwestern.edu. Interview dates will be arranged after receiving the application materials.
The selection of applicants is at the discretion of the program director, based on whether candidates satisfy requirements of UT Southwestern Medical School. Decisions are based on demonstrated commitment to the field of cleft, craniofacial and special need orthodontics.
Upon completion of the program, the Children’s Graduate Medical Education Office, in conjunction with the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern, will confer a certificate indicating the candidate has satisfactorily completed a year of fellowship training in Cleft, Craniofacial and Special Need Orthodontic Fellowship Program.