The West Virginia University School of Dentistry’s first ever pediatric dentistry residency cohort to recently completed the program, marking an important milestone in the advancement of care for the profession’s youngest patients.
Following two years of didactic instruction and clinical experiences, Dr. Brianna Bevil, Dr. Branson Martin, and Dr. Erin Miller completed the program at the end of June.
The School of Dentistry’s program is the first and only of its kind in West Virginia. Aligning with the university’s mission as a land-grant institution, the pediatric dentistry residency program aims to advance education and healthcare in the Mountain State. West Virginia and the Appalachian region as a whole faces the largest disparities in oral health status and oral healthcare in the United States.
“It is a profound relief to finally offer a pediatric dental residency program that the communities of West Virginia truly deserve and need,” said Dr. Dami Kim, the School of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Residency program director.
Kim said that West Virginia University is establishing a vital pipeline to increase pediatric dentistry medical providers for the state. According to Kim, there are only about 20 pediatric dentists serving the entire state of West Virginia, including three faculty members in the School of Dentistry.
Another benefit of having the program is patient care through the residents’ clinical activities in the program, Kim stated. The clinic is already receiving a high volume of referrals from dental offices across the state as well as neighboring states such as Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Kim said that many of these pediatric patients have complex, special health care needs that require care from highly trained specialists.
“Through collaboration with medical specialists at Children's Hospital. I am proud to say that our residents and faculty serve children with any challenging oral and medical conditions, no matter where they come from,” Kim said.
The three residents now begin their pediatric dentistry practices with in-depth knowledge about the growth and development of their patients and how it pertains to their oral health, enabling them to also serve as strong advocates. They have experience and knowledge in behavioral management techniques to help treat children who may have trouble tolerating dental procedures and to address complicated medical histories of children and individuals with special healthcare needs.
“I've been lucky to train these three amazing individuals in the inaugural class,” Kim said. “They entered the program knowing that they would experience unique challenges because it is a brand-new program and paved the path for future cohorts in the best way any program director could ever hope for. They trusted my direction and followed it by giving their utmost effort.”
Throughout their time in the program, the residents treated patients in the WVU Dental Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and at WVU Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital, allowing them to gain the experience providing preventative and therapeutic healthcare for children from infants to adolescence.
The pediatric residency program also trains the dentists in collaborating with other healthcare providers and employing effective management skills to provide top-tier oral healthcare to patients while also improving their overall well-being.
The WVU pediatric dentistry residency program prepares dentists meet the requirements for certification from the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
To learn more, visit go.wvu.edu/PediatricDentistryResidency.
WVU Dental is the clinical practice component of WVU School of Dentistry offering comprehensive general dentistry and specialized treatment by faculty, resident, and student dentists. For more information, visit wvudentalcare.org. To schedule an appointment, call 203-293-6208.
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