Download the Pediatric Dentistry Residency Info Sheet.
UNMC College of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program
The UNMC College of Dentistry has offered a fully accredited advanced education program in pediatric dentistry since 1947. The program leads to a Certificate of Specialization in Pediatric Dentistry, which satisfies the requirements mandated by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry for Examination and Board Certification.
Length of Program: 24 months
Application Deadline: October 1
Start Date: July 1
Positions Available: 5
Main Location: Children's Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska
Department: Growth & Development
Why study pediatric dentistry?
Pediatric dentists experience the satisfaction, privilege and joy of helping children establish life-long positive relationships with dental care and have an important role in children’s overall health and wellness. Pediatric dentistry is a rewarding and challenging career that offers a wealth of benefits, including working with children of all abilities, educating them and their parents about the importance of oral health, working as part of a team, and helping to eliminate oral health disparities. Many pediatric dentists own their own businesses and every day have the privilege of making oral health care fun for their special patients.
Why the UNMC College of Dentistry Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program?
- Well-rounded, hands-on residency experience - Our intricately designed residency experience includes dental college didactic experiences, hospital clinical experiences and community outreach to underserved populations, and our residents begin treating patients their first month. This combination of experiences and focus on hands-on learning helps residents build exceptional diagnostic, clinical and critical thinking skills.
- One-on-one learning experiences with faculty - Our residents thrive in our close-knit, supportive environment receiving personalized guidance from our outstanding faculty members. Faculty members mentor residents and help them grow into compassionate oral health care professionals and leaders.
- Supportive resident team - Our program has a strong tradition of close-knit, collaborative resident teams. Our residents help each other succeed.
- Hospital-based clinical experience - Our main location at Children’s Nebraska offers our residents unique learning experiences treating children who are facing challenging medical conditions. Our strong clinical program includes excellent sedation and operating room experiences, and experience working with an interprofessional team to help children achieve overall health.
- Diverse patient base - Our residents have the privilege of treating patients with special health care needs, as well as socially and economically diverse patients.
- Impactful research - Our residents complete cutting-edge, award-winning research projects with guidance from our faculty. They explore challenges and make discoveries that have the potential to change the future of oral health care. Our residents have opportunities to collaborate on research with other pediatric medicine specialties.
- Program stipend and benefit package - Residents receive a program stipend to help offset educational costs, vacation and sick leave, and a flexible benefit package.
Core Topics Covered
Comprehensive Physical Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Comprehensive Behavior Guidance, Child Psychology, Genetics, Growth and Development, Interdisciplinary Pediatrics, Oral Pathology, Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, Research Planning and Design, Sedation
Skills Students Develop
Critical thinking and problem-solving, clinical diagnosis and treatment planning, clinical hand skills (fine motor skills), patient communication and behavior guidance, practice management, research and sedation.
Career Opportunities
Private Practice, Practice Owner, Public Health (public health agencies, community health clinics and schools), Research, Teaching
Faculty
 Zachary L. Houser, DMD Program Director |
 Claire Koukol, DDS |
 Maddison McConnaughhay, DDS |
 Sumit Yadav, BDS, MDS, MBA, PhD Department Chair |
Adjunct Faculty
Hannah Greene, DDS | Ryan Hajek, DDS | Peter Harbert, DDS | Jeffrey Howenstein, DMD, MS | Brent Johnson, DDS | Gary Lehn, DDS | Edward Lockwood, DDS, MS | Jessica Meeske, DDS, MS | Holly Portwood, DDS, MS | Greg Weeder, DDS
2023-2024 House Officers
 Alexis Jessen (HOII) |
 Bailey Neville (HOII) |
 Tracy Peitz (HOII) |
 Emily Starman (HOII) |
 Jordan Brozek (HOI) |
 Zaynab Hussam (HOI) |
 Bridget McKeegan (HOI) |
 Alexandra Thomas (HOI) |
Applicant Eligibility
Must have a professional dental degree from an A.D.A.-accredited dental college or school with the degree designation of Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). Provisional acceptance exists for students in the final stages of dental education. In addition, the applicants must have a valid license to practice within the United States of America or be licensed as such by the time they are to begin the postgraduate program in pediatric dentistry.
Once accepted, a Nebraska dental license is required to participate in the program. At the present time foreign trained dentists (non-U.S. or non-Canadian dental degrees) are not being accepted for the postgraduate pediatric dentistry training program. This is because of licensing restrictions.
Applicant Requirements
Applicants must fulfill the following requirements to be considered for admission:
- Graduate from an accredited dental school recognized by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (DMD/DDS degree).
- Pass the National Board Dental Examinations.
- The Advanced Dental Admission Test (ADAT) is not required, but official ADAT scores received by the application deadline will be strongly considered.
- Submit application through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). Application deadline is October 1 of the year preceding matriculation.
- Applicants must also be registered with the National Matching Service.
- Submit supplemental application and $50 application fee. Instructions to submit online will be sent to you by email after you have submitted your PASS application.
- Complete a personal interview (departmental decision).
- Submit a 2x2 photo (digital preferred). Photo can be included in your PASS application.
Formal courses and departmental seminars include: biostatistics, microbiology and immunology, oral pathology, orthodontics, growth and development, speech development, physical diagnosis, pediatrics, oral pathology, genetics, orthodontics, child psychology, ethics and dentistry, research planning and design, literature review, pediatric dental text review, clinical case seminar, comprehensive treatment planning, comprehensive behavior guidance to include sedation, oral clinical exam preparation, prevention and disease control, practice management, organized dentistry, community dental health and other special topics.
Rotations include: Cleft palate/craniofacial anomalies, pediatric medicine, emergency on-call, anesthesiology, oral surgery and interdisciplinary pediatrics (child psychiatry and other developmental disciplines through the Munroe-Meyer Institute), operating room services.
During the first year, 65 percent of total resident time is spent in clinical activity. During the second year, 75 percent of total resident time is spent in clinical activity. The majority of clinical training is conducted at the Pediatric Dental Clinic located at Children's Nebraska in Omaha. Residents gain extensive experience working in collaboration with other pediatric medicine specialties.
| Program Year 1 | Program Year 2 | ||
| Anesthesia | 4 week rotation | ||
| Biostatistics | Fall weekly | ||
| Craniofacial | Ongoing | Craniofacial Clinic | Ongoing |
| H&P | Fall weekly | ||
| Interdisciplinary | 1 week rotation | ||
| Oral Pathology | Fall (even years) | Oral Pathology | Fall (even years) |
| Osteogenesis Imperfecta | Ongoing | Osteogenesis Imperfecta | Ongoing |
| Oral Surgery | 1 week rotation | ||
| Ortho | Ongoing | Ortho | Ongoing |
| Pediatric Medicine | 2 week rotation | ||
| Teaching | Spring semester | Teaching | Fall and spring semester |
| Faculty Lectures | 3 weekly | Faculty Lectures | 3 weekly |
| Additional/Guest Lectures | As determined by program director | Additional/Guest Lectures | As determined by program director |
Children's Nebraska, Omaha |
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| The program’s main location and primary site for inpatient pediatric training, including clinic, ED, OR and interprofessional experiences. Children’s is the only full-service, pediatric healthcare center in Nebraska, providing expertise in more than 50 pediatric specialty services to children across a five-state region and beyond. The patient population is socially and economically diverse. |
Children’s Outpatient Surgery Center at West Village Pointe |
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| Residents receive extensive OR experience in this 10,000 square-foot facility that has 3 state-of-the-art operating rooms and 18 pre-operative and post-operative rooms. |
UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute Caring for Champions Dental Clinic, Omaha |
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| In 2021, the College collaborated with the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute to open the Caring for Champions Dental Clinic, inspired by Special Olympics athletes. Residents provide comprehensive oral health services for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. |
UNMC College of Dentistry, Lincoln |
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| Located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus, the College of Dentistry Pediatric Dental Clinic has nine operatories. Residents provide patient care and clinical instruction and oversight for third- and fourth-year dental students. They also rotate to the College’s Orthodontics Clinic. |
UNMC/Nebraska Medicine Rotations, Omaha |
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| On the UNMC-Omaha campus, residents complete the following rotations: Anesthesia, Pediatric Medicine, Interdisciplinary and Oral Surgery. They have hands-on learning opportunities alongside UNMC and Nebraska Medicine’s extraordinary providers. |
Boystown National Research Hospital, Omaha |
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| At the Boystown National Research Hospital Craniofacial Clinic, residents help provide life-changing care for infants and children with oral-facial clefts and other diseases, disorders or injuries affecting the face, jaw, skull and ears. |
Community Outreach, Across Nebraska |
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| Residents treat the underserved at Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, including the Charles Drew Health Center in Omaha, and participate in UNMC and College of Dentistry outreach programs, including Children’s Dental Days where free care is provided to underserved children. |
| Level | Annual | Monthly |
| H1 | $38,542.90 | $3,211.90 |
| H2 | $38,542.90 | $3,211.90 |
Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding allocations by UNMC must be established before resident stipends for the year can be established. Residents will be assigned a 1.0 FTE status which makes them eligible for a flexible benefit package which includes choices among health, life and disability insurance. Future income is contingent upon continued availability of federal funds and, therefore, is subject to change at any time.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees are $7,780 each year. See an Estimated Cost of Attendance Budget from the UNMC Financial Aid Office.
Student Loans and Loan Deferment
Currently, residents are considered postgraduate students of the College of Dentistry for financial aid purposes. Postgraduate students may get financial aid information from the UNMC Financial Aid Office and student loan payments for postgraduate students can be deferred.
Vacation/Sick Leave
Postgraduate students shall have fifteen (15) scheduled working days of paid leave per year. Leave includes ten (10) for vacation and five (5) for professional development. Leave in excess of fifteen (15) days per year (which will be granted for special circumstances only) must be taken as Leave Without Pay from the college or as Family Leave. Leave requests must be submitted as per the policies of the program and the college.
Private Practice
Residents are allowed to engage in the private practice of dentistry during their program. Please contact the program director for details.
State of Nebraska Residency
As employees of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, postgraduate students are considered residents of the State of Nebraska.
Postgraduate students are required to have a Nebraska Dental License (temporary or regular) by the time they are to begin the postgraduate program. Those who accept GME funding are expected to have a Nebraska Dental License (temporary or regular) and federal and state DEA licenses before July 1 of the year of the commencement of their program so they can participate in the After Hours Emergency Care Program.
It is possible for a student who has graduated from an A.D.A. accredited American or Canadian dental school and is licensed in another state, territory, or District of Columbia to obtain a temporary Nebraska Dental License during the time he or she is enrolled as a full-time postgraduate student. The temporary license is only for practice-related and clinical teaching activities within the College of Dentistry and does not allow extramural private practice.
After acceptance into the postgraduate program, licensure information may be obtained from the State of Nebraska Department of Health, Bureau of Examining Boards.
For a regular license, the State Board accepts the results of the clinical examination given by the Central Regional Dental Testing Service. The State Board also has provisions for licensure by credentials for individuals licensed in other states.
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The UNMC Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Residency offers three day observerships for those interested in pursuing specialty training in pediatric dentistry. Eligible applicants include United States and Canadian dental students and licensed dentists who are graduates of C.O.D.A. accredited dental schools.
Our residency program clinic, the UNMC Pediatric Dental Clinic, gives observers the opportunity to shadow pediatric dental residents working closely with our program faculty in the areas of pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, pediatric oral surgery and sedation.
Typically, observers spend one day in the operating room with our pediatric dental faculty and residents while they treat children and adolescents with extensive dental restorative needs; physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities; cleft and craniofacial conditions; and complex medical conditions. Our clinic and hospital setting provides dental care to children from the Omaha metropolitan area, greater Nebraska and our surrounding states.
It would be our pleasure to show you our clinic, introduce you to our program’s faculty and residents, and get to know you better.
Contact
Julie Mack, Pediatric Dental Residency Program Coordinator
julie.mack@unmc.edu
Class of 2023
- Dr. Allie Koth, ABC Pediatric Dentistry, Sioux Falls, SD
- Dr. Maddison McConnaughhay, UNMC College of Dentistry Faculty, NE
- Dr. Kate Sumerfield, Attending, Denver Health Pediatric Dentistry Residency, CO
- Dr. Andrew Wilson, Black Hills Pediatric Dentistry, Rapid City, SD
- Dr. Eric Wood, Compass Health, MO
Class of 2022
- Dr. Jordan Castillo, Private Practice, Dallas, TX
- Dr. Molly Cawley, Charles Drew Health Center, Omaha, NE
- Dr. Mary Pollmiller, Private Practice, Wexford, PA
- Dr. Ryan Smith, Private Practice, Fort Lauerdale, FL
- Dr. Adam Woroniecki, Private Practice, Bismarck, ND
Class of 2021
- Dr. Spencer Burton, One World Community Health, Omaha, NE
- Dr. Rebecca Buss, Private Practice, Omaha, NE
- Dr. Taylor Coffin, Private Practice, Scottsdale, AZ
- Dr. Derek Mettenbrink, Private Practice, Missoula, MT
- Dr. Laura Videtich, Private Practice, Boise, ID
Class of 2020
- Dr. Adam Crell, Private Practice, Charlotte, NC
- Dr. Kiley Dohm, Private Practice, Plymouth, MN
- Dr. Timothy McClain, Private Practice, Shelbyville, KY
- Dr. Baylee Mink, Private Practice, Lincoln, NE
- Dr. Benjamin Reimer, Private Practice, Omaha, NE
Class of 2019
- Dr. Christopher Johnson, DDS, Private Practice, Colorado Springs, CO
- Dr. Tyler Johnson, DDS, Private Practice, Grand Forks, ND
- Dr. Claire Koukol, DDS, Faculty, UNMC Pediatric Dental Residency Program, Omaha, NE
- Dr. Katelyn Olenich, DDS, Private Practice, Murfreesboro, TN
- Dr. Eric Phan, DDS, Private Practice, Murfreesboro, TN
Class of 2018
- Dr. Trey Anderson, Private Practice, Wichita, KS
- Dr. Bryce Bott, Private Practice, Provo, UT
- Dr. Whitney Walker Linville, Private Practice, Lafayette, LA
- Dr. Jennifer Marshall, UNMC Pediatric Dental Residency Program, Omaha, NE
- Dr. Allison Wolf, Private Practice, Lincoln, NE
Contact
Postgraduate Dental Programs
Julie Buss
UNMC College of Dentistry
4000 East Campus Loop South
Lincoln, NE 68583-0740
402-472-6261
jbuss@unmc.edu
Children’s Nebraska
8200 Dodge Street
Omaha, NE 68114-4113
985163 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5163
402-552-7267