Patient Pool

Clinical Orthodontic Care/Patient Pool & Policies

The majority of assigned cases will represent adolescent and adult orthodontic biomechanics requiring fixed, band-bond Edgewise appliances to comprehensively manage the presenting malocclusion using both extraction and non-extraction protocols. The goal of clinical orthodontic care in the MUSC Orthodontic Postgraduate Program is to allow each resident the opportunity to experience the full range of orthodontic treatment levels involving the diagnosis and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults. As the traditional patient base of orthodontic care, the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents in the young permanent dentition will include comprehensive management using both non-extraction and extraction protocols. Diagnostic and treatment experiences in primary and mixed dentition patients will include considerations in space supervision, guidance of eruption, interceptive orthodontics, growth modification, and phased “early” treatment procedures. Orthodontic care in adults will include comprehensive treatment using non-extraction and extraction protocols to include orthognathic surgical and coordinated interdisciplinary restorative - prosthetic management procedures.

Seven to eight half-day clinic sessions per week (approximately 28 hours weekly) is scheduled for the supervised clinical orthodontic management of patients by the postgraduate students throughout the three years of the program. The projected clinical experience is to have each postgraduate student work-up and initiate treatment on 40 to 50 patients over the course of the first academic year. In the second year, each student will work-up and initiate care on additional 5 to 10 patients for a total start load of approximately 50 to 60 patients over the first two-years of the curriculum. Third year residents should not be starting cases. Any unfinished transfer cases from graduating third year residents will pass back to the next third year class.

Screening, patient selection, and assignments will emphasize a distribution of malocclusion categories across age groups for each individual resident. Patients are assigned by level of malocclusion complexity to ensure a broad distribution of experiences for each student.

  • The majority of assigned cases will represent adolescent and adult orthodontic biomechanics requiring fixed, band-bond Edgewise appliances to comprehensively manage the presenting malocclusion using both extraction and non-extraction protocols.
  • Interceptive and multi-phased procedures in growing patients to manage the developing occlusion (e.g., anterior crossbites, thumb habits, functional posterior crossbites, space supervision cases) will be treated in a coordinated “Age-Appropriate Orthodontic Clinic” in conjunction with residents in pediatric dentistry. Growth modification procedures for managing skeletal dysplasias will build on conventional comprehensive procedures in child and adolescent patients with growth potential.
  • As a component of the MUSC Medical Center, the Orthodontic Postgraduate Program has affiliated experiences and responsibilities for children and adolescents with special needs. The population base offers the opportunity for numerous contacts with other clinical services (e.g., Craniofacial Anomalies, Oncology, Pediatric Cardiology) in support of comprehensive oral-dental health care for patients with associated medical problems.
  • Orthodontic procedures in adults to manage complex malocclusion requiring interdisciplinary care to include orthognathic surgery, aligner technology, prosthetic dentistry, periodontal disease, and temporomandibular dysfunction will complete the broad distribution of patient assignments.

All patients receiving care in the Postgraduate Program in Orthodontics must have their treatment documented completely through a resident – faculty attending protocol to include the following: 

Diagnosis & Treatment Planning

Potential patients will be presented in case analysis-seminar format with comprehensive records available for assessment and a problem list outlined during each presentation. In consultation with the attending faculty orthodontist, a comprehensive treatment plan and biomechanics sequence will be determined. The resident will be responsible for documenting the presentation summary with the final treatment plan signed by both the resident and attending consultant.

Provision of Orthodontic Treatment

Postgraduate Orthodontic Program patients are treated under the supervision of an attending faculty member.