The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) will launch a cosmetic dentistry residency pilot program this August, each learning from an AACD Accredited Fellow. Elizabeth M. Bakeman, DDS, Susan Hollar, DDS, and Brian P. LeSage, DDS, each will instruct a dental resident and provide experience related to aesthetic restorative dental practices including effective practice management, diagnostic tools, and restorative considerations.
The first AACD Cosmetic Dentistry Residents will include Natalie Downs, DDS, Amirali Zandinejad, DDS, MSc, and Caroline Girard, DDS. The program will give them the clinical and business experience needed to jump start a career in cosmetic-oriented restorative dental practices by completing a series of requirements including studying dental literature and implementing simple to complex restorative cases, the AACD reports.
“The AACD Residency program is designed to expose young dentists to the clinical and business side of a fee-for-service style private practice,” said LeSage.
Downs graduated from the Marquette University School of Dentistry in 2017 and has been practicing as an associate with James C. Peurach, DDS, and Cascade Village Dental in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She will be studying under Bakeman at her practice, also in Grand Rapids.
Zandinejad completed his residency in operative dentistry and master’s in restorative dentistry at Sheffield University in 1996 as well as the AEGD residency and prosthodontics program at the University of Rochester in New York. Currently, he is director of the AEGD residency program at the Texas A&M College of Dentistry. He will study with Hollar at her practice in Arlington, Texas.
Girard graduated from the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in 2015 and is now an associate at La Canada Smiles Dentistry in La Canada Flintridge, California. She will study with LeSage at his practice in Beverly Hills.
These professionals will have the unique opportunity to learn one on one from some of the most successful restorative dentists in the country and observe, document, and execute a variety of cosmetic restorative solutions, the AACD says.
In addition to gaining knowledge and experience relating to all the facets of an aesthetic restorative dental practice, they also will gain the confidence and skills they need to enjoy professional and financial success, the AACD adds.
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