Graduate Certificate in Prosthodontics

The 34-month postgraduate certificate program in Prosthodontics in the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University will provide postdoctoral education for dentists wishing to prepare for specialized practice. Clinical and didactic expertise is strongly emphasized to prepare students for successful attainment of Board Certification. The program offers a Certificate in Dentistry in Prosthodontics with mandatory enrollment in the Master of Science degree in Oral Health Sciences included in the certificate program tuition.

Students in the program have the opportunity to treat a vast, highly diverse patient pool with a wide range of prosthodontic treatment needs. Collaborative educational activities are available with other prosthodontic specialty programs and faculty within greater Philadelphia.

The postgraduate certificate in Prosthodontics admits four residents per year and requires three consecutive years of study to complete. Residents enrolled in the postdoctoral program will also complete all requirements to subsequently earn the Oral Health Sciences MS offered by the Kornberg School of Dentistry. The Prosthodontics program at Temple offers postgraduate students both a didactically and clinically rich program with experienced, board-certified faculty supervising in a busy urban clinic. Features include digital radiography including CBCT, electronic health records system, and cutting-edge classroom, clinical and laboratory technology.

Prosthodontics Program Goals

• Program Goal I: To educate dentists to become competent in advanced prosthodontics.
• Program Goal II: To prepare students to contribute to and pursue the broad body of basic and applied knowledge related to oral and systemic health.
• Program Goal III: To prepare students for examination by the American Board of Prosthodontics.
• Program Goal IV: To encourage students to disseminate information after graduation about the skills involved with the specialty of prosthodontics.

Program Format & Curriculum

­The postdoctoral program combines a required Master of Science in Oral Health Sciences with the clinical and didactic certificate program. Clinical work and research are intended to give students advanced, real-world experience with the patients they will see in the field of prosthodontics.

Students are required to take the following courses, among many others.

• Advanced Dental Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Bioethics and Critical Thinking
• Clinical Anatomy of the Head and Neck
• Introduction to Implantology
• Oral Pathology
• Prosthodontics Literature Review

Learn more about the required courses in the Graduate Certificate in Prosthodontics program.

Program Requirements

The Prosthodontics postgraduate program at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry is a complex prosthodontic program encompassing all prosthodontic disciplines—fixed prosthodontics, removable partial dentures, complete dentures, maxillofacial prosthetics and implant therapy—both in the didactic and clinical curriculum. The guidelines set for clinical accomplishments are as follows.

• Fixed prosthodontics: 5 full cases
• Complete denture prosthodontics: 20 units
• Removable partial dentures: 10 units
• Implants restored: 40 fixtures
• Maxillofacial prosthetics: 3 cases

These guidelines include full mouth rehabilitations, use of attachments and all ancillary prosthetic procedures. Students are encouraged and supported to exceed these guidelines when possible. Students are required to use various clinical techniques to demonstrate understanding of most laboratory procedures.

Didactic requirements include pre- and post-testing, preparation of three lectures and scholarly activity. Students are required to purchase an appropriate clinical camera, laptop computer, one articulator and facebow as described in the acceptance letter.

Students are encouraged to present a table clinic, poster presentation or an original paper at local, regional or national prosthodontic meetings. Successful completion of the program may require an extension beyond 34 months to fulfill clinical or other requirements.

Teaching experience during the program is required and is generally limited to the third year of postgraduate training. Participation in the American Board of Prosthodontics Section A Exam (written) is mandatory, and three board-type cases should be completed during the program and presented in a mock oral board. Mock oral board written examination will be administered each year.

Time Off

General time off policies are contained in the postgraduate handbook. Attendance at local, regional, and national scientific meetings are allowed at the discretion of the program director.

Facilities

With construction completed in January 2025, the postgraduate Prosthodontics program enjoys working in a brand new, state-of-the-art, well-equipped clinic and laboratory space. Each resident has their own clinic chair and laboratory bench with an en-suite digital design milling/printing room and wet lab. 

Related Graduate Certificates

• Advanced Education in General Dentistry
• Dental Public Health
• Endodontics
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Orthodontics
• Periodontics

Careers

Students who graduate from the Prosthodontics certificate program are well prepared to pursue a specialized career in prosthodontics in academics, clinical and private practice, and research. Graduates have expertise in biomaterials, implant dentistry, maxillofacial prosthetics and oral biology, and they have the experience and compassion necessary for a patient-centered practice.