AEGD Residency

Thank you for your interest in our AEGD training program. We have hosted post-doctoral dental education at the Foundry for over 10 years, and the program has been a huge contributor to our mission. We believe we offer one of the strongest clinically-based AEGD experiences in the country, especially for residents interested in advancing surgically. We just want to help our patients, and they happen to need a lot of surgery -- and many other general dentistry procedures as well. Our AEGD residents work with us to manage 10 times the number of patients we could otherwise help, and for that we are grateful.

Visiting Our Clinic

Potential applicants and interested persons are welcome to visit and see our clinic in operation. Our visitors include potential volunteers, students wishing to shadow a dentist, engineers designing implants, people thinking about dental assisting as a career, community partners, future patients, and prospective AEGD applicants -- all are welcome at our clinic. Just come by and introduce yourself and enjoy some Southern hospitality. Occasionally we are closed for resident training purposes, so you might want to check on your particular date before you book a plane ticket. You can email Dr. McCracken at the address listed on the admission portal or contact our office staff at [email protected] to arrange a visit. We do formal AEGD interviews in September, October, and November, so we would ask that you check with us to confirm dates if you are visiting during these three months. 

Scope of Practice

Many AEGD applicants are curious about the types of procedures we offer at FDC. The simple answer is "whatever our patients need." In our community, that tends to be extractions, dentures, implants, and a large volume of general dentistry. We do not provide orthodontic services, and almost all of our patients are adults. We emphasize 5 areas of training for our post-doctoral residents, skills which make a year of training valuable: good exodontia, implant placement, molar endodontics, digital dentistry, and procedural moderate sedation.

Potential applicants should recognize that we work very hard. Mondays start at 8:30 AM and end after seminar around 9:30 PM. We work most Saturdays. The pace of education can be difficult at times, and residents put in long hours managing cases and lab work. If that sounds exciting to you, we are happy to review your application.

In a typical year, our 10 residents produce the following quantity of dental procedures, in rough numbers.

• 5,000 extractions
• 500 dentures
• 1,000 implants
• 500 sedations (moderate IV parenteral)
• 2,000 fillings
• 800 implant crowns; 300 regular crowns
• 100 root canals
• Various other general dentistry procedures, such as implant site development, periodontal therapy, and soft tissue management

Application Procedure

Applicants can apply to our program through the ADEA PASS web page; apply to Johnston Memorial Hospital - Foundry Dental Center AEGD1593. More information on the curriculum and program specifics is available here .

In general we review applications in early August, and extend interview invitations on a rolling basis through September and October. Our admission committee meets in late November, and we offer positions in early December. Our admissions and acceptance process is typically concluded by December 15.

Associated Programs

We are closely partnered with other community clinics in our region. These clinics have their own unique educational opportunities, but share in our core education curriculum for IV moderate sedation and surgical implant placement. These clinics are in Spartanburg, SC (AEGD1608) and Abingdon, VA (AEGD1592). More information is available regarding these programs on the ADEA website and search engine. Finally, we have a unaccredited program developing in Chattanooga, Tenn., that may interest some applicants.