53 Erie County Medical Center 1978-Present A proud history of dental training and treatment. ECMC has long been at the forefront of training for dental residents, recent graduates from dental school, who have received their DDS or DMD degree and gain experience treating a wide range of dental and mouth problems at the General Practice Dental Residency program. In 2007, New York became only the second state to require this postgraduate year in order to practice dentistry. Yet there has always been a dental department and a dental service at ECMC. Dentists at the medical center have provided care to both outpatients and inpatients since the establishment of Buffalo City Hospital. Today, ECMC’s new state-of-the-art imaging systems, including digital radiography, provide fast, efficient examinations and accurate diagnosis and treatment of all patient conditions. TheECMCDentalCenterwelcomesnewpatientsfromacrossthecommunityandpromotes comprehensive oral health including both preventive and restorative dental treatment. While residents examine, evaluate, and treat patients, they are also supervised and guided by general dentists and specialists to gain valuable feedback and assure professional growth. In addition, the residents do rotations in medical departments throughout the hospital and often treat patients referred from those departments. ECMC is the designated Adult Regional Trauma Center for Western New York, and the Department of Dentistry assists in the surgical management of oral facial trauma. Dental treatment is also provided to spinal cord injury patients who may have sustained injuries as a result of falls or automobile, industrial, or sports accidents. Dentists and residents at the ECMC Dental Center. Photos courtesy Joe Cascio.