Tufts Special Care Dental Clinic Operating Room Dentist

Tufts University:
Tufts School of Dental Medicine:
Department of Public Health and Community Service Location

Boston, MA

Aug 03, 2026

Assistant Professor:
Minimum $, Midpoint $, Maximum $ Associate Professor:
Minimum $, Midpoint $, Maximum $ Professor:
Minimum $153,300, Midpoint $230,350, Maximum $307,000

The Tufts Special Care Dental Clinics (TSCDC) program is a network of seven outpatient clinics that provides dental care to approximately 7,000 patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the state of Massachusetts under the umbrella of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM), and in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Developmental Services (DDS), and Mass Health.

Additional patient treatment is provided under general anesthesia in an operating room setting (over 300 patient cases/year) at three affiliated hospitals within the state. The TSCDC program also provides a venue for teaching postgraduate residents in training (GPR and AEGD programs) and 4th year dental students from TUSDM.

The Clinical Instructor (Operating Room Dentist) provides direct patient care to individuals with I/DD in a hospital operating room setting under general anesthesia. Providing care in this venue addresses access to care challenges for patients with I/DD that are unable to receive dental care in the outpatient clinic on account of the degree of their disability, including cooperation and behavior limitations.

Treatment provided includes general dental procedures (radiographs, examination, prophylaxis, deep scaling, restoration, and extractions), and in select patient cases, endodontic and fixed prosthetic treatment. The Clinical Instructor is expected to maintain and document dental records when providing this care and to assist with follow-up accordingly, including communicating with patients and their advocates (parents, guardians, etc.).

The Clinical Instructor (Operating Room Dentist) also has instructional and mentoring responsibilities (General Practice Residents in training), as the operating room dental care team is comprised of both the Clinical Instructor and a post-graduate GPR resident in training.

The Clinical Instructor (Operating Room Dentist) is responsible to the Director of Clinic Operations for the quality of care provided to patients and the quality of educational experiences provided through the program and is also responsible for meeting TSCDC's commitment to service and financial commitments to contracts, funding partners, and TUSDM's mission. The individual is responsible for maintaining all necessary Massachusetts licensure requirements to practice dentistry (example: dental license including associated required continuing education, MA controlled substance registration, federal DEA registration, BLS certification) as well as hospital operating room privileges by location as appropriate per the specific role.

Liability coverage will be provided on behalf of the University.

• 90% Direct patient care
• 5% Documentation of care provided in the electronic health record
• 5% Communication with patients and advocates as needed

A Doctor of Dental Science (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree is required with 1-2 years of relevant clinical patient care experience. Preference will be given to those who have experience working with patients who have I/DD. The candidate will have experience evaluating patient care and coordinating patient treatment plans with parents, guardians, and caregivers, as well as experience treating patients under general anesthesia in a hospital operating room setting.

The successful Clinical Instructor (Operating Room Dentist) should possess all the above qualifications, and should have strong analytical skills, be an effective teacher and mentor, have excellent organizational skills, be self-motivated, able to manage his/her time efficiently and have excellent written and oral communication skills.

Tufts University, founded in 1852, prioritizes quality teaching, highly competitive basic and applied research, and a commitment to active citizenship locally, regionally, and globally.

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