Summer Student Practitioner Program

The Summer Student Practitioner Program (SSPP) allows incoming fourth-year students to practice dentistry within approved competencies for up to seven weeks in any city across BC. Students receive a temporary license and are paired with a practicing dentist, allowing them to experience the day-to-day operation and management of a dental practice. The SSPP encourages students to explore dentistry beyond Metro Vancouver, specifically in more rural BC communities.

Four major donors—Pacific Dental Conference Trust, CDSPI, Synergy Business Lawyers, and Scotiabank Healthcare+—provide summer travel and accommodation expenses for students with placements outside of Metro Vancouver.

Become part of a win-win combination that encourages new graduates to practice throughout the province, relieve your backlog, test run an associate and be a part of the learning!

Read about past student and mentor experiences.

Download the SSPP brochure > View the 2023 SSPP Impact Report >


Typical Procedures

A selection of procedures typically performed by students, in accordance with the UBC Year 3 DMD Students’ Benchmarks for Patient Care, include:

  • Recall examinations
  • Scaling, OH instruction/prophylaxis
  • Certain endodontic procedures
  • Conservative operative procedures
  • Removable partial dentures
  • Complete upper and lower dentures
  • Additional simple restorative procedures

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

  • CDSPI provides malpractice insurance.
  • The BC College of Oral Health Professionals provides licensure for the student for four months.
  • Student must complete their third year of DMD studies to be eligible and are under the supervision of the participating dentist.
  • Length of time is negotiated between the student and the dentist anytime between July and the first three weeks of August for one to seven weeks.
  • Dental students may only perform procedures already learned through their studies at UBC.
  • A dentist may employ only one dental student at a time; however, a group of two or more dentists may share supervision of the student on a rotating basis.
  • The student must be provided with their own chair.
  • The supervising dentist examines all patients the student sees and delegates the duties to be performed by the student.
  • The student performs dental service at the discretion of the student and the supervising dentist per the UBC Year 3 DMD Students’ Benchmarks for Patient Care document.
  • The supervising dentist is responsible for ensuring the academic policies at UBC and the student’s relationship with it is supported during employment.
  • Dentists are requested to provide feedback on the student and program in a format provided by the University.

Application Form

To facilitate student matches, we ask all dentists to tell us a little about their practices and location.

Dentist Mentor Application Form >


Contact

To learn more about the program or if you have any questions, please contact:

Dr. Lauren Milchman
Director of the Summer Student Practitioner Program
milchman@dentistry.ubc.ca