The General Dentistry Program at the LSU School of Dentistry and affiliated hospitals in the LSU Health Care Services Division (Baton Rouge and New Orleans) is a one-year/optional second-year hospital-based residency, which offers a unique opportunity for an advanced clinical and didactic experience in a university hospital environment, with additional training in the arts and sciences basic to a general dental practice. The objectives of the program are to educate dentists to function as a part of a hospital team and to gain competency in diagnosing and rendering comprehensive and preventive dental treatment for the medically compromised patient. A general dentistry certificate is awarded to each resident who successfully completes the program.

The primary teaching hospital is the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (University Hospital campus) and Earl K. Long Medical Center, Baton Rouge. Other affiliated teaching institutions are the LSU School of Dentistry (LSUSD), New Orleans and the Baton Rouge South Campus; the LSU School of Medicine, New Orleans; Pineville Developmental Center, Pineville, Louisiana; and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center, Houma, Louisiana. The rotations are scheduled through the departments of comprehensive care, oral medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, general anesthesia, and emergency medicine. Residents are also instructed in hospital protocol and organization. Comprehensive in- and outpatient care is emphasized, including extensive use of the operating room. Residents may also gain experience in teaching pre-doctoral students at LSUSD.

Appointment to the program is for a twelve-month period beginning July 1 through June 30, with a contract being sent after notification of acceptance. A new contract is signed at the beginning of the second resident year.  The program requires an application participates from the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). A personal interview with faculty members and a tour of the LSUHSC School of Dentistry facilities in New Orleans or Baton Rouge are usually conducted during November and December. Applications are accepted from senior dental students who will be completing their predoctoral studies or from graduates of dental schools recognized by the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association and who have successfully completed Part I and II of the National Board Examinations.  Applicants are required to secure a restricted or full license to practice dentistry in Louisiana upon acceptance as a resident in the program (exam for restricted license will be scheduled at orientation).

Applications from graduates of dental schools from outside the United States may only be considered for the Special Needs Dentistry fellowship program with confirmed successful completion of Parts I and II of the National Board Examinations and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).