The California Mini-Residency offers a tailored dental continuing education pathway for dental professionals seeking advanced knowledge and the skills needed to excel in Complete Dentistry. The Mini-Residency features hands-on clinical learning experiences, exclusive Dawson Study Clubs, personalized one-on-one instruction, and engaging group discussions.
A cohort of 20-30 dentists and/or lab technicians will study and complete the Dawson Academy Core Curriculum over a 15-month period.
The curriculum includes our comprehensive seven-part Core Curriculum series, all completed at The Dawson Academy in California, with the final lecture hosted at a scenic California location.
Our faculty will be available throughout the 15-month period (and beyond) to support mini-residency members in implementing their knowledge and achieving clinical success.
An added perk is that you’ll have access to an exclusive study club, ensuring continuous support and educational guidance throughout your entire Mini-Residency program.
Location: San Diego, CA
Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, where students dive into the fundamentals of functional occlusion. This comprehensive course is designed to elevate your practice to new heights, offering a seamless integration of foundational occlusal principles with cutting-edge digital workflows. Beyond mastering the intricacies of esthetic dentistry, Core 1 provides practical strategies to reduce insurance dependency, ensuring a robust bottom line.
Join us in redefining the possibilities of dental excellence and business success, positioning yourself as a leader in your community. The first step on the journey toward becoming a Dawson Scholar starts with Core 1.
Date: Dec 5-7, 2024
Location: Tarzana, CA
Examination and Records is one of the most important dental courses that a dentist will master on the path to complete dentistry. The cornerstone of the Dawson philosophy begins with a thorough comprehensive examination and the gathering of necessary records accurately. As Dr. Dawson says “every great treatment plan comes from a well organized Records appointment”.
The examination and accompanying records are the first step in the process of complete dentistry. This hands-on program will cover all aspects of the exam and records process.
Date: March 6-8, 2025
Location: Tarzana, CA
This dental CE course provides a programmed approach to predictably diagnose and treatment plan both simple to extremely difficult cases. Utilizing the standardized records discussed in our dental courses Functional Occlusion- from TMJ to Smile Design and Achieving Predictable Esthetic Results each dentist will discover how to visualize optimum dentistry from an esthetic, functional, biological and structural perspective. You will learn to apply the four treatment options: reshaping, repositioning, restoring and surgical correction, which are a critical component of step-by-step dental treatment planning checklists.
After sharing knowledge in these areas, our instructors walk through case studies showing you the correct option(s) for each patient. Once a specific, comprehensive treatment plan is decided upon, then the critical step of sequencing the treatment for efficiency and profitability will be determined and discussed. Since you cannot practice complete dentistry without a complete plan, our students learn how to segment large treatment plans enabling patients with financial issues to receive optimum treatment over time without compromising their oral health.
The focus of this continuing dental education program is to integrate a comprehensive dental treatment planning process into your practice. Recommendations based on best practices are discussed to help assist you with organizing your busy schedule and a creating a space for optimum treatment planning. How to present your treatment plan will also be discussed as well as many other aspects of procedures and materials.
Date: July 10-12, 2025
Location: Tarzana, CA
Location: Online
Core 5: Diagnosis & Airway is a restorative dentistry course will provide the students with the procedural knowledge to do contemporary restorative procedures at the highest level. This dental continuing education seminar will leave each student with a clear understanding of the four options of treatment: Reshaping, Repositioning, Restoring and Surgical alternatives.
Preliminary mouth preparation such as necessary periodontal procedures and occlusal equilibration will be covered in detail. Necessary soft tissue surgical procedures that will provide an ideal gingival backdrop will also be presented. Tooth preparation for crowns and veneers will be understood by each participant. Soft tissue management in conjunction with final impressioning techniques will be discussed in detail. Provisional restorations, bite registration techniques, laboratory communication and cementation/adhesive options will be a cornerstone of this presentation.
Date: Jan 8-10, 2026
Location: Tarzana, CA
The clinician will have the opportunity to transition the knowledge gained in the “2D” treatment planning mode into a “3D” dental blue print through the use of mounted diagnostic models and the minimal wax technique. The modulation and understanding of Smile Design in an advanced level of dental treatment planning affords the ability to begin with the end in mind, creating an esthetic result that reflects a functionally sound design and insures durability.
The critical information obtained in creating this dental blue print will allow for the fabrication of reduction guides and provisional matrixes to increase your efficiency, productivity and accuracy chairside. We also provide some key concepts in the single most important step in insuring predictability in indirect restoration, creating exquisite prototypes. Special emphasis will be placed on contouring the provisional restoration, and why this is key to long-term functional and esthetic success in every case you perform. Finally, we will discuss with you in detail the cementation and adhesive options so that the proper course of action is matched with each material.
Date: 2026 – TBD
Location: Clearwater Beach, FL
Advanced Problem Solving is the last of the Dawson Academy seminars in the Core Curriculum. This dental course will provide the participant with the necessary information to solve complex dental problems. A programmed approach to treatment planning will be presented so that each student will learn how to solve the 4 functional and 12 esthetic goals when given any set of circumstances. Extreme occlusal wear, anterior open bites, deep overbites, extreme overjet and Class III malocclusions will be discussed. Neutral zone and vertical dimension will be covered in detail as it pertains to the treatment of the above problems.
Special emphasis will be placed on best restorative options, and when orthodontic/orthognathic alternatives should be considered. Each participant will learn how and when to open the vertical dimension of occlusion and when it should not be opened. A programmed approach to full mouth reconstruction, whether it is teeth, dental implants, precision attachment partials or a combination, will be a cornerstone of this program.
From payment options to course dates, a course advisor will fill you in.
Increase your practice revenue by tackling cases you currently are not confident enough to treat; many doctors say they recoup the cost of the training on their very first case!
Eliminate re-makes and case failures by adding predictability to all of your restorative procedures. From a simple composite to a full mouth reconstruction and implants, The Dawson Academy’s principles of occlusion and treatment planning will forever change how you examine your patients and deliver care.
Increase efficiency, profitability and predictability during the examination, treatment planning, case planning and lab communication process by utilizing The Dawson Academy’s treatment planning software.
Grow together by sharing experiences about implementing the material into your practice and encouraging each other between classes. From these experiences, you’ll form strong bonds amongst yourselves, which continue post-curriculum plus enjoy access to the Resident Study Club.
The Mini Residency program provides us with real-world applications. The answers to my questions are very real, including the failures and research. You are able to understand how the ideal treatment must be modified to meet the demands of the real world.
It was a great experience attending the Dawson continuum in a room full of classmates. Going through the program with the same people not only allowed us to build a fellowship with our colleagues, but also allowed the learning environment to grow as we could all work with each other and grow together. Also, having set classes in my schedule and a real timeline allowed us all to get the the full program at a much smoother pace.
By signing up for the Dawson Cohort, I was finally able to complete the sequence in a timely manner and gain the skills and confidence to treat cases that had perplexed and intimidated me before. But a wonderful unexpected benefit was that by taking the courses with the same participants and the same instructors, an atmosphere of honesty, accountability, & support developed that was quite extraordinary. I would recommend the Dawson curriculum wholeheartedly, and I cannot imagine a better way to do it than in a cohort!
800.952.2178 Toll Free
727.823.7047 Phone
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at ADA.org/CERP.
