Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a valuable health-care facility affiliated with the medical center and is integral to its clinical research. It is a general hospital with 610 beds and a full range of clinical facilities used by the school's undergraduates and residents. These include medical and surgical services in all major specialty areas.

The Dallas VA Medical Center has supported the OMS training program for almost 30 years. Like most VA medical centers, there are modern clinical facilities, including a complete dental department. We have had unwavering support for resident stipends and equipment over the years. There are three fully-equipped OMS rooms in the outpatient clinic.

This rotation exposes the resident to minor and major preprosthetic surgery, reconstructive surgery including dental implants, and multiple extractions and alveoloplasties. The rotation is also heavily weighted toward treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and facial soft-tissue surgery. Residents spend an average of 6 months over their entire program at this facility.

The VA system in general provides a unique patient population with unique health care needs. The patients are generally older and therefore they frequently require a host of preprosthetic, reconstructive and facial soft tissue surgical procedures. The Dallas VA in particular offers some unique features. It is one of the VA hospitals where dental implantology is performed with some frequency. It also has funding for a full-time Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon--Richard Finn, DDS. Beyond that, the OMS service at this hospital treats patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea by the sleep center.