---
title: "What Is General practice residency? Dental Practice Glossary"
description: "A general practice residency is a postdoctoral training program for dentists that prepares them to give comprehensive oral health care, including to patients..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/general-practice-residency
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Credentials and education

# General practice residency

A general practice residency is a postdoctoral training program for dentists that prepares them to give comprehensive oral health care, including to patients with complex medical needs.

A general practice residency (GPR) is a postgraduate training program for dentists. A 2026 paper in PubMed Central says GPR programs have emerged as pivotal training models. They prepare dental practitioners to deliver comprehensive oral health care, especially for persons with disabilities and medically complex conditions.

A GPR is training, not a specialty. A dentist who completes one is still a general dentist. This differs from an award such as the [Fellowship (AGD)](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/fellowship-agd), which is based on continuing education hours after training. Program length, setting and focus vary by site.

[Next stepIndustry work with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=industry)

## Related terms

-   [Fellowship (AGD)](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/fellowship-agd)
-   [Continuing education](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/continuing-education)
-   [Academy of General Dentistry](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/academy-of-general-dentistry)

## Sources

1.  [PubMed Central: The Role of CODA and GPR Programs on Comprehensive Oral Health Care](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12882106/)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)