Job Description
Position Description
Primary Purpose and Essential Functions
PRIMARY PURPOSES
Reporting to the Chair of Pediatric Dentistry, the Clinical Assistant Professor will provide clinical and didactic instruction within the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. The faculty members will support the department’s educational, clinical, service, and outreach missions through excellence in teaching, patient care, mentorship, and professional engagement. Responsibilities include clinical supervision and instruction of predoctoral dental students in pediatric dentistry and special care dentistry across outpatient, hospital, ambulatory surgery center ( ASC), and community-based settings.
University of the Pacific recognizes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are foundational to the success of our students, faculty, staff, and patients. The University values individuals who demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive learning and healthcare environment and who support equitable access to educational and clinical opportunities.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
The faculty members will participate as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team and contribute to the education of predoctoral and postdoctoral dental learners, as well as other healthcare professionals when appropriate.
Emphasis will be placed on the care of children and adolescents, including patients with special healthcare needs, neurodivergent individuals, and medically complex populations. The faculty members will support the department’s commitment to improving access to care, advancing inclusive and neuro-affirming clinical practices, and preparing students to provide compassionate, evidence-based care to diverse patient populations.
1. Clinical Teaching and Patient Care:
- Supervise and mentor predoctoral dental students in Pediatric Dentistry clinical settings.
- Provide instruction in diagnosis, treatment planning, and delivery of comprehensive oral healthcare for infants, children, adolescents, and patients with special healthcare needs.
- Provide clinical instruction in behavior guidance, preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry, trauma management, sedation, hospital dentistry, and comprehensive oral healthcare for children and adolescents.
- Promote patient-centered, family-centered, and neuro-affirming approaches to care for children with developmental, behavioral, medical, intellectual, and physical disabilities.
- Model and promote evidence-based clinical decision-making, professionalism, patient safety, and quality improvement principles.
- Support clinical operations while fostering student growth in efficiency, communication,
- critical thinking, and clinical judgment.
- Assisting students in developing competencies is necessary to care for medically complex and special healthcare needs populations across a variety of healthcare settings.
- Participate in patient care and educational activities within affiliated community clinics, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, operating rooms, and outreach programs assigned.
- Collaborate with faculty, staff, and interdisciplinary healthcare providers to ensure highquality patient care and educational experiences.
- Perform all duties as assigned by the department chair, which may include additional courses, clinical duties, assisting with administrative tasks, supporting project management, and contributing to department operations as needed.
- Have the flexibility to travel to the Sacramento campus when required, supporting cross campus initiatives and collaboration.
2. Didactic Education:
- Deliver lectures, seminars, case-based discussions, and small-group learning experiences within the predoctoral curriculum.
- Assist with curriculum development, assessment, calibration, and continuous quality improvement of educational programs.
- Participate in student evaluation, remediation, mentoring, and academic advising as requested.
- Support the integration of contemporary concepts in pediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, neuro-affirming care, interprofessional collaboration, healthcare accessibility, and evidence-based practice into didactic and clinical education.
3. Service and Institutional Engagement
- Attend departmental meetings, faculty meetings, calibration sessions, and school-wide events.
- Serve on departmental, school, and university committees as assigned.
- Participate in admissions activities, outreach initiatives, continuing education programs, alumni engagement, and other efforts that advance the mission of the School and University.
- Support interprofessional education ( IPE) initiatives and collaborative healthcare programs involving students, faculty, and healthcare providers across disciplines.
- Participate in community outreach initiatives that improve access to oral healthcare for underserved pediatric populations and individuals with special healthcare needs.
- Contribute to a collegial, collaborative, and inclusive academic environment.
4. Scholarship & Professional Development:
- Maintain professional competence through continuing education and lifelong learning.
- Participate in scholarly activities appropriate to faculty rank and appointment, including presentations, publications, educational innovation, quality improvement initiatives, or clinical research.
- Support the advancement of pediatric dentistry through professional service, leadership, and engagement with organized dentistry and related healthcare organizations.
Minimum Qualifications
Knowledge of:
- Contemporary principles and practices of pediatric dentistry, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment planning, restorative care, behavior guidance, and management of dental trauma.
- Evidence-based approaches to the care of infants, children, adolescents, and patients with special health care needs.
- Principles of child development, communication, behavior guidance, and patient- and family centered care.
- Current standards for infection prevention, patient safety, medical emergency management, and appropriate use of sedation and pain control in pediatric dental practice.
- Clinical teaching and supervision of dental students, including assessment of student performance and provision of constructive feedback.
- Professional, ethical, and regulatory standards applicable to the practice and teaching of dentistry in an academic clinical environment.
- Principles of culturally responsive, inclusive, and neuro-affirming care for diverse pediatric patient populations.
Experience:
- Minimum of one year experience providing care to children and adolescents, including patients with special healthcare needs.
Education:
-
DDS or DMD degrees from a CODA- accredited dental school.
- Completion of a CODA- accredited Pediatric Dentistry residency program.
Licensure and Certification:
- Current dental license California.
- Current Basic Life Support ( BLS) certification.
Working Conditions:
- Three-day-per-week faculty appointment during a forty-week academic year.
- Occasional evening or weekend attendance at university, departmental, alumni, community, or continuing education events may be required.
- Local travel to affiliated clinical sites, hospitals, community clinics, outreach programs, or ambulatory surgery centers may be required.
- Occasional travel to professional meetings, conferences, or educational programs may be required.
Preferred Qualifications
Ability to:
- Demonstrated expertise in pediatric dentistry.
- Ability to effectively teach, mentor, and evaluate dental students in both clinical and didactic settings.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, neuro-affirming care, and patient centered care.
- Demonstrated interest in advancing access to care and innovative models of pediatric oral healthcare delivery.
Experience:
- Previous academic teaching experience in a dental school or residency program.
- Experience providing care in hospital, operating room, sedation, or ambulatory surgery center environments.
- Experience providing care for patients with special healthcare needs, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, or complex medical conditions.
- Experience in community-based dentistry, interdisciplinary healthcare delivery, or special care dentistry.
- Experience in interprofessional education, community outreach, or collaborative healthcare delivery models.
License:
- Board Certified or Board Eligible by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support ( PALS) certification preferred.
Other:
- Experience and sensitivity in working with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
- Demonstrated experience in advancing social justice, equity, and inclusion in a university setting.
- Ability to engage and integrate culturally responsive practices and knowledge in their work.
Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative but not definitive of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
- Clinical duties may require standing, bending, reaching, and maintaining clinical working positions for extended periods.
- May be required to assist with patient transfers and positioning, including patients with physical disabilities.
- Frequent use of computers, keyboards, telephones, and other office equipment.
- Ability to sit or stand for prolonged periods while teaching in classroom, laboratory, or clinical environments.
- Clinical care for patients with complex medical, physical, behavioral, or intellectual disabilities may require flexibility in positioning and ergonomic accommodations.
GENERAL Faculty should have sufficient motor function to execute movements essential to
providing oral health care to patients.
SPECIFIC Must possess the motor skills to perform palpation, percussion, auscultation and
other diagnostic maneuvers, basic laboratory tests, dental preparations, and diagnostic procedures in a timely manner. Such actions require coordination of gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional uses of the senses of touch and vision. Must be able to perform basic life support including CPR, transfer and position patients with disabilities, physically restrain children who lack motor control, position and reposition himself or herself around the patient and
chair in sitting and standing positions for prolonged periods of time. Must be able to operate controls, use high-speed or low-speed dental handpieces for tooth preparation procedures, and use hand instrumentation, including scalpels, for surgical procedures. All of these skills must be performed within reasonable time frame.
Hiring Range
$98,000.00 - $115,000.00 per year. We consider factors such as, but not limited to, scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s qualifications, internal equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.
Special Instructions
For in-person roles: This is an in-person role, and the successful candidate must be willing to relocate within California, preferably within 25 miles of the (City) Pacific campus.
For online roles: While this is an online position, Pacific’s three campuses are within California and its faculty and staff are mostly California residents. For administrative purposes, California residents are preferred. Out of state hires must be approved either by the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (for academic hires) or by the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations.
Contact Information
Contact Email
Reference Letter Information
Are Applicants Required to Submit References for This Posting?
Yes
Minimum Number of References
3
Maximum Number of References
4
Background Check Statement
All applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment are required to execute a release and authorization for a background screening.
AB 810 Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: University of the Pacific complies with California Assembly Bill 810, requiring candidates accepting conditional job offers to disclose any final administrative or judicial findings, ongoing proceedings, allegations, resignations under investigation, or appeals related to sexual harassment or misconduct within the past seven years.
Anti-Discrimination/EEO Policy Statement
University of the Pacific is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to workforce diversity across backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. Pacific does not unlawfully discriminate in its hiring of faculty and staff, or in the provision of its employment benefits to its faculty and staff on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sex/gender, marital status, military and veteran status, sexual orientation, medical condition, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, or mental or physical disability, or other legally protected characteristics or combination of such characteristics. While we strive to attract a broad and representative pool of candidates, all hiring decisions are made based on merit, selecting the most qualified individual for each position.
