in the hospital. Rotation through the dental specialties increases the resident's ability to handle situations in private practice without referral to a specialist. In both programs, the basic skills learned in dental school are improved significantly, preparing the dentist for a career in private practice or for a specialty residency program. Residents may work closely with oral and maxillofacial surgeons, allowing them to improve their skills in oral surgical procedures. Under the direct supervision of the oral surgeons, residents may expand their understanding of and increase their skill in third molar extraction, biopsy technique, pathology recognition and treatment planning in facial cosmetic and trauma surgery. Both types of programs will usually feature lecture series to further develop the knowledge that trainees received from their respective dental schools. Application process Applications are generally filled out at the beginning of the senior year of dental school. As with most specialty programs, GPR and AEGD programs utilize the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) operated and managed by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). The PASS system allows all applicants to fill out a single form that is then efficiently distributed to the programs selected by the applicant. Similarly, single copies of secondary application material, such as letters of recommendation, National Board scores and the like, can be sent to PASS, which then certifies the authenticity of the copied versions it distributes to the selected programs. Overall, it allows for a more streamlined process of application over most any alternative method. After applications are in, programs will usually contact prospective candidates for interviews. After interviews are complete, the programs and the candidates will utilize the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program, abbreviated as "the Match," to rank each other in order of preference. After the due date, a computerized algorithm sets up each candidate with the program that he or she ranked highest, although this explanation is oversimplified. For those candidates who do not match at any program, there is a "post-match" period during which programs which maintain open spots attempt to fill them on a case-by-case basis with candidates who did not match to a program. State licensure Some states require a postgraduate training program to meet requirements for licensure. For example, as of January 1, 2007, New York State requires that new dentists complete either a GPR, an AEGD or a specialty residency prior to receiving their dental license. Program examples GPR program at