University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine is one of the professional schools of the University of Pennsylvania. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is considered one of the leading dental schools in the US and is highly regarded throughout the world. It is designated a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Oral Infectious Diseases: Education, Research and Care and is the only collaborating center worldwide devoted to oral infectious disease.fact|date=September 2007

Each year, approximately 130 students graduate from the DMD program at Penn Dental Medicine.fact|date=September 2007

History

Penn Dental Medicine is among the oldest university-affiliated dental institutions in the nation.fact|date=September 2007 It was created in 1878 as the Dental Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and its first facilities were housed in Medical Hall (now Logan Hall). The following year it moved into its own building, Dental Hall, which was designed and constructed for its particular needs. Some of its graduates even helped to establish other dental faculties across the nation and even overseas. For example in Canada and Australia

In 1897, Thomas W. Evans, cosmopolitan, brilliant, and innovative dentist to the courts of Europe during France's Second Empire and confidant of Napoleon III, left his estate to the University of Pennsylvania to create and maintain a dental school that would be "second to none." Evans' generosity made possible the construction of the Evans Building (officially called the Thomas W. Evans Museum and Dental Institute) which opened in 1915, the best-equipped dental building in the nation at that time. His boldness and spirit of leadership have continued to guide the School throughout its history of expansion and innovation both in curriculum and in clinical and scientific facilities.fact|date=September 2007

Penn's dental education program has always had close relationships with medicine. For example, it has offered courses in internal medicine to dental students since 1930. As the profession has shifted its emphasis from dental surgery to the promotion of dental health and control of dental disease, Penn has expanded its curriculum to stress the biochemistry of cells, tissue reactions, human genetics, chemotherapy, and other aspects of general medicine. Penn's commitment to total patient care is the practical result of this expanded study of human biology as well as the behavioral sciences.

In view of the expanding scope and responsibilities of its graduates, and in appreciation of the One Medicine concept at Penn (integrating the philosophies of the schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry), the name of the School of Dentistry was officially changed to the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1964.

For similar reasons, the name of the degree has also been changed. The degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, in its literal meaning, fails to indicate the evolving scope of preparation in dental medicine at Penn. The new degree title, Dentariae Medicinae Doctoris, DMD, or Doctor of Dental Medicine, better reflects the intention of the School to serve the causes of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of dental diseases without limitation.

Education

The School of Dental Medicine at Penn offers following academic programs:

DMD Program
4 year program leading to Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.

Graduate Dental Education
• Endodontics
• Oral Medicine
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Orthodontics
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Periodontics
• Periodontic/Orthodontic
• Periodontal Prosthesis
• Masters in Oral Biology

Program for Advanced Standing Students (PASS)
PASS program at Penn enables graduates of foreign dental schools to gain the training needed to practice in the United States. Successful completion of the two-year program allows dentists from overseas to take licensing exams in any state. Graduates and students enrolled in the program represent over 60 countries.fact|date=September 2007

Dual-Degree Options
Penn Dental Medicine provides unique opportunities for students able to participate in a second program at the University of Pennsylvania. Some of the programs include Masters in Bioethics and Masters in Higher Education

Doctoral Degree in the Dental Sciences
Penn Dental Medicine allows individualized programs to be created for those wishing to pursue study in the dental sciences beyond the master's level.

Bio-Dental Consortial Programs for High School Students
This is an accelerated program leading to a combined bachelor's and a dental degree. Students in this program can obtain both degrees in 7 years. This program is offered through the following schools

• College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania
• Hampton University (Hampton, VA)
• Lehigh University(Bethlehem, PA)
• Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
• Villanova University (Villanova, PA)
• Xavier University (New Orleans, LA)

Research

Penn Dental Medicine is among the top dental schools in the nation for NIH funding received per standing faculty member.fact|date=September 2007 The following is an overview of areas being addressed by Penn Dental Medicine researchers:
• Bone, Teeth, and Extracellular Matrix
• Cranio-facial Genetic Anomalies
• Dental Care Systems
• Dental Implantology
• Heavy Metal Toxicity/Bone Metabolism
• HIV/AIDS
• Infection and the Host Response
• Invasive Pathogens
• Orthodontics/Human Growth
• Pain Studies
• Periodontal Diseases
• Product Testing
• Saliva, GCF, and the SDM-GCRC Core Oral Fluids Laboratory
• Sleep Apnea and Snoring
• Viral Infection

Publications

School of Dental Medicine publishes Penn Dental Journal, a biannual magazine for the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine community.

* [http://www.dental.upenn.edu/alumni/journal.html Penn Dental Journal]

chool Facilities

The University of Pennsylvania Dental Care Network includes one on-campus and two satellite practice locations. Together, Penn Dental Medicine treats over 18,000 patients each year in the main clinical teaching facilities with a full range of general and specialty services provided at the School, including treatment for medically complex patients.fact|date=September 2007

The Robert Schattner CenterThe 70,000-square-foot brand new Robert Schattner Center includes the following clinical facilities: Admissions/Emergency Clinic,Oral Medicine Clinic, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic, and the Penn Dental Medicine at the Robert Schattner Center

The Thomas W. Evans Museum and Dental InstituteThe Evans Building, the flagship building of the School of Dental Medicine, was constructed in 1915. It houses administrative and academic department offices, lecture halls and seminar rooms, laboratory facilities, and the following clinical facilities: Pediatric Dentistry, Endodontics, the D. Walter Cohen and Morton Amsterdam Periodontal Clinic, the Brainerd F. Swain Orthodontic Clinic, and the Main (general restorative) Clinic.

The Leon Levy Center for Oral Health ResearchThe Levy building houses Penn Dental Medicine's basic science departments, including lecture and seminar rooms, faculty and departmental offices, and research laboratories.

External links

* [http://www.dental.upenn.edu/ University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine]
* [http://www.dental.upenn.edu//depts/endo/index.html UPSDM Department of Endodontics]