School of Dental Medicine

Penn Dental Medicine’s Tina Chou Learns There’s More to Dentistry Than Teeth

By Marjorie FerroneWith a craving to “see dentistry beyond the domestic boundaries,” Tina Chou, a second-year student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, seized the opportunity to advance dentistry in The Gambia in a unique internship opportunity this past summer.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn Study Treats Alzheimer’s by Delivering Protein Across Blood-Brain Barrier

The body is structured to ensure that any invading organisms have a tough time reaching the brain, an organ obviously critical to survival. Known as the blood-brain barrier, cells that line the brain and spinal cord are tightly packed, making it difficult for anything besides very small molecules to cross from the bloodstream into the central nervous system.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn Dental Medicine Team Identifies Molecule Critical to Healing Wounds

Skin provides a first line of defense against viruses, bacteria and parasites that might otherwise make people ill. When an injury breaks that barrier, a systematic chain of molecular signaling launches to close the wound and re-establish the skin’s layer of protection.

Katherine Unger Baillie

PennSmiles Has Local Children Grinning from Ear to Ear

Kids in West Philadelphia sure do have a reason to smile. For more than a decade, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has been providing oral health education, screenings and primary dental care to children at local schools and community agencies.

Jill DiSanto

Penn-Led Research Suggests a New Strategy to Prevent or Halt Periodontal Disease

PHILADELPHIA — Periodontitis, a form of chronic gum disease that affects nearly half of the U.S. adult population, results when the bacterial community in the mouth becomes unbalanced, leading to inflammation and eventually bone loss. In its most severe form, which affects 8.5 percent of U.S. adults, periodontitis can impact systemic health.

Katherine Unger Baillie



In the News


The Guardian

Does your jaw click? Do you grind your teeth? It could be this little-known condition

Thomas P. Sollecito of the School of Dental Medicine says that roughly 10-15% of adults have some form of temporomandibular disorder, though the vast majority don’t require treatment.

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Associated Press

Menopause can bring on dental problems, but you can protect your mouth

Thomas Sollecito of the School of Dental Medicine says hormonal changes can reduce bone density and saliva production, harming gums and teeth.

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Time

Six health myths about oils

Dean Mark Wolff of the School of Dental Medicine says that oil pulling won’t cause harm but has never reversed periodontitis or gingivitis.

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The New York Times

Swish, spit, repeat: Is oil pulling good for your teeth?

Mark S. Wolff of the School of Dental Medicine says that oil pulling should never be a substitute for brushing or flossing one’s teeth.

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The Wall Street Journal

The five best water flossers (for people who hate flossing)

Dean Mark Wolff of the School of Dental Medicine explains which features are most helpful for a good water flosser.

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