Dental Medicine

Three members of Penn's medical community stand over a cat on an exam table, one person rubs noses with the cat.

When Penn Vet offers shots, Philly’s finest, furriest friends show up

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital held a free wellness and vaccination clinic for the local community, offering free pet vaccinations and low-cost microchips.

Penn Today Staff ・ January 23, 2020

Carolyn Gibson, Sampath Kannan, Ellen Puré

Three Penn faculty named 2019 AAAS Fellows

Three from Penn have been named to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s newest class of Fellows: Carolyn Gibson of the School of Dental Medicine, Sampath Kannan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Ellen Puré of the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ November 26, 2019

Two Penn Dental students provide dental care to a patient in a dental chair.

Comprehensive dental care for a vulnerable population

In a new clinic at the School of Dental Medicine, refugees who survived torture are having all of their dental needs met by students and faculty.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ September 26, 2019

Brightly lit room in Penn Dental Medicine’s Robert I. Schattner Clinic

Penn Dental Medicine introduces discounted dental fees for uninsured Penn students

Effective Sept. 1, discounted dental care within the School’s teaching clinics is available to all uninsured Penn undergraduate and graduate students.

Penn Today Staff ・ August 28, 2019

A Penn Dental Medicine instructor sits with a dental model tool in hand beside a replica of head with an open mouth while seven high school students in white lab coats, gloves and masks watch the demonstration.

Summer Mentorship Program introduces high school students to dental medicine

Penn Dental Medicine hosted a group of high school students as part of Penn’s Provost Summer Mentorship Program, a four-week, college-career immersion program, aimed to inspire first-generation and under-represented minority students in Philadelphia to view higher education as an achievable goal.

Penn Today Staff ・ August 19, 2019

Time lapse photo of green circle shows a progressively larger cleared off area where a robot has removed a biofilm

An army of microrobots can wipe out dental plaque

A swarm of microrobots, directed by magnets, can break apart and remove dental biofilm, or plaque, from a tooth, thanks to a partnership led by Dental Medicine’s Hyun (Michel) Koo and Engineering’s Edward Steager.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ April 24, 2019

Patricia Corby in an office smiling at the camera

Expanding opportunities to leverage science in the clinic

Patricia Corby, who recently joined the School of Dental Medicine as associate dean for translational research, is bringing her research to bear for cancer patients undergoing radiation, while looking to advance clinical research School-wide.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ April 23, 2019

Demonstration of tooth brushing techniques using dental model

Penn Dental Medicine educating dentists to care for persons with disabilities

Penn Dental Medicine is helping to improve access to care for persons with disabilities through a commitment to provide continuing education and educational content to dentists on how to manage this special population.

Penn Today Staff ・ April 2, 2019

patient looking in the mirror after dental work

Bringing healthy smiles to Philadelphia communities

In health care facilities embedded around Philadelphia, students and faculty from the School of Dental Medicine are ramping up the care they provide to underserved populations.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ March 13, 2019

View inside Penn Dental Medicine hallway and cubicles with personnel

Penn Dental Medicine offering free emergency care to furloughed federal workers

As the federal government shutdown continues, Penn Dental Medicine is opening its doors to furloughed federal workers, offering them free care for emergency dental needs.

Penn Today Staff ・ January 22, 2019

Media Contact

Katherine Unger Baillie Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu

Experts

Thomas Sollecito Professor and Chairman in the Department of Oral Medicine.
School of Dental Medicine.
University of Pennsylvania. As a specialist in the field of oral medicine, Dr. Sollecito addresses oral health care of medically complex patients, including the diagnosis and management of medical conditions that affect the oral and maxillofacial region. These conditions include oral mucosal diseases, orofacial pain disorders, temporomandibular disorders, salivary gland disease, oral complications resulting from systemic disease and chemosensory and neurologic impairment of the oral and maxillofacial complex. Sollecito has a particular interest in cancer research and how oral health impacts cancer patients. In 2015, he led a review for the American Dental Association pertaining to the use of prophylactic antibiotics before dental procedures in patients with joint replacements.
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In the News

Philadelphia Inquirer

Dentists Urged to Limit Opioid Prescriptions to Prevent Addiction

The School of Dental Medicine’s Elliot Hersh commented on Pennsylvania’s legal requirement that doctors screen patient histories for signs of opioid abuse. Hersh stated that for many dental patients over the counter pain relief can be just as effective.

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Live Science

This Is What Killed Medieval Sultan Who Conquered Jerusalem During the Crusades

At Friday’s 25th annual Historical Clinicopathological Conference, the Perelman School of Medicine’s Stephen Gluckman announced that Sultan Saladin was most likely killed by typhoid. Gluckman came to the conclusion after ruling out plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, and malaria, which didn’t fit descriptions of Saladin’s symptoms.