Dental Medicine | Penn Today

dental student in gown, gloves, and mask works on a patient in a dental chair

A growing focus on equitable oral care for people with disabilities

Through global outreach, enhanced student training, continuing education for practitioners, and the busy Care Center for Persons with Disabilities, the School of Dental Medicine is working to break down barriers to care.

The New York Times

Expert tips for curbing bad breath

Mark Wolff of the School of Dental Medicine explains how to self-test for bad breath and how bacteria and gum disease can contribute to its presence.

Three microscopic images labeled with green and blue show a group of microbes changing shape and moving

Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able to ‘crawl’ and spread on teeth

These multicellular, cross-kingdom assemblages were more resistant to antimicrobials and removal and caused more extensive tooth decay than their single-species equivalents, according to research led by School of Dental Medicine scientists.

SciTechDaily

New treatment target could counter bone loss

A study from Shuying (Sheri) Yang of the School of Dental Medicine and colleagues identified a protein that regulates osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone, which may pave the way for new treatments that prevent bone loss.

iTech Post

University of Pennsylvania researchers develop microrobots that can brush, floss your teeth

Hun Michel Koo of the School of Dental Medicine, Edward Steager of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and colleagues have created automated shapeshifting microrobots with the ability to brush, floss, and rinse teeth.

A gloved hand holds a petri dish filled with green colored tablets. Plants in containers are shown in the background

Chewing to curb COVID

Penn Medicine will conduct a new clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a chewing gum designed by School of Dental Medicine researchers to trap SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva.

Interesting Engineering

A swarm of tiny robots could soon brush and floss your teeth for you

A multidisciplinary Penn team including Michael Koo of the School of Dental Medicine and Edward Steager of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has created an automated way to brush and floss through robotics, a potentially useful development for those unable to clean their teeth themselves.

Deploying microrobotics for dental treatments and diagnostics

Penn Dental Medicine and its Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry show that microrobots can access the difficult to reach surfaces of the root canal with controlled precision.

Newsweek

Dentist reveals worst foods for bad breath

Roopali Kulkarni of the School of Dental Medicine suggests methods to treat bad breath, such as swapping sugar-rich and odor-causing foods for healthier options that require chewing.

Penn Dental Medicine professor Shuying Yang

Intervening to stop bone loss

A study led by Shuying (Sheri) Yang of the School of Dental Medicine identified a new role for a protein that keeps osteoclasts—the cells that break down bone—in check, and may guide the development of new therapies to counter bone loss.

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