Established in 1878, Penn Dental Medicine is among the oldest university-affiliated dental schools in the nation. Penns 12 schools are located on a singular campus within walking distance of one another.
It is indeed an honor to help build upon the tradition of excellence that is the legacy of this great institution. In each era of the Schools history, Penn Dental Medicine has continued to reach new levels of discovery, sharing, and service in pursuing its mission of education, research, and patient care.
Our students are among the nations best, and they are matched in quality by the high level of instruction and research among our faculty. Our research encompasses all the basic and clinical sciences, and Penns emphasis on interdisciplinary scholarship encourages collaborations across disciplines. Our clinical care brings the latest techniques and technologies to patients within our teaching clinics and faculty practices. And as stewards of the neighborhood in which we reside, Penn Dental Medicine participates in a diversity of community outreach programs, serving area residents while teaching our students to practice with compassion and responsibility.
Penn Dental Medicine is among the oldest university-affiliated dental institutions in the nation. Its historic ties trace back to the Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery, established in 1852. In 1856, the faculty of the Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery formed the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery when the former closed, and in 1878, the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery Dean, Dr. Charles J. Essig, was asked to join the University of Pennsylvania, founding the School of Dental Medicine as the Dental Department of the University of Pennsylvania. He would serve as the Schools first Dean from 1878-1883. The Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery would eventually merge with the University of Pennsylvania in 1909.
The Schools first facilities were housed in Medical Hall (now Claudia Cohen Hall). The following year it moved into its own building, Dental Hall, which was designed and constructed for its particular needs.
In 1897, Thomas W. Evans, a Philadelphia native, who became the dentist to the courts of Europe during Frances Second Empire and confidant of Napoleon III, left his estate 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.
Throughout its history, Penn Dental Medicine has grown in size and has consistently been at the forefront of dramatic changes that have characterized the profession of dentistry during that time. Nevertheless, Penn Dental Medicine has remained faithful to its original mission: to prepare students for qualification for dental practice, to provide graduate training for qualified practitioners and to create the opportunity and facilities for scientific research in dentistry.
Since its founding, the dental education program has maintained its leadership role in dental education and research by preparing distinguished graduates capable of functioning in the many roles the profession demands: scientist, diagnostician, clinician, artist, engineer, teacher, and business manager. The School is committed to offering an education that advances both the art and science of dentistry, and prepares its students for leadership in the profession.
Mark S. Wolff, DDS, PhD, 2018 present Denis F. Kinane, BDS, PhD, 2009 2017 Marjorie Jeffcoat, DMD, 2003 2008 Raymond J. Fonseca, DMD, 1989 2003 Jan Lindhe, DDS, PhD, 1983-1988 D. Walter Cohen, DDS, 1972-1983 Lester William Burket, DDS, 1951-1972 Joseph L.T. Appleton, Jr., DDS, 1941-1951 Charles Root Turner, DDS, 1917-1941 Edward Cameron Kirk, DDS, 1895-1917 James Truman, DDS, 1883-1895 Charles J. Essig, MD, DDS, 1878-1883