For many, regular dental care is a routine part of life. But for some, this fundamental need is a luxury beyond reach.
Penn Dental Medicine is working to change that by addressing unmet oral health needs in the local community—a top priority for the School in The Power of Penn Campaign. A new clinic developed during the last year is making dental care available to a traditionally disadvantaged population of patients: survivors of physical torture and other trauma in foreign countries.
“This clinic epitomizes one of our goals as a school: To find the most vulnerable people in Philadelphia and to help them,” says Mark Wolff, the Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine. “And for our students, working with these patients is incredibly rewarding, beyond anything that can be described.”
A Life-Changing Experience
Patients for this clinic are identified through a partnership between Penn Dental Medicine and Nationalities Service Center (NSC), an organization that assists immigrants and refugees who are resettling in the Philadelphia region. Many of NSC’s clients have never had any professional dental care, and some have experienced trauma directly related to their oral health. Working with this group requires “our very best as dentists,” Dr. Wolff says, “at understanding and coping with the patient’s needs.”
Leading the clinic is Dr. Olivia Sheridan, Professor of Clinical Restorative Dentistry, who screened and selected 20 fourth-year Penn Dental Medicine students to participate. Students completed a series of workshops to help prepare them for the challenging work ahead, exploring topics from U.S. immigration policy to emotional issues commonly associated with torture and physical abuse.
The clinic is able to provide this care at no cost to these patients thanks to philanthropic support raised through The Power of Penn Dental Medicine Campaign. “We’re free to provide the best treatment we can give,” says Irada Rahman, D’20, a Penn Dental Medicine student participating in the clinic who, herself, immigrated to the U.S. “Knowing the position that these patients are in, that freedom makes me so happy.”
We look at this as a great investment. We are teaching our dental students through experiential learning. Our commitment is to treat these people and bring them back a sense of joy in life and dignity in their smiles.”Mark Wolff, the Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine
Making an Impact
Since its launch as a pilot program last July, the clinic has hosted more than 160 patient visits. Patients have ranged in age from 86 years old to as young as 20 months, as the clinic has extended care to the children of some of its original patients. Treatments range across the board, from implants to aesthetics, from pediatric well care to complete dentures.
This initiative joins a growing list of ways that Penn Dental Medicine is reaching high-need groups: other programs are focusing on elderly patients, patients with disabilities, and patients experiencing homelessness.
Through programs like this, donors to Penn Dental Medicine have a unique opportunity to make an impact on the livelihood of people in the Philadelphia community while also creating deep learning opportunities for Penn’s dental students.
