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University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Dedicates State-of-the-Art Periodontal Clinic

January 29, 2008

The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine dedicated a new periodontal clinic on January 22, celebrating the addition of state-of-the-art clinical care and educational resources and honoring two respected leaders in the field of periodontics for whom it is named.

At 4,600 square feet, the School's new D. Walter Cohen and Morton Amsterdam Periodontal Clinic features 18 operatories, three surgical suites, a recovery room, and the latest in digital radiography. Other special features include a surgical suite outfitted for transmitting cases live as part of classroom instruction and continuing education programs. Completed in December, the clinic was made possible in large part through a $1 million leadership gift from The Annenberg Foundation, given in honor of Drs. D. Walter Cohen and Morton Amsterdam. More than 160 alumni, supporters, faculty, and friends gathered for this special dedication event.

"This clinic is a great environment for learning, teaching, and working. There is really no other place like it in the country, and we are pleased to honor the legacies of Drs. Amsterdam and Cohen through it," said Dr. Joseph Fiorellini, Chair of the Department of Periodontics of Penn Dental Medicine, at the dedication ceremony.

Drs. Amsterdam and Cohen, both alumni of Penn Dental Medicine, have been pioneering leaders in the fields of periodontics and periodontal prosthesis and active members of the Penn community for more than 50 years, serving in a variety of faculty and leadership roles. Dr. Cohen, who first joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty in 1951, served as Professor and Chairman of the School's Department of Periodontics from 1963 to 1973 and Dean of the School of Dental Medicine from 1972 to 1983. Dr. Amsterdam became part of the School's faculty in 1953, creating and directing the School's postgraduate periodontal prosthesis program during his tenure, which included serving as Professor of Periodontics and Periodontal Prosthesis from 1967 through 1992.

Among their many honors, Dr. Amsterdam was recognized in 2003 by the American Academy of Periodontology with the Master Clinician Award. And Dr. Cohen, a Fellow of the American Academy of Periodontology and Director of the American Board of Periodontology from 1966 to 1972, received the Gold Medal Award from the Academy in 1971.

"Drs. Cohen and Amsterdam have done so much for the field of periodontics and for Penn, and we are grateful that this clinic will stand as a lasting tribute to their work and teaching," says Penn Dental Medicine's Morton Amsterdam Dean Marjorie K. Jeffcoat.

The new D. Walter Cohen and Morton Amsterdam Periodontal Clinic, designed by the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of Buell Kratzer Powell, was part of an ongoing capital improvement plan for the School, the next phase of which will include the renovation of the School's general restorative Main Clinic.

View photos from the event

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