University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Opens New Pediatric Dentistry Clinic

In January, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine opened a new Pediatric Dentistry Clinic, providing a state-of-the-art environment for patient care and clinical instruction.

"We are excited by the positive step this new facility represents in the School's commitment to improving access to dental care for all children, including those with special needs," notes Dean Raymond Fonseca. "The clinic will not only enable us to better serve the children of West Philadelphia, but also provide our graduates with the clinical training they need to more effectively treat this population as they enter professional practice."

This 4,400-square-foot facility (3,200 square feet of program space), located on the ground floor of the School's Thomas W. Evans Building at 40th and Spruce Streets, features ten fully equipped dental operatories, including four which are specially designed for special needs children and those cases requiring sedation. All ten operatories are wheelchair accessible and also have nitrous oxide availability, their own x-ray units, and computer ports for the future use of digital radiography, paperless patient records, and voice recognition capability for dictating records.

"This clinic is unique among dental school clinics in its design - few have individual operatories as we do," says Dr. Mark Helpin, Associate Professor-Clinician Educator and Chair, Department of Pediatric Dentistry.

The clinic's other features include a patient education/conference room, a sedation/recovery room, an oral hygiene education area, two computer work stations, a spacious business/reception area, an instrument management and dispensing room, a panoramic radiology room, a darkroom, a clinical laboratory, a handicapped-accessible lavatory, and the School's Pediatric Department faculty and staff offices.

In designing the clinic, creating a welcoming environment for children was a priority and among the special features is a large play area in the reception space that offers children a comfortable setting and a host of activities while they wait.

The project architect for the clinic was the Philadelphia-based firm of Paul Steege & Associates.