Penn Dental Medicine offers a variety of learning opportunities to help prospective students determine whether a career in dentistry is a good fit for them.

Outreach Events

Off-Campus Events. Each year, representatives from the Office of Student Admissions participate in national and regional outreach events sponsored by dental-affiliated associations. Look for Penn Dental Medicine at these upcoming meetings; specific times and dates will be posted closer to the event.

On-Campus Events. Penn Dental Medicine offers prospective students opportunities to connect in person on the Penn Dental Medicine campus.

The Student National Dental Association (SNDA) Impressions Program, administered by Penn Dental Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, is a one-day event composed of a series of workshops designed to educate underrepresented minority undergraduate college students about careers in dentistry. The Impression Program also holds lectures and hands-on activities, which expose students to a typical dental school curriculum. Students are also introduced to various dental procedures and the application process, in addition to financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

Other on-campus events include:

  • Summer Weekend Program, offered by the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) chapter at Penn Dental Medicine, gives students the opportunity to experience life as a dental student and prepare for the application process.
  • Prospective Applicant Day introduces students to the dental school and offers them a thorough overview of dentistry as a career.
  • Introduction to Dentistry Summer Program is a week-long, commuter program that gives undergraduate college students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the type of preclinical coursework encountered in dental school, attend lectures, and learn about the dental school admissions process.

Shadowing

Penn Dental Medicine offers the opportunity for interested college undergraduates to observe in the Penn Dental Medicine predoctoral and postdoctoral clinics. This clinic shadowing experience is designed to provide prospective dental students with the opportunity to observe how the student dentists spend their day, how they interact and communicate with patients, and how they work with a health care team. Clinic observation time is not intended for visitors to participate in the treatment of Penn Dental Medicine patients. Applicants with an active application to any Penn Dental Medicine program are ineligible to participate in this experience.

Once you have completed the Waiver for Visitors Observing in Clinical Areas and have all required copies of immunizations, please submit here. Failure to submit all required documentation mandated by the waiver application may delay the start of your observation. For any questions/concerns once your shadowing application is submitted, please email: pdmclinicalaffairs@dental.upenn.edu

Tours

Brief tours (no more than 30 minutes in duration) are available for prospective students with a two-week advance notice. Larger groups may require additional advance notice. We will try to accommodate your tour request, but please note that tours will be arranged based upon the availability of our Admissions Ambassadors.

Please find the tour request form here.

Address
Penn Dental Medicine
The Robert Schattner Center
240 South 40th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
Telephone: (215) 898-8965

Coursera

Prospective students can also connect with Penn Dental Medicine online and learn about dental medicine by taking courses on Coursera, an online educational platform. Three courses are currently offered to explore the field of dental medicine under The Integration of Art and Science in Modern Dental Medicine Specialization. 

Click on the links below to view course descriptions and to register. Both courses are offered on a rolling basis and are free, with a charge to receive a certificate of completion.

Introduction to Dental Medicine

The Oral Cavity: Portal to Health and Disease

Frontiers in Dentistry