Program Director: Dr. Nipul Tanna, contact
Program Overview
Applicants to this joint program must be accepted by both the Periodontic and Orthodontic admissions committees. It features two tracks:
The Clinical Track (Duration of program: 4 years)
In this track, the first year provides a comprehensive background in periodontics through extensive literature reviews, seminars, and clinical practice. Selected periodontal case are continued into the second year, which focuses on formal training in orthodontics, orthodontic preclinical laboratories, and the beginning of clinical training in several multi-band techniques. The third and fourth years consists primarily of orthodontic seminars, clinical practice of periodontics and orthodontics, and evaluation of post-treatment periodontal cases. Third- and fourth-year students also do limited teaching.
Graduates in this program are fully certified and board eligible in both periodontics and orthodontics. The four-year track will develop skilled clinicians who will be able to practice and teach in a clinical setting.
The Academic Track (Duration of program: 5 years)
The academic track is designed to prepare students for full-time academia as highly-trained clinicians in periodontics, orthodontics, and dental educators. This program is planned in cooperation with a research preceptor and leads to a Master of Science in Oral Biology. The program is planned and balanced by the Departments of Periodontics and Orthodontics and the research preceptor, so students can undertake clinical research while also being competently trained as a clinician.
Students will also have courses in the School of Education and have teaching responsibilities.
Clinical Education
The clinical portion of the program is the same for both tracks. The first year focuses on periodontics with selected periodontal cases continuing into the second year, which includes the beginning of clinical training in several multi-band orthodontic techniques. Students continue to build their clinical skills the third and fourth years, practicing in both periodontics and orthodontics.
All clinical practice takes place in Penn Dental Medicine’s Brainerd F. Swain Orthodontic Clinic and its D. Walter Cohen and Morton Amsterdam Periodontal Clinic.
Admissions Process
Application Deadline: October 1 — See Graduate Dental Education Programs Admissions Requirements and Procedures for detailed information and instructions.
An applicant to be considered for admissions to the Periodontics-Orthodontic Dentistry Program requires:
Participation in PASS
Please note that the ADEA PASS website will accept applications until February 7, 2020.
Supplemental Application sent directly to the school by October 1 — See Graduate Dental Education Programs Admissions Requirements and Procedures for detailed information and instructions.
All application materials will be reviewed by the Periodontics-Orthodontic Program Admissions Committee. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who have already committed to another program will not be considered/ Decisions to interview applicants will be made by the Committee and such decisions will be communicated to applicants directly from the Orthodontic Department. Qualified candidates are selected for an interview based upon the following criteria, but not limited to: past academic performance, class standing, motivation and interest, personal and career goals, experiences beyond pre-doctoral education, evidence of scholarly activity, letters of evaluations.
Although the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score is not a requirement for admission, GRE scores will be accepted for those applying to the Periodontics-Orthodontics Program. Please use the GRE Designated Institution (DI) Code Number 6962 and indicate Penn Dental Medicine as the official score recipient to submit score reports.
A personal interview is required as part of the selection process. Selected applicants are invited to interview at Penn Dental Medicine on a single day. Interview invitations will be sent via email shortly after the application deadline. Travel and lodging information will be sent to you via email from the administrative staff of the Orthodontic Department. The interview day will be scheduled with both the Periodontics and Orthodontics Departments.
Official letters of acceptance are sent within 10 days of the release of Match results from Penn Dental Medicine’s Office of Graduate Dental Education. The accepted candidate is obligated to submit a non-refundable acceptance deposit in the amount of $1,000 within ten business days of acceptance notification from Penn Dental Medicine. The Office of Graduate Dental Education provides assistance to coordinate pre-enrollment activities such as establishing a PennKey for access to the University’s online resources, establishing a university email address, and initiating the visa process for international students.
Applicants to this joint program must be accepted by both the Periodontics and Orthodontics admissions committees.