Dr. Sean Meehan Appointed Assistant Dean, Chief Dental Officer at Penn Dental Medicine

Philadelphia – Penn Dental Medicine has named Dr. Sean Meehan to the new role of Assistant Dean and Chief Dental Officer. His appointment to this post and a full-time faculty position as Professor of Clinical Oral Medicine are effective August 1.

As Chief Dental Officer, Dr. Meehan will join the Penn Dental Medicine Office of Clinical Affairs to provide clinical expertise and standardization to all of the School’s clinical departments.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Meehan to Penn Dental Medicine,” says Dr. Mark S. Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine. “He brings such a depth of experience in leadership as a dental educator and clinician, along with a great commitment to student mentorship and faculty development.”

Dr. Meehan, a Penn Dental Medicine alumnus, comes to the School from the U.S. Naval Dental Corps, retiring this summer as a Captain after 29 years of uniformed service. Dr. Meehan, who earned his DMD at Penn Dental Medicine (1992) and his certificate in Oral Medicine at the National Institute of Dental Research (1996), has had a distinguished career with the Navy, holding a diversity of leadership roles within dental education. They include serving as Associate Dean (2011-2016) and then Dean (2016-2020) of the Naval Postgraduate Dental School, the U.S. Government’s largest centralized postgraduate dental school. From 2007-2011, he also served as Chairman of the School’s Department of Oral Diagnosis and was a member of its faculty since 2002. His service also included roles in clinical leadership as Division Head of Oral Diagnosis at the U.S. Naval Dental Center Far East in Japan (1999-2002) and as Department Head of Oral Diagnosis at the Branch Dental Clinic French Creek at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina (1997-1999).

Over the past several years, Dr. Meehan has been returning to Penn Dental Medicine regularly to support and advise Penn Dental Medicine students who are pursuing military careers.

“I am excited to provide any expertise I have developed over my Naval career to Penn Dental Medicine as well as to the University at large,” says Dr. Meehan. “I look forward to turning the page onto this next chapter of my professional career.”