For the 61 million Americans who have disabilities, going to the dentist can be a harrowing experience. There are many things to consider, including accessibility, finding care, and geographic proximity. Patients with hearing impediments, cognitive impairments, physical challenges, age or disease-related difficulties need dentists, along with spaces designed for them and their caregivers.
To better serve the needs of people with disabilities in the Philadelphia area, Penn Dental Medicine welcomed its first patients to the new Care Center for Persons with Disabilities in December 2020. A gift of $250,000 from Penn Dental Medicine board member Joan O’Shea helped to make the project possible. O’Shea, who founded The Spine Institute of Southern New Jersey, is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes in orthopedic spine surgery. She can personally relate to the need for excellent oral care for all—one of her four children, Sabrina, has special needs.
“Everyone deserves to have access to quality dental care,” said O’Shea. “I was particularly impressed by the innovative spirit that the Penn Dental team brought to this project.”
Located in the School’s Robert Schattner Center, the Personalized Care Suite is the clinical care portion of the new 3,500 square-foot Care Center that provides preventive and interceptive oral health care for patients of all ages living with a physical or intellectual disability. Featuring 12 dental operatories, the Suite is outfitted to comfortably treat patients in wheelchairs and on gurneys and includes a quiet room with low lighting and sound baffling for patients with sensory sensitivities. “We are thrilled that this new care center has opened, and that construction was able to proceed on schedule through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Mark S. Wolff, Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean.
Students at Penn Dental Medicine now have the added benefit of gaining training to handle the unique needs of patients with disabilities through direct experience on site.
“A key goal of the Center is to educate students as well as practicing clinicians, teachers, nurses, and caregivers on how preventive practices and teamwork can improve the quality of life for both people with disabilities and their families,” said Dean Wolff. “We will develop and report on best practices for serving this population and advance pedagogy for teaching the next generation of students to manage patients with a wide range of issues that limit their independence.”
The Center will also be a hub for research with the Colgate-Palmolive Innovation Laboratory embedded within the facility. Through the Innovation Laboratory, Colgate experts will work side by side with Penn Dental Medicine faculty and students to assess needs and develop and refine new products that facilitate optimal dental care for patients with disabilities.
The Care Center for Persons with Disabilities is a priority of The Power of Penn Dental Medicine Campaign, which is fueling their mission to create gateways to quality oral health for all through accessible dental care. Learn more about Penn Dental’s impact and opportunities to support its work here.
Support the Care Center for Persons with Disabilities
