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Accredited dental school

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

240 South 40th Street;, Robert Schattner Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6030

School website Health centers in Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine is a dental school in Philadelphia, PA with an accredited predoctoral program. Dental degrees are earned in part by treating patients under supervision, so many schools run clinics that anyone can apply to as a patient.

Fees at a teaching clinic are set by the school and are usually well below private practice rates, though the care is reduced-cost rather than free. In exchange, appointments are longer and treatment can take more visits than it would elsewhere. Pennsylvania has 3 accredited dental schools in total, listed on the Pennsylvania page.

Common Questions

Will a student be doing the work?

In the student clinic, yes, supervised by a licensed faculty dentist who checks the treatment at each stage and signs it off. In graduate and specialty clinics the work is done by a qualified dentist training in that field. Ask which clinic you would be assigned to, because it changes both the price and the wait.

Can I come just for a cleaning?

Sometimes, but not always at the dental school. Several schools route simple preventive work to the dental hygiene program instead, where it is cheaper and quicker to get an appointment. If a cleaning is all you need, ask about that route first.

How is this different from a dental hygiene clinic?

A hygiene clinic is staffed by hygiene students and does preventive work only — cleanings, X-rays, sealants, gum treatment. It cannot fill a cavity or pull a tooth. For preventive care it is cheaper and easier to book; for anything else you need the dental school or a dentist.

Can I ask for a different student?

Usually not in the way you would change dentist at a private practice. Assignment depends on which students need your kind of case and who has capacity. You can raise a concern with the supervising faculty member, who is responsible for the treatment regardless of who is holding the instruments.

Can I get dentures made here?

Complete and partial dentures are among the treatments dental schools most often do, and the saving against private practice is usually largest on exactly this kind of work. The catch is laboratory costs, which are frequently billed on top of the discounted fee. Ask for the total, laboratory work included.

What should I bring to the first appointment?

Photo identification, your insurance or Medicaid card if you have one, a list of your current medications, and any recent X-rays or records from a previous dentist. Some schools also ask for proof of income. Allow far more time than the appointment length suggests.

What a Teaching Clinic Is Like

Care is normally split between a student clinic doing general dentistry at the lowest prices, graduate clinics where qualified dentists train in a specialty and charge more, and a faculty practice priced near private practice.

Two things surprise most first-time patients. Nearly every school screens you before agreeing to treat you, and being screened is not the same as being accepted. And appointments run long — often two to three hours — because an instructor checks the work as it goes, so a course of treatment can take months and follows the academic calendar.

Our guide to dental schools and teaching clinics covers the screening process, how the discount works on laboratory costs, and what to ask before the first appointment in more detail.

Before You Call

Schools commonly keep the patient clinic on a different line, and occasionally at a different address, from the school office. Ask before you travel.

  • Is the clinic open to the public right now, and taking new patients?
  • Is a screening appointment required first, what does it cost, and how soon can you get one?
  • Which clinic would handle the treatment you need — the student clinic, a specialty clinic, or the faculty practice — and does it have its own waiting list?
  • What are the fees for that treatment, and do they include laboratory work for crowns or dentures?
  • Is your insurance or Medicaid plan accepted, and is payment due at each visit?
  • Which number reaches the patient clinic rather than the main switchboard?
  • Would your case go to the student clinic or a graduate clinic, and what is the price difference between them?
  • If the school cannot treat part of your case, where does it refer that work?
  • Where is the patient entrance, and what should you bring — identification, proof of income, previous X-rays?

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2029. It reviews the program every few years against a national standard for teaching. Patient access, fees and waiting times are outside what it looks at.

Other Accredited Dental Schools in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has 3 accredited dental schools altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:

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