Penn Dental Medicine at Woods, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in Langhorne two years ago, delivers specialized and compassionate dental care for people with disabilities, according to a staff report from Penn Today.

The facility represents a collaboration between Penn’s School of Dental Medicine and Woods Services, a nonprofit supporting adults with cognitive, developmental or physical disabilities.

The Center, staffed by Penn Dental postgraduate residents and attending dentists, provides dental care to Woods’ in-patients and out-patients, employees, special needs students, and community members with disabilities.

The initiative aims to expand the number of dental providers skilled in treating individuals with disabilities while giving dental postgraduate residents hands-on experience caring for this population, explained Marc Henschel, associate professor of clinical preventive and restorative sciences at Penn Dental Medicine and program director of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program.

Barriers to treating the disabled population include addressing behavioral and cognitive challenges, managing acquired or developmental disabilities, and helping patients to overcome their fear of the dentist.

“In order to successfully treat patients with disabilities, you have to learn how to modify your treatments,” said Henschel.

Read more about how Penn Dental Medicine at Woods in Langhorne is transforming access to care for patients with disabilities in Penn Today.

_______