The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine’s (Penn
Dental Medicine) largest clinic for comprehensive restorative patient care and
clinical instruction has been transformed with a state-of-the-art renovation—the
new Robert I. Schattner Clinic, previously known as the Main Clinic, opened on
Jan. 2. The Penn Dental Medicine community officially celebrated the opening of
the new space Jan. 11 with a special open house event and recognized former
Dean, Denis Kinane, B.D.S., Ph.D., for his leadership role in helping to bring
the renovation to fruition.
“The new Schattner Clinic will greatly improve both the clinical
instruction experience for your students and the clinical care experience for
our patients,” says Dana T. Graves, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., Interim Dean of Penn
Dental Medicine. “As the hub of restorative patient care and instruction for
our D.M.D. students since the school’s Evans Building opened in 1915, this is
such a vital and historically significant space for the school. Its new
state-of-the-art environment and clinical care resources will have a positive
impact on so many levels.”
The opening of the Schattner Clinic, situated on the second
floor of the school’s Evans Building, is the culmination of the transformation
of the historic Evans Building, which over the past two years has undergone a
renovation that impacted all four levels of the building. The Evans Building
renovation was a top priority for Dr. Kinane, who saw the project through its
completion before stepping down from the deanship at the end of December after
eight and a half years in the leadership post.
“We are honored that Dr. Kinane could return to celebrate the
opening of the Schattner Clinic with us,” says Dr. Graves, “and give us all the
opportunity to thank him for his vision and leadership in helping to make this
project and all the changes throughout the Evans Building a reality.”
The 10,000-square-foot Schattner Clinic features 74 dental
operatories, including four dedicated to digital radiography. Each operatory is
outfitted with a chairside monitor for accessing digital patient records and
capability for performing chairside digital dentistry. Streamlining operations include
onsite sterilization for the clinic’s all-electric handpieces and a laboratory
on the west end of the clinic that features state-of-the-art equipment for
computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing of clinical restorations.
Adding to the clinic’s unique, inviting environment is the
incorporation of natural light. Dramatic two-story windows, mimicking the space’s
original 1915 windows, line the clinic’s north side, and the original windows
on the east and south sides were revealed and restored.
This project was made possible through the support of Penn
Dental Medicine alumnus Robert I. Schattner, D.D.S., who contributed $15
million before his death in 2017 to this renovation and to the construction of
the Schattner Pavilion to be completed in June 2018. The Pavilion is a
two-story addition to the school’s Robert Schattner Center, extending beyond
the existing atrium of the Schattner Center and creating a dynamic new space on
two levels, including a patient waiting area for the Schattner Clinic.
Penn Dental Medicine students and faculty are major providers of
dental care to the West Philadelphia community, having served approximately
87,600 patients within all of its teaching clinics in fiscal year 2017.
Courtesy of Beth Adams, Director
of Publications, Penn Dental Medicine
Published
on February 14, 2018.