West Philadelphia resident Jerry Davis first came to the University's Dental School clinic to get his dentures re-aligned.
What he also got was a Penn student with a dental license from Great Britain, the supervision of the clinic's director and comprehensive treatment -- all for a "fair" price tag.
"I like the school and the doctors -- they are interested in the patient," Davis said. "I think they're doing a class-A job."
While Penn's Dental School continues to roll out new dental simulation technology complete with mannequins and plastic teeth hooked up to computers, faculty, students and clients alike continue to value the human touch of real-life practice.
Beginning in their third year, students enrolled in Penn's four-year graduate dental program are required to put the knowledge they have acquired from their books and professors into practice, operating on the clinic's patients.
"This is a practice environment," Student Clinics Director Philip Giarraputo said. "All care is provided by student dentists."
Under the constant supervision of faculty members and group leaders, students are divided into 12 groups. Each day, six groups make themselves available to assist patients.
Once a group leader assigns a patient to a student, the student is required to devise a treatment plan, pending approval by the leader. And once the treatment is begun, the student is required to bring it to completion, following the patient through all phases of the procedure.
"It's a good system, in case you have to modify a procedure to make it perfect," fourth-year Dental student Jeena Samuels said.
Many students said they were satisfied with the training they are receiving.
"The more practice you do, the more you feel comfortable," Samuels said about treating patients. "I feel really comfortable."
And the added benefit for clients is the clinic's reasonable price -- Giarraputo noted that while "the fees are not inexpensive," they are lower than many nearby private practices.
The clinic's initial registration visit costs $30, plus $40 for X-rays. Fees for the specific dental care required depend upon the treatment and are discussed prior to the procedure -- for example, the price for the extraction of a wisdom tooth is $20.
Costs can be covered by a number of dental insurances, many private insurances and a couple of state programs.
Meanwhile, area dental offices generally cost more. For instance, Pierre Mouradian at 1601 Walnut St. does not require an admission fee, but the cost of an extraction is between $125 and $400, depending on the patient's needs. And the office of Stanley Wasko & Associates at 3428 Rhawn St. charges $185 for a complete patient examination.
Giarraputo said that the clinic admits a consistent number of patients each year.
Davis said that he is satisfied with the quality of the care he received at the clinic and that he has been hearing the same thing from many of his acquaintances over the past 40 years.
Giarraputo added that people travel from all over the tri-state area to be treated at the clinic.
"We have a very satisfied -- and extensive -- client base," he said. "The patient family is constantly growing. We are pretty much in demand."
Penn undergraduates take advantage of the Dental School as well -- College sophomore Garrett Lindsey has had work done at the clinic, and the prospect of having a student working on him was not a major concern.
"If I'm getting my teeth checked, I don't mind," Lindsey said, adding that the clinic "is convenient because it's very close to campus."
Students are trained to provide general dentistry care -- restoration of decayed or missing teeth, disease entity analysis and the basic maintenance procedures of hygiene.
"As a general dentist, you're trying to minimize the patient's disease," Giarraputo said. "We are trying to stabilize them -- that's our goal."
Once the disease is under control, Giarraputo said that patients in need of further care are referred to specialists.
However, all aspects of dentistry are explored and treated at the clinic, according to the student's level of specialization.
The most advanced cases are reserved for last-year students who have already chosen a specialty field from which to graduate.
