NEW PROS PROGRAM PROSTHODONTICS RESIDENCY ADDING TO DEPTH OF SCHOOL’S SPECIALTY PROGRAMS

IN FEBRUARY, Penn Dental Medicine was The 36-month residency will accept four awarded accreditation to launch a new ad- students per class and leads to a certificate vanced specialty program in prosthodontics in prosthodontics combined with a Master and will welcome its first class of residents of Science in Oral Biology degree; graduates in July. This addition not only builds on the will meet the formal training requirements depth of the School’s educational offerings for the American Board of Prosthodontics (now bringing the total number of graduate certification exam. This is the first prostho- specialty programs to nine), it will also en- dontics program in the nation to begin after hance clinical services available to the public the revised accreditation standards were and research opportunities as well. And, instituted that recognize digital dentistry with the latest digital technologies an inte- and surgical implant placement as integral computer-aided manufacturing],” notes Dr. gral part of instruction and patient care, it parts of the specialty of prosthodontics. As Markus Blatz, Professor and Chair of the promises to be one of the most leading-edge such, in building the program from scratch, it Department of Preventive & Restorative Sci- programs of its kind. has been developed around these standards ences, who advocated for an accredited pros- to be at the forefront of the techniques and thodontics program and how it could add to technologies advancing the field. the educational, patient care, and research “Right now is an exciting time for missions of the School. “Our goal has been to prosthodontics. It has evolved like no other design a program to be the embodiment of specialty in the last decade with the rapid the future of prosthodontics.” advancement of digital dental technologies “This is great addition to our graduate through CAD/CAM [computer-aided design/ education programs,” says Morton Amster- dam Dean Denis Kinane. “I believe it promis- OPPOSITE: Dr. Evanthia Anadioti, Founding Director es to prepare our prosthodontic residents not of the Advanced Specialty Program in Prosthodontics, only to exceed the standards of today, but to with Dr. Markus Blatz, Professor & Chair of Preventive & lead the changes of tomorrow.” Restorative Sciences.

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A VISION TO THE FUTURE To help bring that vision to life, Dr. Blatz recruited Dr. Evanthia Anadioti, Clinical As- sistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry, in 2015 to help develop and now serve as Found- ing Director of this new residency program. Prior to coming to Penn Dental Medicine, Dr. Anadioti was Clinical Assistant Professor at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, having earned both her certificate in prosthodontics and MS in Oral Sciences at the University of Iowa before completing a fellowship in surgical implant dentistry at the University of North Carolina. A native of Greece, she holds a DDS from National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. “It feels like Penn was waiting for the right time to start an advanced prosthodon- tics program,” says Dr. Anadioti. “And with Uniquely positioning the program to “No other specialty is so heavily in- the tremendous technology available, the provide residents experience with a dental volved with the lab and having our CAD/ best time for prosthodontics is now. In creat- technology laboratory specializing in CAD/ CAM Center well established and heavily ing the program, we’ve designed a curricu- CAM is the School’s CAD/CAM and Ceramic integrated will play an integral role in our lum to develop the next generation of leaders Center. Established in 2009 within the De- students’ experience,” says Dr. Anadioti. in our specialty.” partment of Preventive & Restorative Sciences EXPANDING EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The clinical home for the prosthodontics “Now that all the traditional dental specialties will be program is the William W.M. Cheung Ad- represented through our educational programs, we can vanced Dental Care Clinic, located on the third floor of the School’s Robert Schattner truly be full service in terms of clinical care and cater to Center. Along with chairside computers for all the different patient needs.” accessing digital patient records and the availability of digital radiography and intra- — DR. MARKUS BLATZ oral scanners, each operatory used by the res- idents will feature an operating microscope. Through a partnership with Carl Zeiss Med- While maintaining a strong foundation and directed by Michael Bergler, MDT, it is itec, the operatories are being outfitted with in classic prosthodontics, a hallmark of the dedicated to the study and application of the ZEISS Extraro® 300 surgical microscopes. curriculum will be the incorporation of the latest dental technologies in CAD/CAM and “This is the latest generation of micro- latest applications of digital dentistry. “There all-ceramic restorative materials. Over the scopes and the illumination and magnifi- will be full digital workflow integration,” past eight years, the Center has continued cation will be a tremendous tool in patient explains Dr. Anadioti. “From the start of a to be outfitted with the most up-to-date soft- care; plus, we’ll gain the ability to document case to the final restoration, our residents will ware and scanning and milling equipment, cases for research and education,” says Dr. be planning and executing cases digitally.” while being a leader in working with industry Anadioti, explaining that each microscope That ranges, she notes, from using digital to help refine and develop the technology also includes a high-definition camera for radiographs, CBCTs, and intraoral scans for moving the field forward. still-image capture and video recording or diagnosis, case planning, and digital smile streaming. design, to the 3D printing of surgical guides for implant placement and the chairside or laboratory milling of restorations.

12 WWW.DENTAL.UPENN.EDU The prosthodontics residents will share the Advanced Dental Care Clinic with “There will be full digital workflow integration. From the predoctoral students in the clinical honors program. The Clinic opened in 2010 to start of a case to the final restoration, our residents will be manage advanced cases in restorative and planning and executing cases digitally.” esthetic dentistry, and since then, has been the site of the Honors Program in Clinical — DR. EVANTHIA ANADIOTI Restorative Dentistry, open to qualifying fourth-year students. From an educational perspective, honors At HUP, the focus will be on maxillo- students will benefit from the close proximity facial prosthodontics. “Through surgery for in the shared space and predoctoral students cancer, a patient may lose an eye, an ear, a will rotate through the clinic, increasing their piece of their jaw — severely compromising exposure to prosthodontics. their quality of life,” says Dr. Anadioti. “The “The educational component of this new recognized specialty to help restore their program is significant on a number of levels,” facial structures is maxillofacial prosthodon- says Dr. Blatz. “We will establish a seam- tics.” To support this part of the program, less teaching philosophy in prosthodontics maxillofacial prosthodontist Dr. Brian Chang from the preclinic through the postgradu- was recently hired; he will work three days ate program. Then of course, the residents SERVING MORE PATIENTS a week at HUP and teach at the School two themselves will engage in teaching, and for This new prosthodontics program may have days a week. our honors students, who have an interest in the greatest impact through the expanded “This is an important piece of the puz- advanced restorative dentistry and prostho- clinical services Penn Dental Medicine zle,” adds Dr. Blatz. “Before, we didn’t have dontics, this offers a pathway for pursuing will be able to offer to a larger patient base, this type of training to treat this segment of postdoctoral training and possibly even an including individuals who are severely patients. Now, through the residents’ educa- academic career here at Penn.” compromised and in need of comprehen- tion, a lot more people will be helped by this sive prosthetic and maxillofacial prosthetic specialty care.” ENHANCING RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP treatment. It is the rewards that come with pa- In creating the program, another priority was “Now that all the traditional dental tient care that Dr. Anadioti says drew her to to ensure that residents not only developed specialties will be represented through our prosthodontics and what she believes will clinical excellence using the latest technol- educational programs, we can truly be full continue to attract students to the specialty. ogies within prosthodontics but were also service in terms of clinical care and cater to “As a resident when observing my faculty, engaged in research leading the specialty’s all the different patient needs,” says Dr. Blatz. I realized that a prosthodontist is like the evolution and impacting clinical techniques As part of the program, residents will do conductor of an orchestra, bringing various and outcomes. To that end, the residency hospital rotations within both the Depart- specialists together and seeing the bigger is designed as a 36-month program that re- ment of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery/Phar- picture – not only inside the mouth, but how quires the research-focused Master of Science macology at the Hospital of the University that affects the person overall,” she recalls. in Oral Biology to be pursued concurrently of Pennsylvania and the dental department “Changing someone’s life by restoring their with the certificate in prosthodontics. at the Philadelphia Veteran’s Administra- smile, chewing function, or a part of their “Our goal is to develop clinician scholars tion (VA) Hospital. “Having these hospital face is exceptionally rewarding, and I look and who are involved in academics, research, rotations is going to enhance the program in forward to passing that along to our resi- and new ways of thinking,” says Dr. Anadioti. so many ways,” says Dr. Anadioti, “exposing dents. Especially now, as the whole specialty “There are so many research topics within residents to different patient pools and types is growing with tremendous technology, the digital realm that offer a huge opportu- of cases.” She notes that there are a lot of it is an exciting time to be starting a new nity for our residents to explore, and in turn, patients needing extensive rehabilitations program and an historic moment for both the help lead clinical research in new directions.” at the VA, and with only one staff prostho- specialty and Penn.” dontist, they are eager to have the residents

ABOVE: Intraoral scanners are one of the digital tech- support their patient care. — By Beth Adams nologies used as part of case planning and digital smile design.

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