The mission of Penn Dental Medicine is to educate pre-doctoral and graduate dental students in the highest quality clinical and research environment. Established in 1878, Penn Dental Medicine is a private, Ivy League institution with a history deeply rooted in forging precedents in dental education, research, and patient care. Since its founding, dentistry has been taught in a scientific environment as a specialty of medicine and under the multidisciplinary umbrella of the University of Pennsylvania.