delightful to be honored by this august group. Until two
years ago, my principal dental practice was in New York
state on eastern Long Island. Regardless of where I
practiced, I am a lifelong believer in the importance of the
dental community joining together as advocates to
improve the oral health of our nation and our world. I had
the privilege of operating a private practice for 36 years in
New York; I have been an educator for over 38, and since
2018, it has been my distinct privilege to lead one of the
oldest and finest dental schools in United States, Penn
Dental Medicine, as Dean. It takes all of us in our varied
roles to ensure that quality oral health is accessible to
everyone. We must lead on a variety of issues of the day,
from the opioid epidemic to considering how dentistry
and medicine can become more of a team in promoting
good health. After all, oral diseases are the most prevalent
diseases globally, but tooth decay is largely preventable.
We cannot have health without good oral health.
An issue that has great meaning and importance to me
personally is the stunning lack of access to dental care
experienced by disabled individuals. Over 57 million
Americans have a disability of some type, and all of us are
vulnerable to become disabled. This can occur as we age,
or simply as we cross the street and have an unfortunate
accident. Throughout my career, as a family dental
practitioner, I delivered dental care for persons with
disabilities of all ages in my office utilizing the most
current evidence-based techniques. As a practitioner and
educator, I realized the importance of educating EVERY
dental graduate in the basic techniques of managing the
oral health of persons with disabilities. These are our
neighbors, they are the family members of our patients
and they could be any of our patients as they age. Penn
Dental Medicine has committed to developing a
curriculum that will enable every graduate to support this
community. With the support of many caring friends and
donors, Penn Dental Medicine is building an exciting new
clinical care center for disabled individuals, Penn Dental
Medicine’s Personalized Care Suite. By next November,
every dental student in our school will have the opportunity
to practice in a dedicated, 12 operatory clinic serving
people with cognitive, physical or developmental
disabilities. We aim to take the practitioner’s fear out of
caring for this population and provide our students with
the competence and confidence necessary to be good
dentists to patients with autism, alzheimers, downs
syndrome, parkinsons, and many other conditions. We
invite you to learn more about this initiative and consider
ways you may also expand access to care for this growing
population. Penn Dental Medicine is committed to
providing ongoing educational opportunities to the dental
profession that will expand the abilities of every dentist.
On behalf of Penn Dental Medicine, I take this opportunity
to applaud the work that PDA members take on in your
communities, educating the public about oral disease,
about prevention and in support of good oral health. We
stand ready to partner with you in this mission and
welcome you to make use of our resources - our talented
and dedicated faculty, our students and even our facilities
if we can be of service. Thank you again for honoring me
with this award and always remember that this is the
greatest profession, we get to make people smile!
PDA Public Service Award – Dr. Daniel W. Pituch
Dr. Daniel W. Pituch, founder of the Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh (MOMPGH) is the recipient
of the 2020 Pennsylvania Dental Association Public Service Award. Dr. Pituch’s dedication
and vision has given the dental community and the citizens of the greater Pittsburgh area an
annual event that making a huge difference for thousands of people.
In three short years, MOMPGH has served nearly 3,300 patients and provided more than
$2.2 million dollars of donated services. In 2019, nearly 1,500 volunteers served 1,348 patients,
who together received more than 6,500 dental procedures.
Dr. Pituch saw a great need for this type of annual event in his area and has worked each year
to recruit more volunteers and increase the capacity of the clinic.
PDA is pleased to recognize Dr. Pituch with the 2020 PDA Public Service Award.
JULY/AUGUST 2020 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 23