Penn Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia recently launched a dual degree in dentistry and nutrition science.
In partnership with Penn Nursing, students can earn a Master of Science in nutrition science along with a Doctor of Medicine in dentistry.
Uri Hangorsky, DDS, associate dean for student affairs at Penn Dental Medicine, said the DMD curriculum alone is too intense to teach nutrition in depth, but the new program will teach dental professionals to address how nutrition plays a role in oral health issues and how they both relate to overall health.