Dr. Lynne Taiclet is an assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Comprehensive Care and serves as the director of the Center for Patients with Special Needs (CPSN). In this role, she is responsible for all of the pre-doctoral curriculum, both didactic and clinical, in the CPSN. In addition, she oversees all clinical and administrative activities in the Center.
Dr. Taiclet received her BS from Allegheny College in 1981, and earned her DMD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985. After graduation, she completed a one year General Practice Residency (GPR) at Montefiore Hospital, on the Pittsburgh campus. Following her residency, Dr. Taiclet worked for 23 years as a general dentist, primarily in a family practice setting.
Dr. Taiclet joined Pitt Dental Medicine as a faculty member for the CPSN shortly after its opening in 2008, and in 2010, she was appointed to serve as the director of the Center. Dr. Taiclet’s primary focus has been on curriculum development for the pre-doctoral and dental hygiene students, including focused care for individuals with special health care needs (SHCN). The required curriculum incorporates both didactic and clinical components, enabling all graduates to obtain competency in assessing and managing patients during the provision of dental procedures. Clinical rotations in the CPSN enable students to experience directly-supervised, hands-on treatment sessions utilizing a variety of modalities, such as protective stabilization, behavioral guidance and pharmacological management. In 2018, the CPSN received the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) William J. Gies Award for innovation for an Academic Dental Institution. Dr. Taiclet was honored to accept the award for the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Taiclet is an active member of both the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD), and previously served on the executive board of the AADMD (Member at Large). Dr. Taiclet currently is serving on the University of Pittsburgh’s Dental Hygiene Promotions Committee, and recently was appointed to the ADEA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. In addition, she is a member of an ad-hoc committee of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities, an academy of the SCDA. During the 2022 annual meeting of SCDA, Dr. Taiclet was honored to receive the Education Award. This award recognizes those who educate the upcoming generations of oral health providers in the area of special care dentistry.
Dr. Taiclet also functions as the advisor to the University of Pittsburgh’s student chapter of the AADMD. The student group is one of the oldest AADMD chapters in the country and has grown to be one of the largest. In previous years, the student members helped to design the initial AADMD student chapters’ logo, and participated in the Spread the Word to End the Word and Medically Underserved Population campaigns. Since the initial year, the group has continued to actively participate in LEND activities, Special Olympics (SO) events and Special Smiles screenings, both in and out of Pennsylvania. More recently, due to limitations related to the pandemic, the student members have been involved with virtual presentations in conjunction with the local LEND chapter, planning virtual educational sessions for Pitt’s chapter members and creating virtual presentations for the SO athletes of Pennsylvania, including at-home stretching exercises and oral hygiene instructions. In spite of the pandemic, the students have remained very involved and connected.