E. Ricardo Schwedhelm, DDS, MSD
Dr. Ricardo Schwedhelm is a Clinical Professor at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. Since 2018 he has served as the Associate Dean for Clinics. He graduated from dental school and practiced in Mexico City for two years and subsequently completed an MSD in Prosthodontics in 1983 at Indiana University. He had a private practice in Prosthodontics in Vancouver, Canada for two decades before joining UW as an affiliate faculty member in 1994 and full time in 2000.
Dr. Schwedhelm is a Fellow in Prosthodontics of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Board Eligible for the American Board of Prosthodontics, and a certified Prosthodontist in British Columbia and Alberta. He has the unusual distinction of being granted dental licenses in all three North American countries. He has been inducted into the dental honor society Omicron Kappa Upsilon.
Dr. Schwedhelm is a consummate clinician and has been one of Seattle’s “Top Dentists” for the past 11 years. Not only has he directed the Fourth Year Clinic since 2016, but he also is course director for the fourth year general practice dentistry courses and second year dentistry immediate denture course, on top of his duties as the Associate Dean for Clinics. He also maintains a part time dental practice in Seattle. For this devotion to his clinical teaching, he received the national OKU Charles Craig Teaching Award and the UW Dr. Bruce R. Rothwell Distinguished Teacher Award.
Dr. Schwedhelm has an interest in advanced dental technologies and techniques, regularly publishing and lecturing internationally on these topics in English and Spanish. He introduced the first CAD/CAM technology system to UW and oversaw the construction of the school’s Advanced Technology Clinic. He has a special interest in microscopic dentistry and trains senior dental students in these techniques. In his spare time, he excels in physical fitness and spends time with his wife, family, and puppy.