SDM receives $34k grant for evidence-based dentistry research
Thomas Dietrich at SDM will lead a study in preventing periodontitis.
Thomas Dietrich, assistant professor of periodontology and oral biology, will serve as the principal investigator on a project aiming to determine how effective dental prophylaxis is in preventing periodontitis in people with and without known risk factors. The project is funded by a $34,000 grant from The American Dental Association (ADA) Foundation. Among the 14 proposals, BUSDM’s was one of three selected for funding.
A key feature of the school’s proposal includes literature reviews of studies not only in English but also in the multiple languages in which extensive periodontal research has been published (German, Japanese, French, Italian, Turkish, Spanish, and Portuguese). BUSDM’s diverse faculty enabled the school to move beyond the typical review of just literature in English.
Other BUSDM faculty involved in the study are Takanari Miyamoto, assistant professor of general dentistry; Thomas Van Dyke, professor of periodontology and oral biology and director of the school’s Clinical Research Center; Martha E. Nunn, associate professor of health policy and health services research; Serge Dibart, associate professor of periodontology and oral biology; Hatice Hasturk, assistant professor of periodontology; Carmen Garcia, visiting research scholar, and Juliana Novis, visiting research scholar.
The study is part of the ADA Foundation’s Systematic Review to Support Evidence-Based Dentistry and Dental Research initiative. It will evaluate the effect of different frequencies of dental prophylaxis on the primary and secondary prevention of periodontitis. Specifically it will ask: 1) What is the effect of different frequencies of professional plaque removal? and 2) What is the effect of different frequencies of professional plaque removal on clinical outcomes related to the prevention of periodontitis in tobacco users and non-tobacco users and in individuals with and without diabetes?”
Investigators will submit their final report to the ADA Foundation by April 2007.