The Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) online newsletter is a membership benefit. Permission is granted to repost this publication only with inclusion of the header. Past issues are posted on www.fnidcr.org/news.html

Executive Director's Report

As the Cherry Blossoms bloom in full along the Potomac River in our nation's capital, winter thaws and a rejuvenated spirit fills the air. Congress is feeling its new shift with Committee Chairs calling for their new respective agendas.

Recently, the Harkin-Specter Senate Amendment was passed The Senate passed the Specter-Harkin amendment to the Budget Resolution last week. Its intent is to increase funding for health programs, such as the NIH and CDC, by $2.2 billion in the FY 2008 Budget Resolution. The entire biomedical research community is behind this effort and feels there is much to look forward to, but advocacy is essential.

Internally, the Friends of NIDCR elected a new Executive Committee at its Spring Board meeting.

Special recognition is owed to the outgoing president, Dr. C. Yolanda Bonta, for her extraordinary work from 2005-2007. Dr. Bonta oversaw a growing programmatic format, By-Laws revisions, a strategic planning session, and 3 annual Gala Award Dinners that celebrated oral health research and brought stability to the Friends financial future.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Dr. Bonta, and the entire extended Board for their exceptional work and dedication to the oral health advocacy effort.

Sincerely,
Alec

Alec Stone
Executive Director

NIDCR Science News

Protein Increases Hardness of Dental Enamel, March 15, 2007
As a tooth forms in the tooth bud, specialized cells called ameloblasts secrete a protein matrix with hydroxyapatite crystals embedded within. The matrix acts like a trellis to support the patterned elongation of the crystals into hard tooth enamel. Among these matrix proteins is dentin sialophosphoprotein, or Dspp. Interestingly, ameloblasts secrete the protein transiently early in matrix formation but only near the dentinoenamel junction, where dentin and enamel meet. There, Dspp is immediately cleaved into two smaller proteins, Dsp and Dpp. Because of the very specific spacial and temporal secretion of Dspp, NIDCR grantees have proposed that it must play a role in producing the structurally harder, first-formed enamel that borders the dentinoenamel junction. To test this hypothesis, the scientists created transgenic mice that expressed either Dsp or Dpp throughout the enamel to measure its effect on the tissue’s hardness and/or toughness. In the February 23 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the scientists found Dpp actually weakened the enamel. However, Dsp "significantly and uniformly" increased the hardness of the enamel by about 20 percent, showing its unique contribution to the hardness of the dentinoenamel junction. This marks the first time that a transgenic animal has been used to engineer hard dental tissues that are superior to those found in nature. As the scientists noted, the finding could have implications for ongoing efforts to engineer replacement teeth that are resistant to decay or wear. To read more about this paper, click here.

A Closer Look at Treating Chronic Periodontitis, March 6, 2007
Numerous studies have suggested that the best way to fight chronic periodontitis is with a one-two therapeutic punch. First, a periodontist must scale and plane the roots (SRP) of the affected teeth to clear away noxious bacteria. Second, patients should take an antibiotic pill over several days to control the infection and thus allow the gingival tissues to heal. Still largely undetermined is whether some commonly prescribed antibiotics are more effective than others in returning the gingiva back to good health. In the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, NIDCR grantees take a closer look at this issue. They randomly assigned 92 people with chronic periodontitis to receive SRP alone or SPR in combination with one of three antibiotics. The antibiotics, which were chosen because of their different dosage regimes and mechanisms of action, were: azithromycin, metronidazole, or a sub-antimicrobial dose of doxycycline. After one year of followup, they found that patients in all four treatment groups had clinical improvement, particularly in reducing the depth of periodontal pockets and improving tooth attachment. The researchers also found that all three antibiotic and SRP regimens provided a slightly better clinical outcome than SRP alone, particularly when treating periodontal pockets greater than 6 mm at baseline. Although patients randomized to the SRP/metronidazole group had greater improvement on average in attachment loss, no antibiotic was clearly superior. In fact, a number of patients in all treatment groups had attachment loss at the one-year mark. These numbers ranged from 15 to 32 percent in SRP/antibiotic groups to 39 percent in those who received SRP only. As the authors noted, this indicates that more work is needed to learn how to tailor treatment and match it to a patient’s specific needs. To read more about this paper by Haffajee, Torresyap, and Socransky, click here.

Making Sense of Hypusine, February 27, 2007
In 1981, NIDCR scientist Dr. Myung Hee Park noticed formation of a novel polyamine-derived amino acid in one specific protein from human peripheral lymphocytes, a type of immune cell. After much investigation, Park and her colleagues identified it as a unique amino acid called hypusine. Hypusine is produced by all eukaryotes but intriguingly occurs only in one protein known as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). What has fascinated Park and other biochemists is that, despite billions of years of human evolution and all of the tens of thousands of proteins produced in the body, two enzymes still dutifully modify exclusively the eIF5A precursor to activate this protein. As they have noted, eIF5A and its hypusine modification are essential for proliferation of mammalian cells. The first enzyme modifies a lysine residue to form deoxyhypusine in the intermediate eIF5A protein. Then a second enzyme called deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH) adds a hydroxyl group to the deoxyhypusine residue to form hypusine. Now, Park and her NIDCR colleagues have published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry the structural basis of the specificity of the DOHH-eIF5A interaction. They defined the specific amino acid residues of DOHH that are critical for binding the deoxyhypusine-containing eIF5A and suggest a structural model for this interaction. Still to be determined is the precise function of eIF5A and its mode of action in eukaryotic translation and cell proliferation. To read more about this paper, click here.

Researchers Create Promising Antifouling Film, February 27, 2007
People obviously don't expect to get sick from a stay in the hospital. But hospital-acquired infections from tainted medical devices are relatively common, and many doctors say they have no good tools to prevent them. This terrible problem has led scientists to try and modify the surface chemistry of catheters and other indwelling medical devices, making them resistant to microbial colonization. In recent years, other promising scientific approaches have emerged. One of the most interesting is coating medical devices with a biocatalytic antifouling film. As the name suggests, scientists embed antimicrobial enzymes directly into the film’s composite polymer matrix to prevent microbial colonization. While the initial work has been promising, scientists have bumped into two technically challenging problems. The first is to incorporate into the matrix adequate levels of structurally unstable enzyme. The second is to ensure that the incorporated enzyme remains catalytically active under a range of operating conditions. In the January issue of the journal Small, a team of NIDCR grantees and colleagues may have found a solution through nanotechnology. According to the authors, they created single-walled carbon nanotubes that were "ideal supports" for subtilisin Carlsberg (CS), a much-studied enzyme that hydrolyzes, or breaks down, protein polymers. They incorporated the nanotube-CS conjugates within a poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer matrix. According to the authors, the nano-SC composite was 30 times more catalytically active than polymers containing graphite-SC conjugates. In addition, they found the nano-SC film to be highly stable, retaining more than 90 percent of its initial activity over 30 days in aqueous buffer. The film was also active in temperatures up to 70 degrees Celsius. To read more about this work by Asuri, Dordick et al., click here.

NIH Director Launches Program For Innovative New Investigators

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., announced a special program to fund new investigators who propose highly innovative research projects that could have an exceptionally great impact on biomedical or behavioral science. The NIH Director's New Innovator Award offers grants of up to $1.5 million in direct costs over five years.

"New investigators are the future of science, and innovative ideas are its lifeblood. This flagship program underscores NIH's commitment to supporting these two critical elements of the research enterprise. The New Innovator Award, funded through the NIH Roadmap Common Fund, complements longstanding activities in both areas at the NIH level and at its institutes and centers," said Zerhouni.

The application period opens on April 25 and closes on May 22, 2007. NIH expects to make at least 14 awards in September 2007.

New investigators who have not yet obtained an NIH R01 or similar grant are eligible to apply. Applicants must hold an independent research position at an institution in the United States and must have received a doctoral degree or completed a medical internship and residency in 1997 or later.

"We want proposals in a broad range of scientific areas relevant to the NIH mission and from a diverse pool of applicants," Zerhouni said. "We're shortening the application and emphasizing the significance of the research, what makes the approach exceptionally innovative, how the applicant will address challenges and risks, and the applicant's qualifications for the grant. We aren't requiring applicants to present preliminary data, although we'll allow it if they choose to do so," he added.

Application instructions are at grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-07-009.html.

More information on the NIH Director's New Innovator Award is at grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/innovator_award/.

Fifth National DNA Day to Showcase Genomic Discoveries and Careers
DNA Day Ambassadors Reach Out to High Schools in the Southeast

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will mark the fifth annual National DNA Day on April 25 with events aimed at building high school students' awareness of genetics and genomics. April 25 commemorates both the discovery in 1953 of DNA's double helix and the 2003 completion of the Human Genome Project.

Drawing on their frontline work in NHGRI labs and clinics, the ambassadors will describe the latest advances in genomics and explain what those advances mean for the future of health care. They will also engage students in dialogues about the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research, as well as inform them about the many career and training opportunities in this rapidly emerging field.

"The field of genomics offers extraordinary possibilities for our best and brightest students," said Vence Bonham, J.D., chief of NHGRI's Education and Community Involvement Branch. "Through face-to-face interaction with scientists and educators, the seeds of interest are being planted and will grow beyond surface curiosity about genomics. The next generation of genomics scientists will be making high-impact discoveries in a new era of genomics and personalized medicine."

A variety of free, educational tools on genetics and genomics, including webcasts, podcasts and an online multimedia presentation called "Understanding The Human Genome Project", are available at www.genome.gov/DNAday.

Patient Advocacy Spotlight: Oral Cancer Foundation Update

The world of information on the web has become one of constantly updated stories delivered directly to your web browser or email. The mechanism by which organizations from the New York Times and the BBC News to children's content providers is delivered, are RSS feeds. Everything that you wish to stay current on is available without searching multiple websites to find it. A couple of the best of thousands out there are feed://news.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss091.xml and feed://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_topstories.rss

Please note that The Oral Cancer Foundation now has RSS feeds from our news section of the OCF web site, which anyone can add to their company or private website or blog, or single individuals can add to the bar of their web browser. We search thousands of publications for articles on oral cancer from clinical trials, papers presented in scientific forums, private sector press releases, to human interest stories, and have for 4 years provided the most interesting and important of these stories on the Foundation's web site. To have access to this information go to feeds.feedburner.com/oralcancernews and select your web source, then save our feed on that page to it. (Page has instructions and links to general information about RSS feeds for the technically challenged) You can also go directly to the OCF RSS feed from here click on it, and just drag the feed’s URL address to it down to your web browser bar where it will always be only one click away.

You can download the link to the RSS feed and your organization or anyone inside your organization can have the most up to date oral cancer news stories on their website or desktop browser bar for free. These stories are collected and updated on the OCF site 3 times per week. The RSS feed will always have the latest 15 stories on it. At this link to our site you can look at all stories by most recent or by title. www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/index.asp There are thousands of archived news stories there. The Foundation's web site also has a search engine that will allow you to search for content on the thousands of pages or PDF’s of content that reside on the OCF site at this link www.oralcancerfoundation.org/search.htm Content is being added to the site every week. This engine provided to the foundation by Google has the capability to even look inside PDF files on our site, and search for phrases.

For those not familiar with it, and who come in contact with patients, please take a look at OCF's Survivor/Patient forum as something you can recommend to your patients. www.oralcancerfoundation.org/forum/index.htm It is a free support group located on the site where currently over 4000 individuals from as far away as Sydney, and Hong Kong to New York and London, are helping each other get through the process of dealing with oral cancer. This location, where the open sharing of their triumphs and fears with each other takes place, provides patients and family members with information and emotional support from people who have been down the path before them. It is certainly is the heart and soul of the Foundation’s web site. Anyone can give themselves a screen name and sign in for free to participate or just read the thousands of message threads here, posted in real time.

I hope that you will find the news feed useful, and pass it, or forward this email on to others that may have an interest in staying abreast of information related to the oral cancer world.

Advocacy Groups Support NIH Director's Stem Cell Stance

Newswise -- The Society for Women's Health Research and Friends of Cancer Research issued the following joint statement today in response to comments by National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni on embryonic stem cell research before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday.

"The Society for Women's Health Research and Friends of Cancer Research support Dr. Zerhouni's call for American scientists to have access to more stem cell lines. The future of American health research depends on the ability of scientists to pursue all promising and legitimate avenues of research, including embryonic stem cells.

"We applaud Dr. Zerhouni for his courage in speaking out on this issue and putting science ahead of politics. As director of the National Institutes of Health, he speaks from a position of authority and with sound scientific principles.

"Our organizations strongly support new medical research that holds promise for the treatment of human disease and disability and supports embryonic stem cell research because of the potential that these cells have in curing or improving treatments of life threatening diseases.

"We support the bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (HR 3) and expect the Senate to pass their version in the coming weeks. If President Bush vetoes the bill, as he did last year, we will work with Congress to override the veto."

The Society for Women's Health Research is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy. The Society works to ensure the appropriate inclusion of women in major medical research studies and encourages the study biological sex differences in health.

Friends of Cancer Research is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and provides public education on cancer research in order to accelerate the nation's progress toward better tools for the prevention, detection, and treatment of all cancers.

On the Net:

New Study Further Strengthens Link between Gum Disease and Early Indicators Of Cardiovascular Disease

3/8/2007, Warminster, PA -- Researchers may be one step closer to establishing a link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) – the number one cause of death worldwide. According to a new study unveiled recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, periodontal disease contributes to blood vessel dysfunction, which was improved by an intensive regimen of periodontal treatment. The research team, led by Maurizio Tonetti, D.M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director of the European Research Group on Periodontology, demonstrates a link between early indicators of arthrosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and periodontal disease.

The study enrolled 120 otherwise healthy patients with a severe form of periodontitis in a six-month trial and compared the effects of regular tooth cleaning with those of intensive periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, locally administered antibiotics and tooth extraction, when necessary). The intensive treatment group showed important and statistically significant improvements in blood flow (as measured by brachial arterial dilation) within two months of treatment. The improvement was greater six months after treatment.

"In recent years, there have been numerous hypotheses linking periodontal infections to atherosclerosis – the process that leads to blockage of blood vessels," notes Dr. Tonetti. "This study validates the effectiveness of intensive periodontal treatment in affecting vascular health."

Currently, more than one in three Americans over age 30 have some form of periodontitis, according to the American Academy of Periodontology. CVD is the single largest killer of American adults; in 2003, it caused one of every five deaths in the United States. Unfortunately, periodontal infections often go untreated, creating a chronic inflammatory burden that may result in systemic inflammation, possibly contributing to broader health problems.

"The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is promising for patients, as well as for the medical and dental communities," notes periodontist Michael C. Lynch, DMD, PhD, Director, Clinical Research Rx, New Technology Oral Health Care R&D, of OraPharma, Inc., whose locally applied antibiotic, ARESTIN(R) (minocycline HCl) Microspheres, 1 mg, was selected by Dr. Tonetti for use in this study. "While researchers continue to study the link between systemic disease and oral health, this study adds to the growing body of evidence and underscores the potential impact of infection and subsequent inflammation on systemic diseases."

"Our mission is to advance oral health and improve overall health through innovative products and services for the dental professional," adds Russell Secter, PharmD, president, OraPharma, Inc. "We are excited by the results of this study and will continue to support research in this area."

Results of the clinical trial by Dr. Tonetti and colleagues are reported in the March 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The team of independent researchers that completed the study includes: Maurizio S. Tonetti, D.M.D., Ph.D., Francesco D'Aiuto, D.M.D., Ph.D., Luigi Nibali, D.M.D., Ph.D., Ann Donald, Clare Storry, B.Sc., Mohamed Parkar, M.Phil., Jean Suvan, M.Sc., Aroon D. Hingorani, Ph.D., Patrick Vallance, M.D., and John Deanfield, M.B., B.Chir. As reported in the NEJM, this study was funded by leading academic and research institutions, as well as by an educational grant from OraPharma, Inc.

Medical Personnel Can Save More Lives by Screening for Oral Signs of Disease

Newswise -- We might not think of dentists and dental hygienists as saving lives, but Dr. Gwen Cohen-Brown would beg to differ.

An assistant professor of dental hygiene at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), she is on a mission to educate her students and a variety of providers in the metropolitan New York area -- hygienists, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and hospital HIV/AIDS counselors -- to routinely conduct periodontal evaluations and oral cancer and vital sign screenings as well as how to recognize the clinical signs of such systemic diseases as HIV/AIDS.

"Dental health providers can be the first line of care when it comes to oral health," she says. "The mouth is the portal to the body and a reflection of general health. We as health providers need to be able to recognize things like a yeast infection that doesn’t go away or specific tumors and be able to bring up such subjects with our patients."

Statistics bear out her concern. According to the American Dental Association, only about seven percent of dentists offer the mouth and neck exams they should.

Dr. Cohen-Brown, who became a dentist in the mid-1980s when the AIDS crisis reached epidemic proportions and saw many patients with HIV/AIDS, makes this point when she speaks at hospitals, prisons, clinics, health care conferences, training programs and rehab, medical and mental health centers in the tri-state area, which she does as often as time permits. She also offers in-person health care provider continuing education on HIV-related topics through Cicatelli Associates.

Dr. Cohen-Brown, whose advanced studies in oral and maxillofacial pathology led her from dental practice into teaching, works with the AIDS Institute, the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Corrections, lecturing on mandated cleanliness standards, equipment maintenance, exposure prevention, infection control, post-exposure medication and how the HIV Rapid Testing kit works.

Since joining the City Tech faculty in 2004, she has been teaching the College's dental hygiene students to handle tricky situations. "We've had cases where we picked up on medical or dental problems that other places didn't," she explains. "Students have uncovered situations that merited biopsies or high blood pressure medication, and oral cancers and other tumors. Hygienists can't make diagnoses, but they need to know how diagnoses are arrived at for their licensing. And since City Tech students have a 100 percent pass rate on licensing exams, their patients are getting the best care.

"Because of health care disparities," she adds, "sometimes we're the first health care provider patients see. Many patients in City Tech's dental hygiene clinic lack health insurance, and the clinic fee is only $10 for all treatments except x-rays, no matter how many visits are needed." The clinic's multilingual staff and students often translate for patients whose first language is not English, and students gain invaluable experience from having full patient contact eight to 12 hours each week.

Dr. Cohen-Brown is also the force behind the upcoming "Send a Soldier a Smile" campaign. On April 19, she and student members of the Student American Dental Hygiene Association (SADHA) and the City Tech Student Veterans Club will be collecting thousands of toothbrushes and cash donations, with the proceeds used to send toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss and mouthwash to soldiers in Iraq, including battalions that have a connection to the City Tech community.

AGD Applauds Increase In Health Care Programs, But More Help Is Needed

3/8/2007, Chicago IL -- The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) wholeheartedly supports and extends its appreciation to Congress for increasing the Title VII health professions programs in the recently passed Joint Funding resolution (H.J.Res. 20) that will fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year 2007. The resolution provided $185 M for the Title VII health professions programs, an increase of $40M over fiscal year 2006. The additional Title VII funds include an $8M increase for primary care medicine and dentistry programs, up to $48M.

"We express our appreciation to the appropriators, especially House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-7-WI), for leading the charge to increase funding for these important programs," Bruce DeGinder, DDS, MAGD, president of the AGD, announced upon the approval of the resolution by the Senate by a vote of 81-15, and the signing of the measure by the president. "However, as many in the Congress agree, these funding levels are far from what is needed to keep these Title VII programs running and thus providing essential health care services to Americans living in medically underserved areas."

One of AGD's top legislative goals is access to oral health care services nationwide. Title VII programs are the only federal programs designed to train providers in interdisciplinary settings to meet the needs of special and underserved populations. The programs provide grants to organizations that train and educate health care professionals at over 1,700 institutions.

Over the 20-year history of the Title VII support for general dentistry training, 59 new dental residency programs and 560 new positions were created. About 305 of the dentistry graduates from these programs established practices and spent 50% or more of their time in health professional shortage areas or settings providing care to underserved communities.

"AGD members will continue lobbying their legislators to increase the funding for Title VII dentistry programs to fiscal year 2005 levels in fiscal year 2008," asserted Janet Kopenhaver, AGD's Washington Lobbyist. These levels were $88.8 million for Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry and $8.08 million for Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), General Dentistry/Pediatric Dentistry. "With so much emphasis on problems with access to health care in our country today, it does not make sense to substantially cut critical funding for those programs that specifically lead to providing more health care to Americans living in medically underserved areas and not receiving the health care services they desperately need," Kopenhaver added.

The AGD is planning a very active lobbying campaign this year, including a Washington Leadership Conference in June that includes visits on Capitol Hill. Title VII funding will be at the top of the list for these Hill meetings.

Statement by ADA Pres. on Legislation Encouraging Health Care Providers to Practice in Underserved Areas

Newswise -- (March 9, 2007) Dr. Kathleen Roth, president of the American Dental Association, today told members of the House Small Business Committee that legislation establishing loan incentives for health care providers, including dentists, would help them establish practices in underserved communities, such as rural areas or those with a disproportionate number of low-income families.

Her testimony supported a legislative proposal that would decrease the cost of obtaining Small Business Administration loans for physicians, dentists and other health care professionals who open offices in designated health professional shortage areas by reducing origination fees and increasing the guarantees offered to lenders.

"Key among the barriers to increasing access to oral health care is the simple fact that some areas don't have enough dentists to serve all patients in need of care," Dr. Roth said.

Many dentists want to provide services to underserved communities but can't currently afford to set up their practices in those areas, she explained. The loan incentives under consideration by the House Small Business Committee would be a good step toward making that possible, thereby improving the oral health care of poor populations.

The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 155,000 members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association's Web site at www.ada.org.

ADA President Kathy Roth Urges Congress to Improve Access to Dental Care

Newswise, March 27, 2007 -- Kathleen Roth, D.D.S., president of the American Dental Association (ADA), will testify before the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on improving access to dental care. Dr. Roth will urge the subcommittee to reform Medicaid in order to better address unmet oral health needs.

"I was shocked by the death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver..." Dr. Roth states. "I believe that we have an obligation to honor this child and his family by saying, 'No more.' No more needless deaths; No more children unable to eat or sleep properly; unable to pay attention in school; unable to smile because of dental disease that could easily have been prevented and treated."

According to Dr. Roth,

During her testimony, Dr. Roth will offer examples of Medicaid programs in various states that have improved access to dental care. She will also testify that dentists in single year delivered $1.6 billion in free or discounted care, but that volunteer and charitable efforts aren't enough--charity is not a health care system.

"Dentists can do more, but only if state and federal governments give us the support we need," Dr. Roth says. "We call upon our many friends in Congress to work with us to ensure that every American child can face his or her future with a smile."

Dental Insurance, Caregivers' Preventive Dental Visits Determinants of Underserved African-American Children Seeing Dentist

Newswise -- Children's dental insurance and caregivers' preventive dental care visits play a significant role as determinants of underserved African-American children seeing a dentist, according to a study in this month's Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

The objective of the study, according to University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) researchers, was to investigate determinants of dental care visits among young, low-income African-American children. They found that children with private dental insurance were five times more likely and children receiving Medicaid were about two times more likely to have visited a dentist than those without dental insurance.

Caregivers' preventive dental visits related to their children seeing dentist
The researchers also found an association between a caregiver’s prevention-oriented dental visit and their child seeing a dentist. Caregivers who had had preventive dental visits were five times more likely to have taken their children to a dentist than caregivers who sought dental care only for treatment or not at all.

According to the researchers, this provides an explanation of an earlier finding that free care is not sufficient to eliminate differences in dental care utilization and oral health among underserved children.

"This underscores," the researchers wrote, "the importance of promoting caregivers' preventive behaviors in concert with increasing access to dental care and removing barriers to dental care."

Other determinants included a child’s age, current and previous tooth decay, and caregiver's educational level.

In conducting the JADA-published study, researchers interviewed a representative sample of low-income African-American families in Detroit, assessing their dental visit history, dental insurance status and oral health behaviors. Study participants also received dental examinations, using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. Of the 1,021 families completing the interview and examination, a subset of the 552 children aged 3 to 5 years (and their primary caregivers) was the focus of this analysis.

The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 155,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association's Web site at www.ada.org.

Funding Opportunities

Public Health Research Grants on Orofacial Clefts and Craniosynostosis (R01) (RFA-DD-07-009)
National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Application Receipt Date(s): April 10, 2007
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DD-07-009.html

Notice of Intent to Publish a Request for Applications for Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health (NOT-DE-07-003)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DE-07-003.html

A Systems Approach to Salivary Gland Biology (R01) (RFA-DE-08-001)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Application Receipt Date(s): November 14, 2007
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DE-08-001.html

NIDCR Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award in A Systems Approach to Salivary Gland Biology (K25) (RFA-DE-08-002)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Application Receipt Date(s): November 15, 2007
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DE-08-002.html

Dental School Joint DDS or DMD/Masters Degree NRSA Research Training Program (T32) (PAR-07-332)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): September 25, 2007, 2008, 2009 grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-332.html

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research announces the publication of a funding opportunity announcement for the 2007 NIH Director's New Innovator Awards Program (DP2) (grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-07-009.html). This program is an extension of the NIH Director's Pioneer Awards program (nihroadmap.nih.gov/pioneer/) and is targeted to new investigators who: 1) have had no previous R01 grant support, 2) hold independent research positions at domestic institutions by September 20, 2007, and 3) are within 10 years of their terminal degree (1997 or later). Investigators may submit or have an R01 application pending concurrently with a New Innovator Award application. The intent of this program is to support new investigators of exceptional creativity who propose innovative approaches with a potential for unusually high impact on significant problems in biomedical and behavioral research. The research topic is open to any scientific area relevant to the mission of the NIH. Preliminary data is not required, but may be included. Letters of reference are not required and will not be accepted. The awards will be for up to $300,000 direct costs per year plus Facilities and Administrative costs, for up to five years. It is anticipated that at least 14 awards will be made NIH wide. The applications receipt date is May 22, 2007 with awards to be made in September, 2007. Please share this information with potential applicants and others who may be interested.