FUTURE OFDENTISTRY
u Developing a general classification scheme for all
dental/oral diseases and disorders.
uExploring the potential impact of advances on
dental education and dental practice that are leading
to effective nonsurgical therapies for dental caries
and most forms of periodontal diseases.
SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT/TECHNOLOGY
The critically important transfer of research-based
knowledge and technology to practicing dental profes-
sionals has lagged behind the expansion of the knowl-
edge base for the etiology of dental diseases and meth-
ods of treatment. There is a need to evaluate and
improve the speed and quality of information and tech-
nology transferred from the laboratory and other
research settings to the public domain.
Considering the importance of the NIDCR to the
development of the profession, dental education and
therapy for dental disease, the dental profession
should consider:
u Maintaining support for the NIDCR as a separate
institute within NIH.
u Accelerating the transfer of knowledge about sys-
temic disease and oral disease to the dental school
curriculum through the process of accreditation and
working with the NIDCR and the American
Dental Education Association (ADEA). The new
developments in healthcare, including molecular
biology, genetics and bioengineering, must be an
important part of the dental school curriculum.
u Creating national clinical research networks that
link treatment approaches and treatment outcomes
in private practice settings. These networks, which
exist for medical care, will enable large-scale evalu-
ations of treatment protocols.
u Working with local and state dental societies to
strongly support the need to increase resources
available for dental research.
u Promoting the use of laboratory tests to diagnose
oral disease. These tests include genetic tests, blood
tests, salivary and gingival crevicular fluid analyses,
and microbial tests. There is a need to link diag-
nostic tests with therapeutic strategies.
u Working closely with the NIDCR, ADEA, the
American Association for Dental Research (AADR),
and dental schools to establish links for information
and technology transfer for health care providers. This
network will provide current information on the
knowledge base related to the practice of dentistry.u Increasing translational and clinical research
activities that adopt the new science into the practice
of dentistry to improve oral health and the delivery
of dental care.u Establishing educational guidelines regarding the
pathogenesis of different oral diseases. Promote
these guidelines for adoption in the dental school
curriculum, and by other fields such as general
internal medicine, geriatrics, genetics, and informa-
tion technology.u Urging the NIH/NIDCR to increase the percent
of its budget devoted to clinical research concerning
the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of oral dis-
eases. The percent of the NIDCR budget devoted to
clinical research is now below that of other institutes.u Continuing to support research funded by the
NIDCR, corporate sponsors and foundations on issues
of infection control in the dental office, including water
line infections and percutaneous injuries.WORKFORCEOral and craniofacial research efforts have been
remarkably successful in promoting oral health and
reducing the prevalence of oral disease. This effort
is in danger of losing momentum due to the short-
age of individuals who are pursuing careers in aca-
demics and dental research. The dental profession
should consider taking an active role in developing
the teachers and researchers of the future. This
effort should include incentives for those who pur-
sue these career choices. Furthermore, the dental
profession should support the need to increase sup-
port for research training of dental students and
recent dental graduates. Workforce for clinical
research will be derived from dental academic insti-
tutions and dental practitioners.
Dental specialties should take an active role in
promoting the development of dentists who wish to
pursue a career in academics and research. Financial
incentives should be established and mentoring pro-Dental and Craniofacial Research