The two grants, totaling $1.2 million, were awarded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). One grant will be used to help accelerate the transfer of research findings from the laboratory to clinics so predoctoral and dental hygiene students can enhance the quality of oral health care their patients receive. The other grant will use videoconferencing and Internet technology to bring together experts from around the nation to provide the students with the most current information from the burgeoning field of genetics. They will also discuss the ethical, legal, and social implications of making decisions about the health and well being of patients based on their unique genetic makeup. Michigan is the nation’s only dental school to receive both awards.

“These grants have the potential to reshape how dentistry is taught not just here, but conceivably at other dental schools around the nation,” said Dean Peter Polverini. “I know of no other dental school that has ever received this amount of simultaneous funding from NIDCR for educational projects such as these. The fact we received these two grants speaks volumes about the caliber of our faculty and others who help make this School the world-renowned institution it is.”

Virtual Simulations for Dental Research Education
The first grant, totaling $600,000 over four years, entitled “Virtual Simulations for Dental Research Education,” was awarded to Dr. Marilyn Lantz, associate dean for academic affairs, and professor of dentistry in the Department of Periodontics, Prevention, and Geriatrics.

Lantz and other professors from the School of Dentistry will develop a program designed to improve the research skills of all dental and dental hygiene students. U-M researchers from the dental school and across campus will design research problems that all students will work on in virtual laboratories and virtual clinics. Students will conduct computer-based simulations of basic, clinical, educational, behavioral, and health sciences research. Once they finish their virtual research, the students will discuss their findings with their colleagues and have their work evaluated by the faculty.

“As oral health care professionals, our graduates will regularly make decisions about what new diagnostics, materials, and therapies they will incorporate into their practices,” Lantz said. “By giving our students significant experiences in oral health related research, we will not only enhance their appreciation for the role of research in a clinical environment, we will also help them enhance their skills in evidence-based decision-making. The result of this approach,” she said, “will directly translate into improved oral health care for patients.”

Lantz anticipates this program will be pilot tested in approximately two years. The results of the pilot test will be evaluated before the program becomes a part of the curriculum at the School of Dentistry.

Making Research “Come Alive”
“This grant will provide students with broad experiences in basic, clinical, educational, behavioral, and health services research,” Polverini said. “It will make oral health research ‘come alive’ for our dental students, and, in the process, increase a student’s interest in research, understanding of how research studies are performed, enhance their appreciation of research, as well as their ability to think critically.”

Genetics Education in Dentistry
The second grant, also totaling $600,000 over four years, entitled “Genetics Education in Dentistry,” was awarded to Dr. Lynn Johnson, director of the School’s Office of Dental Informatics, and associate professor in the Department of Periodontics, Prevention, and Geriatrics.

This program, designed to prepare dental and dental hygiene students to use genetically-based diagnostic and treatment techniques in patient care, will also be a collaboration with four other dental schools around the nation as well as NIDCR.

Educators from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry will collaborate with their counterparts from dental schools at the University of Southern California, the University of North Carolina, the University of Iowa, and the Oregon Health Sciences University to develop and test pilot a curriculum to enhance the understanding of genetics among dental and dental hygiene students.

“Because genetics is such a vast field of knowledge, and no single dental school has the breadth of expertise in all areas of this field, it made sense to bring together experts from around the country on this project,” Polverini said. “Given the explosion of knowledge in genetics, genomics, proteomics and other fields, imparting knowledge to future dentists and future dental hygienists about subjects in these areas and how they might affect their patients, is becoming a priority in dental education.”

Given the nation-wide shortage of dental faculty members that will become more acute in the years ahead, Polverini said this collaboration could also serve as a prototype for developing dental education courses in other areas in the future.

This project will make extensive use of the World Wide Web and videoconferencing technology, including the new, higher-speed Internet known as “Internet 2.” The program in genetics education will first be pilot tested during the 2005-2006 academic year. Eventually, the program could become a part of the school's curriculum following an evaluation of the pilot testing.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care, and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the School to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia, and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit the Web at http://www.dent.umich.edu.

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