Drs. Teresa Marshall, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry, and Cheryl Straub-Morarend, Department of Family Dentistry, were honored as evidence-based leaders by the American Dental Association (ADA) and American Association for Dental Research (AADR). The awards were given during an October 19 joint reception that followed the Evidence-Based Dentistry Champions Conference. 

This was the first time the ADA and AADR recognized a team (Marshall and Straub-Morarend) with the Evidence-Based Dentistry Faculty and Practice Award.

Dr. Marshall led a team that designed and implemented the College of Dentistry's evidence-based dentistry curriculum. Dr. Straub-Morarend and Dr. Marshall have worked as a team for over ten years developing evidence-based dentistry curricula, CE courses for dental professionals and researching evidence-based practice knowledge, perceptions and behavior. They have shared their efforts with peers through national presentations and peer-reviewed publications. 

Project SEALED (Service, Engagement and LifeCareer Education in Dentistry) is a collaboration between the Waukon and Postville, Iowa, school systems and the UI College of Dentistry.

In 2012, the UI Provost's Office provided the initial grant for startup costs, transportation, equipment, and lodging -- and the outreach program has continued since that time. Drs. Dan Caplan and Michelle McQuistan, Preventive & Community Dentistry, direct and organize the program. Currently, all third-year dental students attend the two-day outreach activity in Waukon and Postville. Since the initiation of the program, more than 600 school children have received oral health screenings and dental cleanings from the dental students under the supervision of faculty from Preventive & Community Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry and Operative Dentistry.

Complete article available at:  http://btn.com/2016/03/17/btn-livebig-iowa-students-brighten-smiles-across-the-state/

Dr. Susan McKernan, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry, has been awarded a one-year, $174,999 Special Interests Projects grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for studies that will address oral health and cancer. Dr. McKernan will explore the integration of oral health and primary care. The CDC funding is channeled through the Prevention Research Center based in the College of Public Health. The researchers will conduct an environmental scan of what is currently occurring within state and local governmental and non-profit public health entities surrounding oral health and chronic disease prevention. They will also collect information about how oral health is being included in state and national efforts to reform the U.S. health care system. Examples of medical-dental integration will be identified and best practice approaches will be recommended. Results of the proposed activities will allow policymakers to maximize existing public health resources by addressing common risk factors for non-communicable diseases and oral disease based on evidence-based best practices. Recent national efforts to reform health care delivery provide an ideal opportunity for policymakers to advocate for the inclusion of oral health in these changes. 

Dr. McKernan will be principal investigator. Drs. Raymond Kuthy, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry, is a co-principal investigator. Dr. Julie Reynolds, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry, is a co-investigator. 

Dr. Patricia Meredith, Department of Operative Dentistry, received the Mastership Award from the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) during their July meeting in Boston.

The Mastership Award is the AGD's highest honor and one of the most respected designations within the profession. To earn this award, Dr. Meredith completed more than 1,100 hours of dental continuing education. She joins more than 2,300 active AGD Masters who have gone above and beyond the basic requirements to care for their patients' oral health.

The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is a professional association of 41,000 general dentists who are dedicated to providing quality dental care and oral health education to the public.

Dr. Astha Singhal received the Aubrey Sheiham Award for Distinguished Research in Dental Public Health Services. The award was announced during the International Association for Dental Research, Behavioral, Epidemiologic and Health Services Scientific Group meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea. (Dr. Singhal was unable to attend the meeting.)

Dr. Singhal's award was for her article, "Eliminating Dental Emergency Visits and Associated Costs," which was published in the May 2015 issue of Health Affair. Co-authors included Dr. Dan Caplan, Chair, Preventive and Community Dentistry; Dr. Michael Jones, College of Public Health; Dr. Ray Kuthy, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry; Dr. Christopher Buresh, College of Medicine; Dr. Robert Isman, Medi-Cal Dental Services, Division of the California Department of Health Care Services; and Dr. Peter Damiano, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry.

Dr. Azeez Butali, Dental Research and Department of Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine, has received a three-year, $597,645 Roy C. Carver Charitable Trust grant to develop a biorepository for research into oral health and disease. The award will support the collection of 12,500 biological samples that include saliva, teeth, oral tissues, and dental and medical information from 10,000 individuals. The purpose of the biorepository is threefold:

1. To establish a biorepository that will combine biological materials, dental and medical records;

2. To establish a fully integrated medical, genetic and dental patient record to improve quality of care provided to the patients, as well as enhance broader quality research across the University of Iowa medical and dental facilities;

3. To make these data and biological materials available to researchers at the University of Iowa and collaborators in order to conduct ground-breaking research, to deliver personalized precision medicine and improve patients' health.

Dr. Butali is principal investigator. Drs. Arwa Owais, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and Veersathpurush Allareddy, Department of Orthodontics are co-principal investigators.

Shaun O'Neill (D3) was elected as one of the eleven trustees to the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) national board. He also received the Delegate of the Year as well as the first ever ASDA Citation Award, which recognizes unparalleled leadership and service to the organization and profession. He will serve the constituents of his district and as chair of the district caucus.

Shaun received the Citation Award and ASDA board trusteeship during the recent ASDA meeting in Dallas, Texas.

The Iowa Primary Care Association (Iowa PCA) recognized the College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics for its work in improving the access to oral health care for underserved Iowans. The college was honored with the 2016 Underserved Champion Award during a February 24 reception in Des Moines.

The College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics has provided oral health service to the state of Iowa for 133 years. Current collegiate outreach programs include addressing the needs of children, seniors, patients with special needs, and others.

"We are honored to receive this milestone award from the Iowa Primary Care Association," Dean David Johnsen said, "and proud of our efforts to not only deliver care to the underserved but to instill in the minds of our students the responsiblity to reach out to those less fortunate. Our partnership with the growing network of public dental programs in Iowa means that more children, people with special needs, and elderly will get oral care to improve their general health."

The Iowa PCA is a non-profit membership association comprised of FQHCs and other safety net providers in the state. Iowa PCA provides technical assistance to the state's 13 community health centers and one migrant health program. The Iowa PCA's mission is to provide leadership by promoting, supporting, and developing quality health care for underserved populations in Iowa. 

The University of Iowa College of Dentistry's Geriatric Mobile Dental Unit (GMU) was recently featured in Iowa Now. The GMU is an extramural program that was established in 1979. It provides senior dental students with a hands-on clinical experience using a comprehensive care philosophy for geriatric residents in nursing homes and the homebound. The GMU travels to 10 area nursing homes as well as to homebound hospice patients and elderly adults. More than 500 patients benefit from the GMU's visits every year. Dental care for this population is particularly important because oral conditions can affect many other body systems, which can create problems for not only the patients but for their caretakers as well. 

The GMU is designed to provide care where nursing home residents need it -- at the facility or even at the bedside. The group transports all of the equipment needed to provide its patients with comprehensive care, including denture work, cleaning, extractions, crowns, fillings, and endodontics.

Dr. Gustavo Avila-Ortiz, Department of Periodontics, has been elected as a member of the Osteology Expert Council by the Osteology Foundation. He has played an important role in the publication of Osteology Guidelines for Oral & Maxillofacial Regeneration and the development of the Osteology online community platform, which will be launched this spring. The Osteology Expert Council was established in 2010 in order to expand the Osteology Foundation's international network of collaboration. The Osteology Foundation promotes partnerships between universities and industry in research and education on oral tissue regeneration with the goal of bridging the gap between scientific advances and clinical practice.