The National Dental Foundation and Colgate awarded Abimbola Oladayo, a postdoctoral researcher in Azeez Butali’s laboratory, a scholarship to support her research on ethical issues related to the handling of genetic information obtained through she and her team’s research.

On a recent trip to rural Mexico, Iowa dental students and faculty provide dental care to children in schools and orphanages in the area.

A large contingent of Iowa Dentistry faculty, students, and alumni attended and presented at the 2023 National Oral Health Conference April 17-19 in Orlando, FL.

In January 2023, Iowa orthodontics faculty published Practical Early Orthodontic Treatment: A Case-Based Review. The text is receiving rave reviews and is sure to become the definitive textbook in the orthodontic treatment of children.

The annual meetings of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) were held consecutively over Spring Break in Portland, Oregon. Iowa was well represented at both meetings with 4 presentations at ADEA and 39 oral presentations at the AADOCR. Dental students Colton Curtis and Cyrus Mansouri received awards for their presentations, and Azeez Butali received an award for mentorship for his work with Mary Young. Images from the week in available on the College of Dentistry website.

Building on the University of Iowa College of Dentistry’s longstanding experience of university-industry collaboration, Fabricio Teixeira, professor and head of the Department of Endodontics, is working with the medical equipment manufacturer SONENDO of California, to evaluate a new piece of specialized equipment that SONENDO has developed called GentleWave.

Drawing from resources and opportunities at Iowa and the National Institutes of Health, Aline Petrin is conducting novel research involving twins that could shed light on the causes of orofacial clefting.

The Office of the Vice President for Research awarded Anvita Maharishi, assistant professor of Family Dentistry, a 2023 Early Career Scholars grant for her project, “Strength and Translucency of Lithium Disilicate Glass-Based Ceramic CAD/CAM Blocks.” These competitive $30,000 awards are intended to help tenure-track assistant professors develop competitive proposals that can secure awards with external funding. As part of the award, the OVPR supplies grant consultation and support, and substantive written critiques to help recipients improve their projects. In the study, Maharishi will investigate the effect of various fabrication methods, product formulations, and processing techniques used to manufacture high-strength silica-based ceramics frequently used in dental restorations such as crowns and bridges. Several companies produce the ceramics with similar formulas and altered processing techniques that differ from the original patented gold standard silica-based ceramic. The properties of these products are not well-documented and could lead to a wide variety of clinical outcomes, depending on the manufacturer. Maharishi aims to provide initial guidelines for use of these ceramics in direct patient care. This is one of two awards this year, and the second year in a row that Iowa Dentistry has received an award.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) awarded Robert Bowers, assistant professor of Family Dentistry, a 2023 Early Career Scholars grant for his project, “A Novel Use of the Periodontal Ligament Injection for Delivery of Extended-Release Periodontal Therapeutics.” These competitive $30,000 awards are intended to help tenure-track assistant professors develop competitive proposals that can secure awards with external funding. As part of the award, the OVPR supplies grant consultation and support, and substantive written critiques to help recipients improve their projects. In the study, Bowers will investigate injections of extended-release therapeutics in the periodontal ligament. Dental practitioners currently use periodontal ligament injection to deliver local anesthesia safely and predictably to the gums and bone surrounding teeth. Bowers hopes to model how modified solutions would flow after injections, aiding in the development of a novel, non-invasive method to deliver regenerative, pain-relieving, or antimicrobial therapeutics. This is the second year in a row that Iowa Dentistry has received an award.