The University of Utah School of Dentistry will lead the profession in dental education, discovery, and outreach to provide comprehensive and value-driven care for each patient
The mission of the University of Utah School of Dentistry is to advance health by:
Providing exceptional care for our patients
Educating excellent dentists for the future
Leading oral health discovery and innovation
Meeting the oral health needs of our community
Making a meaningful impact on the health of our underserved
Creating a humanistic culture that elevates human welfare, values, dignity, equity, and inclusion
When Rena D’Souza landed in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, in September 2017, the soon-to-be-elected 95th president of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) found herself stranded on the airport’s curb. The scent of wood fire drifted through the night air while, across the way, locals slept under blankets. Despite the daunting lack of either the promised reception or an airport official, D’Souza determinedly tracked down an English-speaking security guard who helped her secure a shuttle bus downtown.
The victim of a scheduling glitch at the airport, Dr. D’Souza found herself stood up a second time on the same trip, after a colleague had arranged to take her to see “Lucy,” the world’s oldest female skeleton, only to not show up at the hotel to pick her up. The encounter would have spoken to evolution in the cultural as well as biological sense, as D’Souza has trail-blazed for women in her profession. University of Utah Health’s assistant vice president of academic affairs and education for health sciences has served as a role model for minorities and women in dentistry, working at home and around the world to bring about change in a profession long seen as a male bastion.... Read More
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and American Association for Dental Research (AADR) announced the 2019 recipients of the IADR/AADR William J. Gies Awards, for the best papers published in the IADR/AADR Journal of Dental Research. The awards were presented during the Opening Ceremonies of the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the AADR and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR). The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019.
These awards are presented in three categories: Biological, Biomaterials & Bioengineering and Clinical. The award is named for William J. Gies, the founder of the Journal of Dental Research. Nominations may be made by any person and the papers to be chosen must describe work which has very significantly advanced knowledge in some aspect of dental research. Papers eligible for consideration are those published during the 12-month period (July-June) immediately preceding the AADR Annual Meeting and IADR General Session. The awards consist of a monetary award of $1,000 USD and a plaque. The Gies Award is open to anyone who publishes in the Journal of Dental Research, the official publication of the IADR/AADR.
The award in the Biological Research category was presented to Shihai Jia, Jing Zhou, Yinshen Wee, Marja Mikkola, Pascal Schneider and Rena N. D’Souza for the paper “Anti-EDAR Agonist Antibody Therapy Resolves Palate Defects in Pax9-/- Mice” (J Dent Res 96: 1282-1289).
The award in the Biomaterials and Bioengineering Research category was presented to Kihoon Nam, Ching-Shuen Wang, Christina L. Maruyama, Pedro Lei, Stelios T. Andreadis and Olga J. Baker for the paper “L1 Peptide-Conjugated Fibrin Hydrogels Promote Salivary Gland Regeneration” (J Dent Res 96: 798-806).
The award in the Clinical Research category was presented to Ivor Chestnutt, Rebecca Playle, Simon Hutchings Sarah Morgan-Trimmer, Deborah Fitzsimmons, Nadine Aawar, Lianna Angel, Sharron Derrick, Cheney Drew, Ceri Hoddell, Kerry Hood, Ioan Humphreys, Nigel Kirby, Tin Man Mandy Lau, Catherine Lisles, Maria Zeta Morgan, Simon Murphy, Jacqueline Nuttall, Kateryna Onishchenko, Ceri Phillips, Timothy Pickles, Charlotte Scoble, Julia Townson, Beverley Withers and Barbara Lesley Chadwick for the paper “Fissure Seal or Fluoride Varnish? A Randomised Trial of Their Relative Effectiveness” (J Dent Res 96: 754-761).... Read More
Temperature-responsive polymer grafted tissue culture dishes release cells as confluent living sheets in response to small changes in temperature, with recovered cell sheets retaining cell–cell communications, functional extracellular matrices and tissue-like behaviors. These features promote tissue regeneration and improve transplantation efficacy in various tissues including cartilage, heart, kidney, liver, endometrium, cornea, middle ear, periodontium, and esophageal living sheet transplants. However, the functional effects of cell sheets for salivary gland regeneration to treat hyposalivation have not yet been studied. Thus, the present study aims to both establish the viability of thermoresponsive cell sheets for use in salivary glands and then explore the delivery option (i.e., single vs. multiple layers) that would result in the most complete tissue growth in terms of cell differentiation and recovered tissue integrity. Results indicate that single cell sheets form polarized structures that maintain cell–cell junctions and secretory granules in vitro while layering of two-single cell sheets forms a glandular-like pattern in vitro. Moreover, double layer cell sheets enhance tissue formation, cell differentiation and saliva secretion in vivo. In contrast, single cell sheets demonstrated only modest gains relative to the robust growth seen with the double layer variety. Together, these data verify the utility of thermoresponsive cell sheets for use in salivary glands and indicates the double layer form to provide the best option in terms of cell differentiation and recovered tissue integrity, thereby offering a potential new therapeutic strategy for treating hyposalivation.
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The health care industry is powered by women. Women account for more than 76% of hospital employees, more than 77% of people who work in doctors' offices, and more than 88% of home health workers. When we consider leadership positions - executive or senior level administration - only 16% of health care leadership positions are held by women with only 11% of those positions being held by women of color. In academia, women have earned the majority of doctorates for eight consecutive years but are only 32 percent of full professors and 30 percent of college presidents. On this episode, Dr. Rena D'Souza and Dr. Tamanna Tiwari help us understand why we see such a disparity in our health leadership, their approaches to leadership in male-dominated areas, strategies for identifying mentors, and empowering women in the health workforce.... Read More
School of Dentistry program provides oral health care for our community's most vulnerable as well as invaluable educational experience for dental students.... Read More
A team of researchers at the University of Utah School of Dentistry explored the effect of comprehensive oral care for a more holistic approach to substance use disorder treatment. ... Read More
