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2007 News

Evidence-Based Dentistry Champion Conference and Reviewer Program
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

There is a new program that supports the dental profession's evidence-based dentistry (EBD) efforts. There will be an evidence-based dentistry conference held in Chicago in May 2008. Click here to visit their website for further information.

The EBD web site currently includes a searchable directory of systemic reviews, a glossary of terms and additional EBD resources. This site is an interim resource as the ADA develops an enhanced EBD Web site with grant support from the National Library of Medicine and NIDCR. An important part of the new web site content will be critical summaries of systematic reviews and additional EBD resources. The ADA is currently conducting a search for dentists who may want to become ADA Evidence Reviewers. Evidence Reviewers will develop critical summaries of systematic reviews on dental and oral health care topics.

Critical summaries will provide dental professionals with concise, user-friendly analyses of published systematic reviews as a resource that may be considered in the clinical decision-making process. Each critical summary will be no longer than 1200 words, and will include a critical evaluation of the systematic review and a commentary on how the results of the systematic review may be integrated into clinical decision-making. The commentary will also discuss the practical relevance of the systematic review.

All critical summaries will be published on the ADA’s new EBD Web site, and a subset of the critical summaries will also be published in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). All evidence reviewers will receive authorship credit for those critical summaries that are published through the EBD Web site and/or JADA.

Participation in the Evidence Reviewer program will provide career mentoring and professional development through enhancing the participants’ critical thinking skills and knowledge of evidence-based dentistry. The two-day training workshop on critiquing a systematic review and writing a critical summary will be held twice in 2008. Applicants will be asked to specify their preferred session. One session will be held in Dallas, Texas on March 27-28, 2008 and another in Chicago, IL on June 23-24, 2008.

Evidence Reviewers will receive mentoring and feedback after the workshop to develop their skills in preparation of the critical summaries. Evidence Reviewers will also have access to the resources that will be available on the EBD Web site portal, a section of the Web site that will only be available to individuals that contribute content to the Web site.

Evidence Reviewer candidates should be dentists or dental researchers; advanced education or experience in clinical research, EBD or a related field is desirable but not necessary. Such individuals may be faculty members, adjunct faculty members, PBRN practitioner-investigators or practitioners interested in and supportive of EBD. Evidence Reviewers will be required to write 10 critical summaries over a two–year period of time.

The participants will be responsible for their travel and lodging expenses but if selected for the program, the seminar is free-of-charge and participants will also receive continuing education credit.

Interested parties should submit their curriculum vitae by January 8, 2008 to: American Dental Association Dr. Donalda Ellek 211 E. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL. 60611 [email protected]

FDA Public Health Notification: Patient Burns from Electric Dental Handpieces
Thursday, December 13, 2007

The FDA recently published a Public Health notification regarding patient burns from dental handpieces. Click here to view the FDA website for the original notification. Click here to view the updated version. You can also choose to view a pdf of the original and the updated notifications.

DPBRN Presentation at the Birmingham (Alabama) District Dental Society Meeting
Monday, December 10, 2007

Dr. James Sanderson Jr. has participated in DPBRN study "Assessment of caries diagnosis and caries treatment" and "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces", has let two DPBRN faculty tour his office to learn about his system of electronic photographs and dental records, and has helped contribute to the design of the latter study. He also recruited his partner, Dr. Holt Gray, to participate in "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces". An active DPBRN practitioner-investigator, his private practice is in Hoover, Alabama. He and Dr. Gregg Gilbert, DPBRN Network Chair, gave presentations to the Birmingham District Dental Society Meeting on December 4, 2007.

Dr. Sanderson presented results from DPBRN study "Assessment of Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment" and then discussed his rewarding experiences with doing DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces". Dr. Sanderson encouraged all attendees at the meeting to enroll in DPBRN because doing so will help improve their clinical practice and make it more rewarding and appreciated by their patients. Additional comments from Dr. Sanderson can be found in his testimonial at the DPBRN web site. Click here to to read the testimonials.

Dr. Gilbert gave a presentation entitled "Real-world research in private practice” and discussed the goals and the many accomplishments of DPBRN so far. He also spoke about the benefits to participating in DPBRN as reported by DPBRN practitioner-investigators themselves.

Dr. Gilbert introduced Sherry Sutphin, DPBRN Regional Coordinator. He also introduced Dr. Sonia Makhija, DPBRN Director of Communications.

He then recognized four BDDS members in the audience who had participated in the study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces": Dr. James Sanderson Jr. and Dr. Holt Gray of Hoover, AL; Dr. Gerry Walker of Trussville, AL; and Dr. Janice Jackson of Birmingham, AL. Dr. Sanderson received his certificate for completion of DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permament tooth surfaces".

Fall/Winter 2007 DPBRN Newsletter
Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The Fall/Winter 2007 DPBRN Newsletter will be mailed out this week. Please click here to view the newsletter.

Article regarding intravenous bisphosphonate use and ONJ published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published an article on IV bisphosphonate use and ONJ. Below you will find a summary. Click here to to read the entire article.

The authors of this article present data on osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) from the largest cohort of bisphosphonate (BP) users to date.

Methods: Data were drawn from a tumor registry known as the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) and the Medicare claims database. These data included demographic information and tumor characteristics for all patients diagnosed with cancer in approximately 30% of the United States. The search was restricted to patients who had intravenous zoledronic acid (Zometa TM) or pamidronate (Aredia TM) administered for hypercalcemia and/or bone metastases. No other BP medications were included.

Surrogate markers for ONJ were used, as there is no current coding for this condition. The authors identified over 14 thousand BP users and matched them at a 1:2 ratio with more than 28 thousand non-users. Cases were matched with controls for age, gender, disease and geographic location.

Significant results: The number of patients treated with intravenous BP increased from 170 in 1995 to 5348 in 2003. At 6 years, 5.48% of BP users have been diagnosed with one of the surrogate codes as opposed to 0.30% among the non-users. This difference was highly significant, even after adjusting the analyses for other potential risk factors such as use of steroids or metastatic disease. Increases in the risk of jaw conditions were noted with increases in the cumulative BP dose. Each one dose increase in BP received in the first 12 months of treatment was associated with an 8% increase in the risk of any adverse jaw outcome. No clear association was found between any other variables and risk for jaw disease.

Conclusions: This study has several limitations, including its retrospective nature and the use of surrogate codes for identifying ONJ. Nevertheless, it is both the largest and the most complete study of risk of ONJ associated with intravenous BP use. It is worth noting that the above-mentioned limitations may have lead to an underestimation of the risk association. Even though causality has not been established, this large study strongly suggests that BP therapy is a significant risk factor for development of ONJ in cancer patients. Future studies will have to assess the connection of these findings to dental therapy.

New Principal Investigator appointed for the Florida/Georgia region of DPBRN
Friday, November 30, 2007

Valeria Gordan DDS, MS, MSCI has been appointed Principal Investigator of the Florida/Georgia region of the DPBRN, effective November 2007. Dr. Gordan received her dental degree from the State University of Londrina in Brazil in 1993, a Master of Sciences degree and Certificate in Operative Dentistry from The University of Iowa, and a Master of Sciences in Clinical Investigation degree from the University of Florida. She has been with the Department of Operative Dentistry at the University of Florida for over 10 years. She has been active in DPBRN since its inception and is the Principal Investigator for Studies: "Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment", "Reason for placing the first restoration on a previously unrestored permanent tooth surfaces", "Reasons for repair and replacement of dental restorations", and " Longitudinal follow-up of dental restorations". Congratulations Dr. Gordan!

Second annual meeting for HealthPartners and Minnesota DPBRN practitioner-investigators
Monday, November 19, 2007

HealthPartners and Minnesota DPBRN practitioner-investigators held their second annual meeting on October 25, 2007. The meeting was held at Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. This year’s meeting was well attended, with almost forty practitioners in attendance. A new early-bird format was introduced this year. The early session gave attendees the opportunity to hear information about our current ONJ studies by Dr. Brad Rindal (HealthPartners staff dentist and Principal Investigator of the HP/MN region), future studies planned in the network by Dr. Gregg Gilbert (DPBRN Network Chair) and results from the enrollment questionnaire by Dr. Mike Bauer (HP/MN practitioner-investigator).

At the evening session, DPBRN study "Assessment of caries diagnosis and caries treatment" results were presented. This study is a survey of dentists regarding the assessment of caries risk, caries diagnosis and caries treatment among DPBRN practitioner-investigators. The data were presented by Drs. Pat Foy, Don Worley and Robin Yardiac (all HP/MN practitioner-investigators). Practitioner-investigators gathered in small groups after each presentation and discussed the results. The small group discussions were then shared with the larger group and new ideas for analysis were generated. The attendees also heard from Drs. Mark Litaker and Gregg Gilbert from the University of Alabama and Dr. Don DeNucci from NIDCR. Merry Jo Thoele, Regional Coordinator, presented updates related to DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces" and congratulated practitioner-investigators who have completed this study. The DPBRN members present at the meeting elected Dr. Pat Foy as the practitioner-investigator representative to the Executive Committee for the HP/MN region. Attending practitioner-investigators gave very positive feedback and found the meeting to be worthwhile.

Dr. Patrick Foy elected to the DPBRN Executive Committee
Thursday, November 08, 2007

Patrick Foy, DDS was elected as the new practitioner-investigator representative on the DPBRN Executive Committee for the HP/MN region at its annual regional meeting in Minneapolis, MN on October 25, 2007. Dr. Foy will begin this position after the November 30, 2007 meeting of the Executive Committee and his term will run from 2007-2010. He will be replacing Brad Rindal, DDS, who has served as the HP/MN representative from 2005-2007. Dr. Foy has been in a full-time private practice in Minneapolis for 26 years and served as President of the Minnesota Dental Association from 2004-2005. He is currently serving as a delegate for the American Dental Association House of Delegates.

Fall 2007 Newsletter of the Federation of Practice-Based Research Networks (FPBRN)
Monday, October 22, 2007

The FPBRN is an organization that serves as a communication link for various practice-based research networks. The FPBRN promotes the growth and development of clinical investigation in practice settings in primary care medicine. The FPBRN:

• Advocates for practice-based research;
• Builds capacity for practice-based research; and
• Fosters collaboration and communication among networks

Their Fall 2007 newsletter includes a “Practice Facilitators’ Corner” (Page 4) which asks PBRNs for their feedback to the following question: “What does it take for you to establish long-term relationships with your practices and what methods do you use to become part of a new practice team?” Sherry Sutphin, DPBRN Regional Coordinator at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry, responded to this question.

Please click here to view the newsletter.

The DPBRN Protocol Review Committee approved DPBRN studies "Patient satisfaction with dental restorations" and "Prevalence of questionable occlusal caries lesions"
Monday, October 08, 2007

On August 28, 2007 the DPBRN Protocol Review Committee approved DPBRN study "Patient satisfaction with dental restorations") and DPBRN study “Prevalence of questionable occlusal carious lesions”).

"Patient satisfaction with dental restorations" will comprise a patient satisfaction questionnaire that will be given to patients once their restorations are done in DPBRN study "Reasons for replacement and repair of restorations”. Additionally, because of recommendations from DPBRN practitioner-investigators while "Patient satisfaction with dental restorations" was being designed, practitioner-investigators who are doing study "Reasons for replacement and repair of restorations" will also complete a brief questionnaire about the dental visit and this will be linked (but reported anonymously) to what patients report about their satisfaction with the restorative dental visit. DPBRN study "Patient satisfaction with dental restorations" will be directed by Dr. Joseph Riley at the University of Florida. Recruitment for this study should begin in 2008. We expect to enroll between 100 and 200 practitioners for this study.

Practitioner-investigators doing "Prevalence of questionable occlusal caries lesions" will record the number of occlusal carious lesions that they consider “questionable”, which will be defined as having no radiographic evidence of occlusal caries, but which have some type of clinical indication of possible occlusal caries. These lesions will then be followed over the subsequent two-year period to see if they progress, or if a restoration is done, what its outcome is. THis study will be directed by Dr. Sonia Makhija at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Recruitment for this study should begin in 2008. We expect to enroll 75 practitioners for this study.

DPBRN Presentation at the Mobile (Alabama) District Dental Society Meeting
Thursday, September 13, 2007

Dr. George J. Allen, a very active DPBRN practitioner-investigator, whose practice is in Mobile, AL, and Dr. Gregg Gilbert, DPBRN Network Chair, gave presentations to the Mobile District Dental Society Meeting on September 10, 2007.

Dr. Allen presented results from DPBRN study "Assessment of Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment" and then discussed his rewarding experiences with doing DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces".

Dr. Allen spoke about the impact of DPBRN on dentistry and how his office is contributing to that impact. He encouraged all dentists to participate in DPBRN, and two Mobile-area practitioners, Dr. Roberto Pischek and Dr. Charles T. Yarbrough, used the meeting as an opportunity to meet with DPBRN staff face-to-face to finalize all their paperwork to begin "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces". Additional comments from Dr. Allen can be found in his testimonial at the DPBRN web site. Click here to read the testimonials.

Dr. Gilbert gave a presentation entitled "iParticipate: the Dental PBRN and doing research in your busy practice” and discussed the goals and the many accomplishments of DPBRN so far. He also spoke about the benefits to participating in DPBRN as reported by DPBRN practitioner-investigators themselves. Click here to read the about the benefits of participating in DPBRN as well as other frequently asked questions.

Dr. Gilbert then introduced Sherry Sutphin, DPBRN Regional Coordinator. Sherry Sutphin introduced DPBRN practitioner-investigators Dr. George J. Allen, Dr. Forrest Crabtree, and Dr. G. Michael Maitre Jr., and presented them with certificates for having completed DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces". Dr. Charles Keith of Saraland and Dr. James Martin of Mobile have also completed this study but were unable to attend the meeting. Congratulations to these Mobile area dentists for completing this study!

Summer 2007 DPBRN Newsletter
Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Summer 2007 DPBRN Quarterly Newsletter will be mailed out this week.

Please click here to access an electronic version.

DPBRN featured in UAB Dentistry Magazine
Sunday, July 15, 2007

The Spring 2007 issue of the UAB Dentistry Magazine features an article on DPBRN. In it, they interview DPBRN practitioner-investigators for their perspective on the network, as well as discuss its impact on dentistry. Click here to view the article.

Practice-Based Research Network Fellowship Available
Monday, July 09, 2007

The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Cancer Institute is funding a first-of-its-kind fellowship program to train clinicians in practice-based research methods and in cancer control research. This 2-to 3-year full-time fellowship position is in the Family Medicine Department at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, OH, and is available to primary care physicians, dentists, and doctorally prepared advanced practice nurses. Click here for more information and to apply.

DPBRN Presentation at the Alabama Dental Society Meeting
Friday, June 08, 2007

Dr. Sonia Makhija, DPBRN Director of Communications, presented the latest DPBRN information at the Alabama Dental Society Meeting in Sandestin, FL, June 8th, 2007 at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The Alabama Dental Society is the Alabama chapter of the National Dental Association (http://www.ndaonline.org/). A total of 27 dentists from across Alabama were in attendance. Dr. Makhija presented the latest results from the DPBRN Enrollment Questionnaire and DPBRN study "Assessment of Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment". These findings generated a lot of interest and discussion. The attendees were particularly interested in differences in treatment between the Alabama and Scandinavian practitioners, as well as across all of DPBRN's five regions. Clearly, this was an excellent topic for the network's first study.

Spring 2007 DPBRN Newsletter
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The Spring 2007 DPBRN Quarterly Newsletter will be mailed out this week.

Please click here to access an electronic version.

Updated guidelines recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for fewer dental patients
Thursday, May 17, 2007

This news story from the ADA news posted April 19, 2007, discusses the revised guidelines for antibiotic prohylaxis in the dental office. The new guidelines include reducing the number of patients who have to be pre-medicated.

Click here to view the news story.

DPBRN presents poster at PBRN National Research Conference
Thursday, May 17, 2007

Dr. Gregg Gilbert, DPBRN Network Chair, presented a poster about DPBRN's experiences with the Institutional Review Board process at the 2007 Practice-Based Research Networks National Research Conference May 16-18, 2007, in Bethesda, Maryland. This is an annual research conference of PBRNs. Mainly in attendance are persons involved in medical primary care PBRNs.

A DPBRN representative has attended this annual meeting each year for the past four years. Also in attendance this year were Dr. Donald DeNucci, NIDCR Program Director for the three NIDCR-funded PBRNs, and Dr. Frederick Curro, Executive Management Team member of the PEARL network (www.pearlnetwork.org/). Our collective assessment is that since their funding period began in April 2005, the three NIDCR-funded dental PBRNs have clearly "caught up" with the medical PBRNs and are breaking new ground for the entire field of PBRN research.

The meeting's web site is located here (external site).

Click here to view the poster.

Overview of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ)
Monday, May 14, 2007

The ADA recently published a news article regarding Bisphosphonate medications and their link to ONJ. Included are the list of medications associated with ONJ and treatment guidlines.

Click here to read the overview.

Click here to read the treatment guidelines.

Table Clinic at the Minnesota Star of the North Dental Meeting
Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Dr. Brad Rindal and Merry Jo Thoele, MPH, RDH presented a table clinic at the Minnesota Star of the North Dental Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota, April 28-30.

DPBRN presents to the NIDCR PBRN National Monitoring Committee
Friday, April 27, 2007

When it funded three dental PBRNs in 2005, NIDCR formed the PBRN National Monitoring Committee. This committee meets twice each year to review progress of the PBRNs and to provide feedback to the Principal Investigators (Network Chair and Coordinating Center) and the NIDCR PBRN Program Director. The Committee includes representatives from several stakeholder groups, including professional organizations (e.g., the American Dental Association), a public advocacy member, and specific content experts, such as two directors of medical PBRNs and an expert in dental informatics. For DPBRN, the Monitoring Committee functions as an external advisory board. DPBRN submitted a 25-page progress report to the committee before the meeting. The committee meeting was held April 27, 2007 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. DPBRN was represented by Dr. Paul Benjamin, practitioner-investigator representative, Dr. Gregg Gilbert, DPBRN Network Chair, and Dr. Dale Williams, Principal Investigator of the DPBRN Coordinating Center. Dr. Benjamin is in full-time private practice in Miami, Florida and is a member of the DPBRN Executive Committee.

Dr. Gilbert gave a presentation entitled "Update on overall DPBRN progress". Dr. Williams gave a presentation on "The DPBRN practitioner-investigator training and IRB process". Dr. Benjamin gave a presentation on "The DPBRN Executive Committee".

The Monitoring Committee was pleased with the progress of all the PBRNs and made some specific recommendations to maximize the long-term impact of this initiative.

First annual meeting for Alabama and Mississippi DPBRN practitioner-investigators
Monday, March 26, 2007

Alabama and Mississippi DPBRN practitioner-investigators held their first annual meeting on March 9 and 10, 2007 at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa in Hoover, AL (http://www.rossbridgeresort.com). More than 70 practitioners attended to discuss DPBRN studies and share their experiences.

Dr. Gregg Gilbert, DPBRN Network Chair, introduced AL/MS DPBRN staff and gave an overview of DPBRN progress to date. Dr. Donald DeNucci of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov), one of the institutes of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.gov), presented important background information on dental PBRNs and provided a national perspective for the conference.

Dr. Edward Bozeman, a private practitioner from Columbus, MS, presented results from the DPBRN enrollment questionnaire, and concluded that DPBRN practitioner-investigators have much in common with dentists nationally. Dr. Martha Wallace, a private practitioner from Birmingham, AL, presented her experiences on the DPBRN Executive Committee, which is the main decision-making body of DPBRN. She concluded that the function of the Executive Committee is what places DPBRN practitioner-investigators in the driver's seat! Dr. Wallace also shared her successes with doing DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces"; she was the first AL/MS practitioner-investigator to finish this study. Dr. Allen Kessler, a private practitioner from Fairfield, AL, presented the latest results on DPBRN study "Assessment of Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment". Findings from this study generated a lot of interest and discussion. Attendees were especially interested in the substantial differences between DPBRN practitioner-investigators in the network's five regions. Clearly, this was an excellent topic for the network's first study!

Drs. Harold Emmons (Alabaster, AL), Martha Wallace (Birmingham, AL), and Edward Bozeman (Columbus, MS) all received their certificates for completing DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces" (see photograph). Congratulations to all three for being at the forefront of research on daily clinical practice!

Attendees separated into 8 small groups to discuss 5 topics: (1) using DPBRN research findings to improve daily clinical practice; (2) feedback on the planned DPBRN study "Prevalence of questionable occlusal caries lesions"; (3) feedback on the planned DPBRN study "Restoration of endodontically-treated teeth"; (4) ideas for future DPBRN research projects; and (5) feedback on the planned DPBRN study "Study of dentinal cracks". When the groups re-convened to summarize their discussions, the information from each breakout session was thought-provoking. Thanks to all attendees for putting so much energy into the breakout sessions! Thanks also to the 8 DPBRN practitioner-investigators who led each of the 8 groups (Drs. George Allen, Mobile, AL; Gerald Anderson, Selma, AL; Edward Bozeman, Columbus, MS; Robert Connor, Birmingham, AL; Bruce Cunningham, Jacksonville, AL; Harold Emmons, Alabaster, AL; Allen Kessler, Birmingham, AL; and Martha Wallace, Birmingham, AL).

Practitioner-investigators were very interested in future opportunities to discuss practice-based research with practitioners from the other DPBRN regions and to compare procedures and outcomes. Overall, based on evaluation forms completed by the attendees, the event was a big success and provided a fun opportunity to share information about ongoing and planned studies. Many thanks to DPBRN staff for their hard work, as well as to all of the practitioner-investigators, for making the AL/MS region's first annual meeting a great success!

DPBRN present at the International Association for Dental Research Annual Meeting
Friday, March 23, 2007

The annual meeting for the International Association for Dental Research was held in New Orleans, LA March 21st-24th, 2007. Dr. Ivar Mjör presented a lecture entitled "Study Organization and Development: The DPBRN Network Experience" at the symposium entitled "Practice-Based Research: What's It All About?". This was an opportunity to meet with all 3 PBRNs funded by NIDCR, as well as to hear about dental PBRNs in Europe. Dr. Martha Wallace, a practitioner-investigator and Executive Committee member from Birmingham, AL represented DPBRN in the panel discussion. The symposium was well-attended with many audience members inquiring about topics such as balancing private practice and research, compensation, and incorporating these studies in day-to-day practice.

DPBRN Enrollment Data Poster wins First Place!
Friday, March 07, 2007

Kellen Spivey, Student Research Assistant at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry, won 1st place for his poster entitled "Dental PBRN Enrollment Questionnaire Results" at the School of Dentistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Scholar’s Day Symposium.

Congratulations, Kellen! Click here to view the poster.

Article in Florida Dental Association Journal on DPBRN
Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Hugh Wunderlich DDS CS, editor of the FDA Journal, Today, wrote an article on the importance and impact of DPBRN in its February 2007 issue. Click here to read the article.

Changes in the Informed Consent Process for DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces" Practitioner-Investigators in Florida and Georgia
Tuesday, March 06, 2007

When DPBRN study "Reasons for Placing the First Restoration on Permanent Tooth Surfaces" first began in the Florida/Georgia region in early 2007, 9 pages of written informed consent documents needed to be signed. Early feedback from DPBRN practitioner-investigators and the study patients was that this was a cumbersome process, and did not effectively foster all the objectives for the informed consent process. Following discussions between DPBRN and the University of Florida Institutional Review Board (IRB), the University of Florida IRB agreed to allow practitioner-investigators from Florida and Georgia to obtain informed consent with a shortened version, 2 pages, thereby reducing the amount of paperwork needed to enroll patients in the study. We appreciate your feedback and are working hard to ensure that DPBRN studies integrate easily into your daily clinical practice routines.

DPBRN Presentation at the University of Minnesota Continuing Dental Education Winter Hygiene Seminar
Friday, February 23, 2007

Merry Jo Thoele, MPH RDH,regional coordinator for the Minnesota DPBRN practitioners, was one of the speakers at the University of Minnesota Continuing Dental Education Winter Dental Hygiene Seminar on February 23, 2007. The program focused on alternative careers in Dental Hygiene. The title of her presentation was “Research Opportunities in Dental Hygiene.” There were 175 attendees for this important topic.

Alumni Weekend for the School of Dentistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Sherry Sutphin (right), Research Assistant and DPBRN Regional Coordinator, exhibited at the School of Dentistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Alumni Weekend February 9th and 10th at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, AL. She displayed information about DPBRN study “Reasons for Placing a Restoration on a Permanent Tooth Surface” and answered questions. Also present was Dr. Andreea Griffin, DDS, MBA, MSHA, Postdoctoral Fellow (left) who is currently working on recruiting cases for DPBRN study “CONDOR study of ONJ”. There were 1500 dentists and dental students that attended.

Florida Dental Association Newsletter discusses the DPBRN FL/GA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The Florida Dental Association discusses the 1st Annual FL/GA DPBRN Meeting held in early January in the latest edition of its newsletter. Click here to view the story entitled "DPBRN Makes Research Relevant to Day-To-Day Practice".

Changes in the Informed Consent Process for DPBRN study "Reasons for placing the first restoration on permanent tooth surfaces" Practitioner-Investigators in Alabama and Mississippi
Monday, January 29, 2007

When DPBRN study "Reasons for Placing the First Restoration on Permanent Tooth Surfaces" first began in the Alabama/Mississippi region in 2006, 3 sets of written informed consent documents needed to be signed. Early feedback from DPBRN practitioner-investigators and study patients was that this was a cumbersome process, and did not effectively foster all the objectives for the informed consent process. Following discussions between DPBRN and the UAB Institutional Review Board (IRB), the UAB IRB agreed to allow practitioner-investigators from Alabama and Mississippi to obtain informed consent verbally from these participants, thereby reducing the amount of paperwork needed to enroll patients in the study. Also, the HIPAA form also longer needs to be signed by participants. We appreciate your feedback and are working hard to ensure that DPBRN studies integrate easily into your daily clinical practice routines.

First Annual Meeting of the Florida/Georgia DPBRN practitioner-investigators
Monday, January 15, 2007

The Annual Meeting of the Florida/Georgia Region of DPBRN was held on January 5th and 6th 2007 at the Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel in Gainesville, FL. Thirty-eight practitioners attended. Speakers presented information on the network and requirements for doing research with human participants. Dr. Martha Wallace, DPBRN member and practitioner from Birmingham Alabama, provided practitioners with information on the impact of doing research in private practice. Dr. Paul Benjamin, who represents the Florida region of DPBRN on the Executive Committee, talked with the group about the structure of DPBRN and how decisions are made by the EC regarding study approvals and other DPBRN business. After the presentations, the practitioners met in small groups to discuss a variety of topics for possible future studies. These topics were: Xerostomia – Geriatric or medication induced, Dental Materials, Endo vs Implants, Cracked tooth syndrome, and Marginal integrity/leakage/longevity. Discussion was lively with many suggestions, and participant feedback indicated that more time could have been allowed for discussion. Presentations were given by a moderator from each breakout group to the group at large. Practitioners were enthusiastic to get started with the in-office research and expressed the desire for more time for discussion and interaction with colleagues at the next annual meeting.

Winter 2007 DPBRN Newsletter
Monday, January 08, 2007

The Winter DPBRN Quarterly Newsletter will be mailed out this week. Please click here to access an electronic version.