New York University College of Dentistry Researchers Awarded $13 Million for Caries Study

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has awarded $13.3 million to New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) to study effective and cost-efficient, school-based caries prevention methods. The grant will fund a 5-year study comparing the effectiveness of two caries-prevention techniques — a “simple” treatment of topical silver diamine fluoride and fluoride varnish, and a “complex” treatment of sealants and fluoride varnish. Led by NYU Dentistry’s Richard Niederman, DMD, and Ryan Richard Ruff, MPH, PhD, the team will compare caries prevention programs in 60 high-need elementary schools in the Bronx, an area characterized as having a shortage of oral health care providers and clinics.

Schools will be randomly selected to receive either the simple or complex treatment. All children will receive equal levels of preventive care twice each year. Researchers will assess untreated caries, quality of life and student achievement to compare the outcomes of the simple and complex treatments. Additionally, a collaborative study between NYU Dentistry and NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing will compare care delivered by NYU nurses and NYU dental hygienists. The study builds on to the team’s prior work conducted in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Colorado.

From Decisions in Dentistry. December 2017;3(12):10.