Project Abstract Training in Clinical Dental Research is fundamental to the progress of the profession and patient care. Current opportunities in US dental schools are limited. Our proposal will recruit and train the next generation of Dental Clinician-Scientists. Our project will create a new 2-year MS in Clinical Dental Research, a Clinical Research Network, a Clinical Research Mentorship Pathway, a regional clinical research symposium, and a developmental, multi-site clinical study quantifying the effects of inflammation levels on dental implant success. Our tactic is: Formal and informal training and skills development in clinical dental research, collaborative arrangements with various institutions, facilitation of mentorship relationships, and a development multi-site clinical study. Our overall objective is: to make a substantial impact on the future of clinical dental research through training, collaboration, and mentorship of the clinician-scientists of the future. Our specific aims are: 1: To increase formal clinical research training opportunities, we will develop a new MS program in Clinical Dental Research. This program will produce the next generation of dental clinician-scientists who understand research, are well equipped to contribute, and who actively advance patient outcomes through enhanced implementation of evidence-based care. 2: To expand our research network and capabilities, we will collaborate with multiple partners from other institutions and Augusta University (AU) Colleges. 3: To promote mentoring, we will build a clinical dental research network and resource center consisting of a clinical research mentorship pathway, increased engagement with the DCG student dental research society and DCG FOSTER program, and a repository of available funding, training, and support opportunities available to new clinical investigators. 4: To demonstrate the applicability of practice-based clinical research, we will perform the following developmental, multi-center, 3-year investigation: “Salivary inflammatory marker levels predictive ability for quantified marginal bone loss (MBL) around dental implants and risk of implant failure.” The primary outcome of this study is quantification of the prognostic ability of inflammatory markers in saliva for marginal bone loss around dental implants. Future goals include: 1) collaborative clinical research training opportunities for students, residents, and faculty from other dental colleges, and 2) a robust, largely asynchronous, clinical research certificate training program available remotely.

Project Narrative Training and skills development in clinical dental research are imperative to continued improvements in the quality of oral health care in the US, yet dental schools, residency programs, and clinical faculty are generally lacking in this area. Our proposal aims to improve the current state of such training through development of a 2- year MS in Clinical Dental Research, a Clinical Research Resource Network and Resource Center, a Mentorship Pathway, a regional clinical research symposium, and a multi-site developmental clinical study seeking to improve treatment for dental implant patients. Our multidisciplinary, practice-based research incubator is relevant to the NIDCR’s mission in that it will create the next generation of dental clinician-scientists who will create, improve, and deliver evidence-based care for our patients.