Spring 2013 - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

on campus
vaLUabLe, continued from page 40
on best practices, she said. Too often, answers
to such questions as “Should you premedicate
patients who have had joint replacements”
are hard to come by, because existing studies
have not produced clear-cut results.
“Until you have a significant pool of
papers … that are high-quality research
papers with good design with good controls
. . . sometimes, frustratingly, we don’t
have the answers,” she said.
Unfortunately, good research is
hindered by many obstacles, including
lack of funding.
The federal budget sequestration cuts
that went into effect in March meant
that the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research, which supports
more than 1,000 research projects, lost $21
million off its books overnight.
“Speak up to your policymakers,” urged
O’Loughlin, “because they undervalue
oral health in general, and they certainly
don’t understand the value of research in
the dental profession.”
Practicing dentists, themselves, sometimes
need a push toward appreciating
evidence-based research. To make knowledge
more accessible, the ADA’s Center
for Evidence-Based Dentistry conducts
systematic reviews of the scientific literature
to help dentists integrate up-to-date
evidence into patient care. “So that you
don’t have to read 200 papers and figure
that out,” O’Loughlin said, “we will do
that for you.”
Rajvir Jutla, D14, presents his research
to Tufts President anthony Monaco at the
bates-andrews Research Day
4
5
4 John Lee, D14,
presents his project
to Sung M. Chi, DG14,
from the postgraduate
prosthodontics program.
5 aundrea vereen, D11,
a student in the postgraduate
prosthodontics
program, and Michael
Thompson, professor
of diagnosis and health
promotion.
42 tufts dental medicine spring 2013
photos: kelvin ma