‘Michigan Research’ features video about Fontana caries study2 min read
Ann Arbor, Mich., Aug. 28, 2019 – A clinical trial researching childhood caries, led by Dr. Margherita Fontana at the School of Dentistry, is featured in a video presented with this month’s Michigan Research electronic newsletter.
The University of Michigan Office of Research distributes its monthly e-newsletter, which showcases a variety of campus research projects, to more than 105,000 recipients, including U-M faculty and staff, federal legislators and agencies, industry partners, peer institutions and the media.
The video describes a Phase 3 randomized clinical trial that Fontana and her research team are conducting to test the effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) in arresting caries, also known as cavities, in children ages 2-5. About 23 percent of children between those ages have cavities, but traditional oral treatment can be costly and sometimes traumatic for young children. SDF is being studied because it is an easy, painless and relatively inexpensive treatment compared to traditional methods.
Fontana is the Clifford T. Nelson Endowed Professor of Dentistry in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at the dental school. She is recognized internationally as a leading scientist in the field of cariology, the study of tooth decay and how cavities develop and can be controlled. She has an extensive clinical research background in childhood caries management.
The research featured in the video is one of two long-term studies being led by Fontana that are funded with $18.3 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. The other study, which began clinical examinations in July 2018, expands research into predicting caries risk in young children.
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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu. Contact: Lynn Monson, associate director of communications, at [email protected], or (734) 615-1971.