University of Michigan School of Dentistry faculty member Livia Tenuta receives IADR’s Borrow Award3 min read

Ann Arbor, Mich., March 20, 2024 – University of Michigan School of Dentistry faculty member Livia Tenuta has received an award for her research related to children’s oral health.

The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) last week presented Tenuta with its E.W. Borrow Memorial Award at its annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The award was established to recognize and stimulate research in oral health promotion for children, with a priority for caries prevention where fluoride in different formats is utilized. Selection is based on the originality of contributions and record of achievement in the field of oral health promotion and on the significance of research carried out on the oral health of children. Basic research, applied clinical research and clinical investigation are considered in presenting the award.

Dr. Tenuta is an Associate Professor at the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at the dental school. Her research interests and the focus of more than 90 peer-reviewed articles include the mechanism of action of different methods of fluoride use in caries prevention, and the impact of dietary sugars on the dental biofilm cariogenicity. She is currently working on new strategies to enhance the anticaries effect of fluoride and to reduce the oral health burden of hyposalivation.

Tenuta joined the school in 2018 after teaching and doing research in her native Brazil. She received her Doctorate of Dental Science degree in 1997 and a master’s degree in Pediatric Dentistry in 2001, both from the University of Sao Paulo. She earned a doctorate degree in Cariology from the University of Campinas in 2005, where she was an Associate Professor before joining U-M.

She has received other awards from the IADR previously – the Basil Bibby Award for research in cariology from the IADR Cariology Group in 2014, and the IADR Innovation in Oral Care Award for 2022, along with co-investigators Joerg Lahann and Brian Clarkson. In 2022, she helped update the IADR position statement on individual and professional methods of fluoride use. She has held leadership roles in various boards and positions within the IADR, the European Organization for Caries Research, and the American Academy of Cariology, among others.

The IADR has more than 10,000 members who focus on dental, oral and craniofacial research to improve the health and well-being of people around the world.

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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral healthcare 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.