The studies are funded by two grants -- totaling $22 million -- awarded the University of Washington by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health. Washington Dental Service, a member of the Delta Dental Plans Association and Washington state's leading dental benefits provider, will be providing 12 years of data on treatments from WDS member dentists as a critical part of the research studies.
"Washington Dental Service is pleased to be playing a major role in this significant practice-based research," said James D. Dwyer, president and CEO of Washington Dental Service. "Employers will benefit from this collaboration as WDS incorporates the outcomes of this research into our dental plans."
The grants will establish a 150-dentist network across five states -- Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. The network will be called Northwest PRECEDENT, short for the Northwest Practice-based Research Collaborative in Evidence-based Dentistry. The money will also cover the development of a coordinating center to enroll patients in clinical studies through local dentists' offices. Over the seven years, 15-20 clinical studies will be conducted. Research topics will be suggested by the dentists participating in the network.
Dentists in private practice will be involved in developing the research questions, as well as doing all of the clinical treatment. Because the research will include private practitioners in their own offices, adoption of the study's findings should be accelerated.