About the Center

NACROHD was created in 2002 by joint grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) as one of five national Centers to Reduce Oral Health Disparities. The creation of these centers— the single largest expenditure in the history of the NIDCR— represents a firm commitment to reducing disparities in oral health across the nation.

This Center’s core research projects cover underserved populations in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, with outreach extending to Idaho and Montana. Other Centers are located at the University of California San Francisco, the University of Michigan, Boston University and New York University.

The Region

The Pacific Northwest and Alaska comprise an extensive region with diverse populations. Many of our population groups face significant oral health problems exacerbated by limited access to health care. Our youngest children have the severest problems. The region stretches from the urban areas of Western Washington State and Seattle to the agricultural areas of Washington, Idaho, Montana and the remote villages of Alaska. Its diverse racial and cultural populations include Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and White Americans. The region is home to growing numbers of immigrants. These groups have been identified in Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General as carrying a much greater disease burden and receiving fewer health care services than other parts of the U.S. population. This research center was created with the exclusive intent to address the unique oral health problems of this diverse and expansive region.

Approach

In creating the Center we have tried to push our focus beyond the traditional practices. This Center represents a nontraditional collaboration of clinical and basic scientists, behavioral scientists, and experts in clinical microbiology and biometry that we believe is unique in most oral health research and is needed to address the complex problems at the root of oral health disparity.

Current research projects in the Center focus on a variety of topics including orthodontic intervention under Medicaid, adolescent dental avoidance and dental fear in rural communities, socio-biological boundaries in oral health and microbiological studies of the effects of xylitol and of beta defensins in caries-prone children.