UW - NACROHD



	NEWS

(Title TBD)
Edward O’Neil, PhD, MPA, FAAN
Thursday, October 2, 12:30-1:30 PM (tentative time)
Health Sciences Building, Room B-508

Edward O'Neil is a Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences and Social and Behavioral Sciences (School of Nursing) at the University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as the Director of the Center for the Health Professions, a research, advocacy and training institute which he created to assist health care professionals, health professions schools, care delivery organizations and public policy makers understand the challenges and opportunities of educating and managing a health care workforce capable of improving the health and well being of people and their communities. Dr. O'Neil served as the Executive Director of the Pew Health Professions Commission from 1989 through 1999; the Commission was a nationally recognized advocacy group focused on reform in health workforce issues. He has published numerous articles, chapters and books on this and other work. He is or has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, Government of New Zealand, Rockefeller Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Fetzer Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, California HealthCare Foundation as well as a number of federal, state and institutional agencies. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Alabama and a Master’s of Public Administration and Doctorate in History from Syracuse University. In addition he has received honorary degrees from New York Medical College, the Western University of Health Sciences and two other Universities. In 2003 he was elected to an honorary Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing.

"The Relative Contribution of Genetic and Environmental Factors to Oral Diseases. The Twin Study Design"
Dr. Walter Bretz, DDS, PhD
Thursday, October 23, 12:30-1:30 PM
Health Sciences Building, Room B-508

Dr. Walter Bretz is Associate Professor of Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry in the Department of Cariology & Comprehensive Care. He is the Director of the Twins Program in Genetics Research and Co-Director of the Laboratory for Microbial Genetic Analysis at NYUCD. Dr. Bretz has been involved in a number of studies of the etiology and treatment of dental caries and periodontal diseases and their subsequent role in medical diseases. More recently, Dr. Bretz has focused his research in understanding the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to oral diseases and treatment responses do dental therapies.

"Documenting the natural history of oral health and disease through the first three decades of life – some findings from the Dunedin study"
W. Murray Thomson, BSc, BDS, McomDent, MA, PhD, FICD
Thursday, December 11, 12:30-1:30 PM
Health Sciences Building, Room B-508

W. Murray Thomson is Professor of Dental Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and Editor of the New Zealand Dental Journal and an Associate Editor for Special Care in Dentistry. He undertakes most of his work in collaboration with other researchers, because he believes strongly that the answers to health problems do not lie wholly within the bounds of any single discipline or research tradition, and that diverse groups of researchers are able to arrive at insights that would otherwise be missed. Much of Thomson’s research output is concerned with social inequalities in oral health, as well as the natural history of oral diseases. His epidemiological and clinical research encompasses a wide range of oral conditions, problems and settings (most notably in the fields of gerodontology, dental caries and tooth loss, periodontal disease, dental anxiety and xerostomia). He is the dental principal investigator on the renowned Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.

Recent News:

Dentophobia is Often Ignored or Dismissed

The Dental Fears Research Clinic at the UW and Dr. Peter Milgrom are quoted prominently in a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article about anxiety-free dentistry. The article says more than 20 million Americans avoid the dentist out of fear.

<Read More>

Chewing Over Sweetener Claims

Can gum, candy and mints actually be good for your teeth? Producers of products made with a natural sugar substitute called xylitol say the sweetener interferes with cavity-causing bacteria. Dentists say xylitol does have powerful anticavity action, but warn that many products in the U.S. don't contain enough of it to be effective. Full story in the Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2006.

<Click here to download the Wall Street Journal interview with Disparity Center Director, Peter Milgrom>

Want To Fight Cavities? Eat Gummi Bears!

The staff at KOMO 4 News did a double take when they saw a local ad for the Disparity Center's gummi bear study.

A New Clue to Tooth Decay

Disparity Center Researchers find a new clue to tooth decay that could lead to advances in screening children at high risk of dental disease. Full story on KING 5 news 10/29.

<read news story>

Center Director Participates in Dental Assistant Training in Saipan

Dr. Peter Milgrom joined Dr. Ohnmar Tut, a preventive services dentist and WHO consultant, in the Commonweath of the Northern Marianas Islands in August to discuss dental preventive services with dental assistants there.