COMING UP

Indiana University School of Dentistry
Calendar of Events

November 2004

Recognition Month for IUSD's
Research Staff

Orders for the 2005 edition of the PHYSICIANS' DESK REFERENCE must be placed by 5 p.m. today if they are to be included in the Library's group order (therefore making the book available to you at a reduced cost). For more information, call Kirk Smith at 274-7204.

ELECTION POLLS ARE OPEN from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

RESEARCH DAY ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, noon-1 p.m. in DS S421

IUPUI FACULTY COUNCIL, 3:30-5:30 p.m. in IH 100

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Student Research Subcommittee's Nov. 17th meeting

IUPUI HEALTH AND BENEFITS FAIR, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at University Place Conference Center. Free health and fitness screenings and information. All IUPUI employees and students are welcome. For more information, go to www.hra.iupui.edu.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL RADIOLOGY annual session, Denver, Colo.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF IMPLANT DENTISTRY annual meeting, New York, N.Y.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF GOLD FOIL OPERATORS annual meeting, Palm Springs, Calif., and Loma Linda University School of Dentistry

CE course ORAL HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS FOR HOME USE, by Ms. Karen Baker. Call 278-9000.

INDIANA DENTAL HYGIENISTS' ASSOCIATION 58th annual session, Sheraton Hotel, Keystone Crossing

Seminar, Indiana Section of the American Association for Dental Research: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN DENTISTRY, by Dr. Thomas Katona, associate professor of orthodontics (School of Dentistry) and mechanical engineering (School of Engineering and Technology); noonâ€"1 p.m. in DS S116. Everyone welcome.

CE course PERIODONTAL SURGERY FOR THE GENERAL PRACTITIONER, by Dr. Donald Weissman, Chicago, Ill., and Dr. Steven Blanchard, assistant professor of periodontics. Call 278-9000.

Benefits specialists from IUPUI's Human Resources division are in the building today to talk to us about the university's 2005 benefits program. ONE-ON-ONE COUNSELING is available from 9 a.m. till noon in DS245, and an OPEN ENROLLMENT SESSION is being offered from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in DS S116. Be sure to read through your open-enrollment packet carefully before participating in these sessions.

VETERANS DAY

CE course ESTHETICS FOR LIFE, by Dr. Cherilyn Sheets, co-executive director of the Newport Coast Oral Facial Institute and restorative dentistry faculty member at the University of California. Call 278-9000.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PERIODONTOLOGY annual meeting, Orlando, Fla.

Lunch Box Discussion "HE SAID; SHE SAID": APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION FOR EVALUATIONS, by Elizabeth Hatcher, director of Staff Development and Support; noon-1 p.m. in DS S421. All faculty, staff, and students welcome. No registration required.

STUDENT RESEARCH SUBCOMMITTEE, 8 a.m. in OHRI 110

STUDENT AFFAIRS COUNCIL/DEAN'S STUDENT TOWN HALL, noon in DS114

RESEARCH COMMITTEE, 8 a.m. in DS S421

6th annual IUSD SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON brings together students who are receiving scholarships during academic year 2004-2005 and the donors and other friends of the school who have made these scholarships possible. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. at University Place Hotel, and is by invitation.

ENROLLMENT DEADLINE for the university's 2005 benefits program. All forms and information, including a list of sites holding open enrollment information sessions in November, can be downloaded from www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/benefits.

THANKSGIVING RECESS. Please note special schedule for Library, which closes early (5 p.m.) on Wednesday, Nov. 24, and is closed Thursday but reopens for limited hours on Friday (10 a.m.-4 p.m.). The Library's weekend hours following the holiday are as usual (9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday).

DENTAL HYGIENE STUDENT'S ART ON DISPLAY AT U OF I. Lorraine Sack, a first-year dental hygiene student, is also an accomplished artist. Some of her paintings are currently on exhibit as part of the "Four Women Artists" show in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center at the University of Indianapolis. The gallery is running the show on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Nov. 12. A similar exhibit ran last spring at the local Dean Johnson Gallery, with Nuvo reporter Julianna Thibodeaux describing Lorraine's portraits of women as "hauntingly beautiful, realistic, but with an impressionistic lilt."

DECEMBER DEADLINE FOR ADEA AWARDS. The American Dental Education Association, in conjunction with its corporate partners, has announced its 2005 list of award, fellowship, and scholarship opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. "The deadline for most of these awards is Dec. 6," says Gail Williamson, professor of dental diagnostic sciences. For details, go to http://www.adea.org/federal_grants/default.htm.

ON THE NATIONAL FRONT. Dr. Karen Yoder, associate professor of preventive and community dentistry and director of the Division of Community Dentistry, has been elected to a two-year term on the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association. APHA has more than 50,000 members representing over 50 public health occupations. Dr. Yoder's appointment begins at the organization's annual session in Washington, D.C., in November.

Dr. Domenick Zero, associate dean for Research and professor and chair of the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, was recently elected to a one-year term as chair of the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs, an organization he has served as a member of for the past three years and as vice-chair for during 2003-2004. He was also recently appointed as a member of the Dental Products Panel of the Food and Drug Administration's Medical Devices Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Expert Panel on School-based Dental Sealant Programs.

Dr. James Hartsfield Jr., professor of oral facial genetics and orthodontics (School of Dentistry) and of medical and molecular genetics (School of Medicine), is now a fellow in the American College of Dentists. He was inducted during ceremonies at the college's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., in September.

2 IUSD EMPLOYEES IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT IUPUI AWARDS PROGRAM. Congratulations to staff member Elvia Reyes-Martinez and faculty member Melinda Meadows, who were among campus employees receiving special honors during the 2004 IUPUI Chancellor's Employee Recognition Convocation, held at University Place Conference Center in October.

Elvia Reyes-Martinez, who is a dental assistant in the Department of Oral Facial Development, received an IUPUI Gerald L. Bepko Staff Council Spirit Award in recognition of her extensive record of community service on campus and in the community. (This award was reported on in the school's July calendar, which is available at IUSD's Internet site, www.iusd.iupui.edu, under the archives at "News and Information").

In addition, Melinda Meadows, visiting clinical lecturer in dental hygiene, received a Glenn W. Irwin, Jr., M.D. Experience Excellence Award, which recognizes extraordinary service to IUPUI. She was nominated by some of her colleagues in part for her outstanding record as a community volunteer and as a mentor for student volunteers. Under her direction, the school's Homeless Shelter Sealant Program has expanded into a monthly clinic that annually provides treatment to about 200 children who are residing in many of the city's shelters. She also helped organize IUSD as one of Indiana's key treatment sites in the annual ADA-sponsored Give Kids a Smile program, which in the span of just one year tripled the number of children treated and doubled the number of healthcare professionals volunteering. She was cited for her exceptional motivation, enthusiasm, and dedication in providing care to children in need.

MOMS AND THEIR INFANTS OR TODDLERS NEEDED FOR TWO OHRI STUDIES. Two research grants recently awarded to Dr. Margherita Fontana, associate professor of preventive and community dentistry, will be used to study the most common chronic childhood disease in North America: dental caries.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Foundation has awarded Dr. Fontana a one-year, $100,000 grant to pursue a study titled "Xylitol: Effects on the Acquisition of Cariogenic Species in Infants."

The sugar substitute xylitol has long been of interest in dentistry because of its antimicrobial and anticariogenic properties. Dr. Fontana, who directs the Microbial Caries Facility on the dental school's fourth floor, will be looking at the possibility that xylitol may have a role to play in preventing mothers from transmitting to their infants the common cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans and perhaps other potentially cariogenic species as well. Mutans streptococci (MS) can be passed from one person to another through saliva, so the intimate relationship between mothers and their babies makes the transmission risk high, helping give babies an unwanted head-start on a path that could lead to caries development.

Mothers in the study will chew a xylitol gum and will be monitored over a period of months 1) to test if the sweetener is effective in delaying transmission of MS from mother to child, 2) to determine if xylitol has an effect on other bacteria in the mouth, and 3) to see if xylitol is more effective when used at the earliest stages of child development, before teeth erupt.

Mothers and infants (up to 4 months old) are needed, and women chosen for this study will be paid for their participation.

Toddlers will be the subject of Dr. Fontana's second research project, which will focus on predicting caries risk in children from underserved populations. This two-year exploratory study received funding for about $379,000 from the National Institutes of Health in October.

The purpose of the study is to develop an innovative caries risk questionnaire to identify toddlers at the highest risk of developing early childhood caries â€" ideally in time either to prevent the disease or halt it in its earliest stages. Of particular interest are African American and Hispanic populations, which the 2000 U.S. Surgeon General's report on oral health determined to be among the country's high-risk groups.

Once designed, a draft of the questionnaire will be administered to 400 primary caregivers and their children. In developing a predictive model, Dr. Fontana and her research team will employ two highly innovative and sensitive methods for detecting caries â€" the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) and Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence (QLF) â€" to monitor early, precavitated carious lesions on the children's teeth over a 12-month period.

Primary caregivers with children 18 months to 3 years old are needed for this study, and those who qualify will be paid for their participation.

Dr. Fontana urges anyone who knows of mothers or primary caregivers who have children in these age ranges and who could potentially qualify for one of the studies to ask them to call 274-3740 to learn more about the projects.

A SPECIAL KIND OF DONOR. When thinking about the gratitude we owe the people who donate to our school, most of us likely picture those we know personally or have read about who have given generously in traditional ways â€" with their money, or their time, or their talents.

But there are other donors to IU whose extraordinary acts of generosity, while rarely publicized, are nonetheless invaluable to the education of this university's students of dentistry, medicine, and physical therapy: persons who bequeath their bodies to medical science.

Last year, 103 individuals donated their bodies to IU through the School of Medicine's Anatomical Education Program, which is managed by the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

On Oct. 9, families and friends of the donors joined representatives of IU's dental, medical, and physical therapy schools at the Peace Chapel of Crown Hill Cemetery in a service of remembrance co-sponsored with Clarian Health Partners' Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education.

Among the faculty who spoke at the program was dental school representative Dr. William Babler, associate professor of oral biology. A student from each school also addressed the gathering, including first-year dental student Brooke Shank.

"More than 250 people attended the service," says Dr. Babler. "Brooke did a wonderful job of speaking to the donors' loved ones in a way that was very moving and also professional. The memorial service is an annual event, and I'm very proud of each of the dental students who has spoken at this ceremony over the years."

For answers to some frequently asked questions about IU's Anatomical Education Program, go to http://www.anatomy.iupui.edu/anatomical/faq.html.

Send items for December calendar by Nov. 23: Indiana University School of Dentistry, Room B32, 1121 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis IN 46202-5186. Fax: (317) 274-7188. E-mail: smcrum@iupui.edu