Improving Oral Health for All Americans
Official title: Optimizing population oral health through integrating patient, provider, and population-based approaches
Funded at Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11192770 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find better ways to provide high-quality dental care and improve oral health for all Americans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | September 13, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2032 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,000,013 |
| NIH project number | 5R35DE034352-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11192770 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project focuses on understanding broad population trends in oral health, so it doesn't directly recruit individual patients for treatment, but future related efforts might involve individuals experiencing dental care disparities.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate individual dental treatment or direct clinical intervention will not receive benefit from this specific research program.
What this research studies
Many people in the US face challenges getting good dental care, which leads to different oral health outcomes. This project looks at how various factors, like biology, social situations, and economic conditions, all work together to affect dental health. Researchers will gather new information from US populations and use advanced methods to understand how access, use, and quality of dental care are connected. The goal is to develop comprehensive and affordable strategies to ensure everyone receives excellent dental care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new policies and strategies that make high-quality dental care more accessible and affordable for all Americans, improving overall oral health.
How similar studies have gone: While individual factors in oral health have been studied, this project takes a novel, integrated approach to understand the complex interactions of patient, provider, and population factors.
Where this research is happening
-
Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Heaton, Brenda — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Heaton, Brenda
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Coordinated Oral Health Promotion for Chicago Kids
A long-running study in Chicago is following children and their caregivers to find ways to reduce tooth decay and improve daily life for families.
-
Digital adolescent dental health program to reduce tooth decay in at-risk youth
A digital program designed for lower-income 7th and 8th graders to help them avoid tobacco use and sugary drinks to lower the risk of tooth decay.
-
Improving how schools deliver tooth care for kids using existing data
This project analyzes past school-based dental care data to help more underserved children get effective, affordable preventive treatment.
-
Host genetics and oral microbiome: big-data clues to oral health
A large study will combine human genetics, saliva bacteria, and health records to understand why oral diseases like cavities and gum disease occur in different people.
-
Understanding dry mouth in adults using AI to read electronic records
A new project uses AI to find adults with xerostomia in medical records and predict who will have worse oral health outcomes.
-
Oral health effects of buprenorphine and methadone in people with opioid use disorder
This project will explore how common MOUD medicines like buprenorphine (including dissolvable forms) and methadone may affect oral health in people with opioid use disorder.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.