Understanding how dental cavities change over the nation using smart statistics
Official title: Demystifying DMFT/DMFS: Pragmatic nationwide assessment of dental caries outcomes from NHANES
Funded at Virginia Commonwealth University · NIH-11321658 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A nationwide study will use advanced statistical methods to better understand how dental caries develop and vary across the U.S., based on NHANES data.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Virginia Commonwealth University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Richmond, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $191,482 |
| NIH project number | 5R21DE034124-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11321658 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults 21 years and older whose dental health data are captured in NHANES or similar nationwide surveys.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without access to those survey data or those outside the studied population may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project will apply sophisticated Bayesian methods to large survey data to summarize dental caries experience in adults. Researchers will address challenges like sample weights, data granularity, and spatial relationships between tooth surfaces. The goal is to produce clear, robust summaries that clinicians and public health teams can use to improve dental care planning. The work focuses on cross-sectional data but aims to offer practical tools for interpreting complex survey information.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more accurate, nationwide summaries of dental caries and inform better prevention and treatment strategies for adults.
How similar studies have gone: Prior analyses using NHANES data have yielded meaningful insights; this project aims to advance methods for even clearer, more reliable results.
Where this research is happening
-
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bandyopadhyay, Dipankar — Virginia Commonwealth University
- Study coordinator: Bandyopadhyay, Dipankar
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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.