Dental Student Research

Zohra Tumur, MD, PhD

GUEST EDITOR

Zohra Tumur, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the College of Dental Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.

If at first, you don’t succeed, search, search again. That’s why they call it research. – Unknown

“How is research going?” I asked, and my friend replied, “research is re-search.” We both laughed. However, this conversation resonated with me for years.

The Oxford Dictionary defines research as “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions.” Research takes years of hard work and dedication before it reaches its conclusion. Nevertheless, the new information and knowledge acquired contributes to the advancement of science and technology. In health care, research plays a crucial role in discovering new therapeutic approaches, making evidence-based decisions and establishing better health policies.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (winner of the Noble Prize in Medicine in 1937) said, “Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” Research is a process that starts with careful observation, critical analysis of the situation and developing research questions and hypotheses. Next comes the process of research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Finally, research ends disseminating findings to a greater audience. Actually, research does not end there; it opens doors for future research questions and opportunities, and it continues.

Science and research played a crucial role in the development of the dental profession and dental education and have become a core of modern dentistry. Dental research scientists and clinical scholars contributed tremendously to understanding complex human diseases and disorders beyond the diseases of the oral cavity during the last half of the 20th century. 2 The January 2020 issue of the Journal highlighted the importance of research in dental education. Dr. Paul Krebsbach, dean of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry, started his introduction by emphasizing the importance of generating new knowledge to build a vibrant dental professional future. The authors in that issue emphasized the crucial role of research in dental education by stating that research helps dental students to deeply understand the biosocial foundation of the dental profession and acquire critical thinking abilities. They also emphasized the importance of exposing students to advanced science and technology to create a competent dentistscientist workforce necessary to compete in today’s precision health care environment.

To support student research, the Journal highlights students’ research work in special issues. Students from dental schools in California are encouraged to submit their research and share it with a greater audience.

Even with restricted access to research during the COVID-19 pandemic, dental schools adapted to the new changes and exhibited resilience and creativity to continue all parts of dental education, including research programs. In the January 2022 issue of the Journal, dental students shared their research on how dental schools adapted to the pandemic.

This Journal issue presents diverse research topics in dentistry. Students from the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry contributed “Management of Hypertensive Crisis in a Dental School: 10-year Retrospective Review of Medical Emergency Incidents With Recommendations,” which includes the opportunity to earn continuing education credit, and “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Periodontal Data Collection Practices in Second-Year Dental Students.” Students from the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed user feedback in their article “Rollout of the Oral Health Literacy Toolkit in California: A Mixed-Method Analysis.” The articles “Salivary and Plaque Microbiomes During Treatment With Different Orthodontic Appliances” and “Childhood Adversity Correlates With Young Adult Health Dental Patient Behaviors” were submitted from the University of California, Los Angeles.

I am very pleased to work with the CDA team to support student research publications. We truly appreciate all the authors who submitted articles to CDA.

It shows their resilience, determination, commitment and dedication to scientific discovery and to creating safe and effective dental health services. We applaud all the students, mentors and CDA administration who brought this Journal issue to life. We hope readers enjoy it.