The evolution of tooth wear indices.

Tooth wear--attrition, erosion and abrasion-is perceived internationally as an ever-increasing problem. Clinical and epidemiological studies, however, are difficult to interpret and compare due to differences in terminology and the large number of indices that have been developed for diagnosing, grading and monitoring dental hard tissue loss. These indices have been designed to identify increasing severity and are usually numerical. Some record lesions on an aetiological basis (e.g. erosion indices), others record lesions irrespective of aetiology (tooth wear indices); none have universal acceptance, complicating the evaluation of the true increase in prevalence reported. This article considers the ideal requirements for an erosion index. It reviews the literature to consider how current indices have evolved and discusses if these indices meet the clinical and research needs of the dental profession.

Shirley Glasstone Hughes Memorial Prize for Dental Research: an evaluation of the output 15 years after the Trust's inception.

In May 2005, a decision was taken by the Shirley Glasstone Hughes (SGH) Foundation trustees to suspend investments in research for one year, to allow a review of the outcomes of SGH research funding over the past 15 years. Money was instead directed to the BDA Research Unit, to employ a staff member who would conduct the evaluation under the supervision of the BDA Scientific Adviser. The evaluation focused on three aspects of the research produced: 1) relevance to primary dental care, 2) scientific quality and impact on the research community, and 3) grant recipients' feelings about SGH funding and whether the mechanisms of supporting research could be improved. The methods used included questioning BDA members about the research they found of interest and relevance, checking research outputs against standardised quality criteria, examining impact factors and citation rates (relative to the funding received) and questioning grant recipients about their experience with SGH funding. The results implied that the fund had largely been spent on research themes felt to be relevant to practice by BDA members. In addition, the publication rate, publication quality, impact and citation indices demonstrated the SGH research work to be largely of high quality. Recipients of the fund indicated several factors which might improve the experience of receiving funding and possibly also improve the research output. It can be concluded that the SGH funds have largely been well spent but that it is worth considering implementing changes which would make the research findings of greater relevance to clinical practice.

New therapeutic uses for an old family of drugs: travels of a dental researcher from the lab to the university's office of technology transfer and beyond.

The authors, including an academic-inventor, the director of the University's tech-transfer office, and the CEO of a "start-up" pharmaceutical company based on the professor's (and his colleague's) inventions, relate the history and current status of their interactions. To start, the basic research leading to the "eureka" experiment (such things really do happen) is summarized: namely, the discovery of (i) the surprising ability of the tetracycline antibiotics to inhibit mammalian tissue-destructive proteinases (collagenase, gelatinase) during a variety of disease processes, e.g., periodontitis, the arthritides, osteopenia/osteoporosis, sterile corneal ulcers, tumor invasion/metastasis/angiogenesis, and (ii) a series of chemically-modified, non-antibacterial analogs of tetracyclines to inhibit these enzymes without producing typical antibiotic side effects. The role of the University in obtaining the services of patent attorneys, and its assistance in developing the strategy to deal with an industrial partner, is addressed. Above all, the authors stress the need for close cooperation and collegial interactions between all three groups in this high-risk (but potentially high-benefit-to-the-public) enterprise.