August 18, 2004	Researchers Report New Gene Test for Isolated Cleft Lip and Palate Researchers report they now can predict whether some parents are more likely than others to have a second child with the “isolated” form of cleft lip and palate, one of the world’s most common birth defects, according to results of a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.  more....
August 11, 2004	Protein From Oral Pathogen Can Clear Medical Devices of Bacteria Most people don't expect to get sick after being admitted to the hospital. But hospital-acquired infections from bacteria-laden catheters are actually fairly common, and many doctors say they have few tools to prevent or treat them. Now, in what could be an important new lead, researchers show in laboratory studies that a novel enzyme can wipe out the ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis to attach to surfaces. Staph. epidermidis is a frequent contaminant of medical devices, costing the healthcare system billions of dollars each year.  more………
July 23, 2004	Scientists Discover Role of Bone Sialoprotein in Tumor Cell Invasion Scientists recently recognized that bone sialoprotein (BSP) is elevated in the tumors and blood of people with breast and certain other developing cancers, a rise that sometimes can be associated with the spread of cancer cells throughout the body.  What has remained unclear is exactly how BSP might play a role in this process.  Now, a research group at the NIDCR reports for the first time that BSP forms a complex with two other proteins, possibly enabling cancer cells to better degrade the tissue that surrounds them and break free from tumors.   more..........
July 8, 2004	HumanPeriodontal Ligament Stem Cells Isolated for the First Time Over the past decade, researchers have begun sowing the scientific seeds of “regenerative dentistry,” a bold attempt to bioengineer teeth and other parts of the mouth that are frequently damaged by disease.  To date, laboratories have reported early success producing tooth enamel, generating dentin, and even reconstituting diseased gum tissue.  In the current issue of The Lancet, a team of scientists report taking another important step toward a future of regenerative dentistry.  more..........
May 26, 2004	Oral Bacterium Linked To Preterm Births in Mice For years, scientists have noticed a particular oral bacterium can be found in the amniotic fluid of about 20 percent of women with premature babies. more...
May 4, 2004	Periodontal Disease: Early Progress Reported in Tissue Engineering Scientists have long known that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has the potential to help regenerate the lost bone and soft tissue that occurs with advanced periodontal, or gum, disease. The problem always has been finding a way to administer PDGF that prevents scissor-like enzymes in the wound from snipping the growth factor to pieces and degrading it before complete regeneration can occur. more...
May 4, 2004	Scientists Identify Candidate Genes in Tumor Regression Scientists discovered several years ago that interleukin-12, a protein that immune cells secrete in response to an invading pathogen, can also alert disease-fighting T cells to recognize, attack, and remember tumor cells for months to come. But as researchers have developed Il-12 as a possible treatment for cancer, they have found the protein or its gene is most effective when injected directly into tumors, not infused into the bloodstream. more...
May 3, 2004	Animal Studies Show Promise Treating Severe Chronic Pain Researchers may be on the trail of a new and more targeted treatment for severe chronic pain. In the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a team of scientists established in a series of animal studies the therapeutic potential of selectively deleting specific nerve cells from the nervous system that convey severe chronic pain. more...
March 29, 2004	Scientists Finish Sequencing Genome of Oral Pathogen In the late 1600s, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the renowned “father of microbiology,” peered through a microscope and noticed an unusual thread-like oral spirochete...more...
March 10, 2004	Researchers Report Progress in Salivary Gland Gene Transfer Two years ago, scientists reported exciting news in the development of gene therapy for the salivary gland. more...
February 25, 2004	NIDCR Patient Overcomes Obstacles, Helps Others At first, it might seem odd that someone who had to spend a lot of time in the dental chair would choose to become a dentist. more...
January 22, 2004	Gene Therapy in Salivary Glands Could Lead to Promising Applications in Oral Diseases Although gene therapy has shown much promise over the past decade, one of its major challenges continues to be controlling the expression of a transplanted gene once it has been delivered into a cell. more...
December 1, 2003	Scientists Report Early Progress in Tissue Engineering Mandibular Condyle Researchers have long dreamed of engineering new knees, hips and other body joints in the laboratory from a person's own bone and cartilage producing adult stem cells. more...
October 22, 2003	Gene Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Sjogren’s Syndrome in an Animal Model Researchers have reported the first successful use of gene therapy to limit salivary gland inflammation and preserve saliva flow in a mouse model of Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that can render people unable to produce saliva or tears. more...
August 4, 2003	Scientists Report Important Lead in Studying Possible Association Between Periodontal and Cardiovascular Disease Scientists have hypothesized that people with chronic gum, or periodontal, disease may be predisposed to heart disease and stroke. more...
July 17, 2003	Scientist Report Key Discovery in Organ Development Within weeks of fertilization, one of the great mysteries of life occurs: The heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs begin to appear in the fetus. more...
July 3, 2003	Scientists Create Mouse Model That Mimics Human Dental Disorder A team led by scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has created a mouse model with tooth defects similar to those of people with dentinogenesis imperfecta III.  more...
April 21, 2003	Scientists Discover Unique Source of Postnatal Stem Cells Scientists report for the first time that "baby" teeth, the temporary teeth that children begin losing around their sixth birthday, contain a rich supply of stem cells in their dental pulp. more..
March 27, 2003	Scientists Report Important New Data in Adult Stem Cell Debate Developmental biologists have long maintained that adult stem cells cannot be reprogrammed. Once a stem cell commits to a specific tissue, such as the brain, it can’t turn back its biological clock and become blood, bone, or any other type of adult stem cell. more..
October 17, 2002	Scientists Turn Early Fat Cells into Bone Cells in the Laboratory In the 1970s, researchers discovered that adult progenitor cells in the bone marrow can differentiate into a variety of different cell tissue types, such as bone, fat, or cartilage. With this finding, scientists also began to wonder: Once a progenitor cell has committed initially to become a fat cell, for instance, is it possible to influence the cell to turn back and become another cell type instead? more...
October 16, 2002	Scientists Decipher Genome Sequence of S.Mutans Scientists have deciphered the complete genome sequence of Streptococcus mutans, the main organism implicated in causing tooth decay. The scientists have made each piece of sequencing data freely available online during the course of the four-year project. Supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the sequencing project was carried out by researchers at the University of Oklahoma. more...
October 1, 2002	Scientists Identify Key Gene Involved in Cleft Lip and Palate Scientists report in this month's Nature Genetics they have discovered the gene that causes Van der Woude syndrome, the most common of the syndromic forms of cleft lip and palate. The term "syndromic" means babies are born with cleft lip and palate, in addition to other birth defects. more...
July 1, 2002	Scientists Report New Resin Matrix Passes Initial Tests Scientists report in this month's issue of the journal Dental Materials that two synthetic molecules designed in their laboratory to improve the durability of composite fillings had acceptable strength and good biocompatibity during initial tests. more...
June 4, 2002	Scientists Extend Life Span of Adult Bone Marrow Stromal Stem Cells Scientists report for the first time that under laboratory conditions they have more than doubled the life span of adult stem cells from the bone marrow, while also enhancing their natural ability to form new bone and possibly cartilage. more...
April 1, 2002	Scientists Discover First Gene Involved in Gum Overgrowth Dental researchers have known for decades that some people are born with gums that grow abnormally over their teeth. What they have never known is what? more...
December 21, 2001	Scientists Discover Key Signaling Protein
October 1, 2001	NIDCR Funds Centers for Research to Reduce Oral Health Disparities
June 12, 2001	Scientists Sequence Genome of Major Periodontal Disease Bacterium
March 28, 2001	More Rigorous Studies Needed to Advance Emerging Dental Caries Diagnostic and Management Strategies, Says NIH Consensus Panel

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